Guinea-Bissau Military Stages Coup, Installs Gen. Horta N'Tam as Head of Transitional Government

In late November 2025, a group of army officers in Guinea-Bissau seized power and installed General Horta N'Tam as head of a transitional military government.

“Guinea-Bissau’s military announced it had seized power after gunfire near the presidential office; officers appeared on state television Wednesday and President Umaro Sissoco Embaló — who had been locked in a fierce dispute with the opposition after both sides claimed victory in a presidential election — was arrested and detained”

ABC News

They announced a 'High Military Command for the Restoration of Order' to oversee a one-year transition.

ABC News

State television and junta statements said they had deposed President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and suspended state institutions and the electoral process as provisional results were due.

Officials framed the move as a temporary restoration of order.

Across multiple reports, the takeover was presented as immediate and formal, with outlets using slightly different spellings of the new leader's name and similar descriptions of a 12-month transition.

Reports describe chaotic scenes in the capital Bissau: witnesses and journalists reported sustained gunfire near the presidential palace, the national electoral commission and other central sites as soldiers sealed roads and imposed checkpoints, curfews and media blackouts.

Multiple outlets said electoral offices were sealed and that key figures — including the electoral commissioner and opposition leaders — were detained; others reported that President Embaló was briefly detained and later said he had been deposed, while at least one outlet reported he had left the country for Senegal.

Al Jazeera

Some regional sources also noted that borders were closed temporarily and then reopened within 24 hours.

The coup occurred amid a contested presidential vote, with both President Embaló and opposition candidate Fernando Dias claiming victory in the delayed election as provisional results were due.

“Armed soldiers seized key sites in Guinea-Bissau during a coup around the end of contested elections, closing land, sea and air borders, imposing a nighttime curfew, and suspending the electoral process and media coverage”

Al Jazeera

Media and observers reported the vote count had been halted.

The military justified its action by alleging a destabilisation plot involving politicians and drug traffickers and said it had uncovered schemes to manipulate results, while civil society groups and some opposition figures countered that the move was a staged or 'simulated' coup designed to block the announcement of results.

Observers from the African Union and ECOWAS were reportedly in the capital and later urged a return to the electoral process.

Regional and international reactions were swift: the African Union and ECOWAS condemned the takeover and urged restoration of constitutional order.

Countries including Portugal, Qatar, Ghana and Nigeria voiced disapproval, and the UN secretary-general called for restraint.

Al-Jazeera Net

ECOWAS convened emergency talks, and observers in the capital were reported to press for the resumption of the vote count.

Some regional outlets reported immediate diplomatic and protective measures, and Nigeria said it was working to ensure the safety of its nationals while condemning the coup.

Analysts and many reports situate the coup in Guinea-Bissau’s long history of political instability and its reputation as a drug-trafficking transit point, warning the takeover risks deepening governance vacuums exploited by criminal networks.

“Holds a degree in Comparative Literature (English) plus two MAs (political science and English) and has more than 17 years’ experience in university teaching, research and peer review, bilingual translation, and copywriting”

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Commentators also linked the episode to a wider West African pattern of military interventions after disputed elections, suggesting the event could prolong instability and complicate efforts to restore civilian rule.

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