90-year-old Cameroon president Paul Biya changes Minister of Defence after Gabon coup

In what we believe might have happened out of fear of coup, the Cameroon President Paul Biya made major changes to the country’s ministry of defence.

This is happening on the heels of Gabon’s coup that ousted president Ali Bongo who’s family has been in power for more than 40 years.

President Biya reshuffled delegate positions  like defence, air force staff, navy, and the police. He announced the changes on social media platform, X.

Biya aged 90 came to power in a coup d’etat in 1982 and has remained president since he rode to power.

Also, shortly after the Gabon coup on Wednesday 30th August, Rwanda’s defence force (RDF) announced on X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter, that President Paul Kagame approved the retirement of 83 senior officers.

According to the RDF, Kagame also approved the promotion and appointment of some officers to replace the previous office holders.

Meetings between Rwanda’s chief of defence staff, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ambassador to Rwanda, and the defence attaché of Cameroon were also held to discuss ways “to enhance defence cooperation between their respective countries”.

In 2015, Rwanda’s constitution was changed to allow Kagame to remain president until 2034.

The 65-year-old Kagame has been in power since 2000.

The decisions of Kagame and Biya to reshuffle their militaries came a few hours after soldiers seized power in Gabon, punctuating the 53-year hold on the country by President Ali Bongo’s family.