BRAZZAVILLE, Congo Brazzaville – The Congo Brazzaville government on Sunday debunked rumours of a military coup, calling them “fake news.”
The rumours began circulating on social media and in some news reports after President Denis Sassou Nguesso left the country to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
However, Information Minister Thierry Moungalla said there was no truth to the rumours.
“URGENT – Fanciful information suggests serious events that may be underway in #Brazzaville,” he tweeted. “The government denies this fake news.”
“We reassure public opinion about the calm that reigns and invite people to calmly go about their activities,” he added.
The announcement came just minutes after Gabon’s election body announced that incumbent President Ali Bongo had won a third term, extending his family’s half-century rule over the oil-rich Central African country.
Congo Brazzaville has a long history of coups and political instability. Sassou Nguesso, a former military officer, has been in power since 1997. He was re-elected in 2016 in a vote that was widely criticized as fraudulent.
The rumours of a coup in Congo Brazzaville come amid growing concerns about a decline in democracy in Africa. In recent months, there have been coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea.
It is unclear who started the rumours of a coup in Congo Brazzaville. However, some experts believe that they may have been spread by political opponents of Sassou Nguesso in an attempt to destabilize the government.
The Congolese government has urged the public to remain calm and disregard the rumours.
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