Oluwaseye Ogunsanya
Claim
A viral post on WhatsApp claimed that a coup has taken place in Cameroon and the country’s president, Paul Biya is under house arrest by the coup plotters.
Verdict
False
Full Text
A viral post on WhatsApp claimed that a couple has taken place in Cameroon and the country’s president, Paul Biya is under house arrest by the coup plotters.
“Jubilation in Cameroon as the military placed the longest serving president in Cameroon under house arrest and announced take over of power” the post reads.
In the last three years there have been outbreaks of military coups in West and Central Africa which have seen democratically elected leaders removed from the seat of power in Mali, Senegal, Chad, Sudan, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Niger Republic and the latest being Gabon.
The coup which has been condemned by the international community has also raised concerns on the regression of democracy in the continent.
Verification
FactCheckElections did a Google search to ascertain the veracity of the claim but we were unable to get any media report or official statement that confirms it.
However, in contrast, search results show that the Central African state made major changes to its ministry of defence in the wake of the Gabon coup.
According to media reports, among the posts reshuffled by President Paul Biya were the delegate to the presidency in charge of defence, air force staff, navy, and the police.
The 90-year-old who is one of Africa’s oldest and longest-serving presidents came to power in a coup d’etat in 1982 and has since been ruling the country after removing the constitutional two-term limit in 2008.
In the same vein, Rwanda’s defence force (RDF) announced on X, (formerly Twitter) that President Paul Kagame approved the retirement of 83 senior officers.
RDF PRESS RELEASE – PROMOTION AND APPOINTMENT IN THE RWANDA DEFENCE FORCE https://t.co/AZIWGJAXFQ pic.twitter.com/MGML5bBRgH
— Rwanda Defence Force (@RwandaMoD) August 29, 2023
According to the RDF, Kagame also approved the promotion and appointment of some officers to replace the previous office holders.
In 2015, Rwanda’s constitution was changed to allow Kagame to remain president until 2034.
The 65-year-old has been in power since 2000 and is one of Africa’s longest-serving presidents.
Conclusion
The viral WhatsApp post claiming that the military have seized power in Cameroon is false as there are no official reports or statements to confirm it.