‘Guinea-Bissau opposition leader summoned by military court’

Guinea-Bissau’s main opposition leader has been summoned to appear before a military court over alleged links to multiple coup plots, judicial and military sources have told AFP.

The junta has imprisoned senior politicians after overthrowing president Umaro Embalo and seizing power in November, just days after presidential elections.

Domingos Pereira, the leader of the PAIGC party, which led the coastal west-African country to independence from Portugal in 1974, was arrested on the day of the November coup.

He was freed late last month but was placed under house arrest because of separate investigations into alleged financial crimes.

He will be questioned on Friday for his “alleged involvement in a coup attempt”, a source close to the military court has told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

“There is a lot of suspicion hanging over him regarding his alleged involvement in several subversive actions,” a senior officer says.

Pereira is suspected of involvement in at least two attempted coups, in late 2023 and October 2025, the same source adds.

Guinea-Bissau has experienced five coups and a string of attempted military takeovers since its independence.

Crippling poverty, chaotic administration and political chaos have also made Guinea-Bissau fertile ground for corruption and drug smuggling. — Via Nampa


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