By Rita Enemuru, Reporting
THE latest military takeover in Guinea-Bissau on 26 November 2025, during which officers claimed to have assumed “total control”, deposed the president and suspended the electoral process, has added yet another nation to the growing list of African countries governed by juntas.
As of November 2025, seven countries across the continent remain under military rule, each facing its own political tension, security challenges, and prolonged transitions. Below is a breakdown of the affected nations and the circumstances that led to their current state.
1. Mali
General Assimi Goïta has become the central figure of Mali’s military leadership. In 2025, the junta made its most sweeping move yet: all political parties were dissolved, and a new law granted Goïta a renewable five-year mandate without elections.
This development effectively entrenched open-ended military rule. Opposition space has narrowed further, with several political leaders detained or forced into exile. Mali continues to battle insurgency, economic hardship, and a highly uncertain political future.
2. Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso witnessed two rapid coups in 2022, first installing Lt-Col Paul-Henri Damiba, before Captain Ibrahim Traoré overthrew him on accusations of failing to address insecurity.
Traoré has since consolidated authority, presenting his regime as a patriotic effort to defeat jihadist groups. A transition charter adopted in 2024 extended military rule by another 60 months from July of that year.
Civil liberties remain restricted, political activity tightly controlled, and critics allege increasingly authoritarian tendencies within the ruling council.
3. Niger
The military takeover in Niger drew widespread condemnation and sanctions from regional and global actors. In March 2025, the junta introduced a transition charter setting a five-year timeline before elections can be held.
While military leaders insist that stability and security must come first, ECOWAS and other bodies argue that the prolonged transition undermines hard-won democratic progress. Niger continues to grapple with diplomatic fallout and economic strain.
4. Guinea (Conakry)
Initially pledging a structured transition, Guinea’s junta has repeatedly shifted timelines. In 2025, political uncertainty deepened after the transitional government was dissolved and Colonel Mamady Doumbouya signalled interest in contesting future elections.
Opposition groups and international observers fear that the transition is being manipulated to entrench military influence. Despite widespread concerns, the junta maintains firm control over political and security institutions.
5. Sudan
Sudan’s military seized full control in October 2021, collapsing an already fragile civilian-military power-sharing arrangement. By April 2023, the country had descended into a devastating civil conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti).
With rival factions controlling separate territories, Sudan lacks any functioning civilian government. Each group operates its own administrative system, further fragmenting the state. Millions have been displaced amid hunger and widespread human rights abuses.
Sudan’s military rule is therefore not a single junta, but a fractured landscape of competing armed authorities.
6. Madagascar
Colonel Michael Randrianirina announced a military takeover, declaring that the armed forces were assuming control and that he would serve as president.
The African Union swiftly suspended Madagascar, describing the development as an unconstitutional change of government. A military-led transitional administration now governs, although political parties and civil society have demanded negotiations to restore democratic order. The transition framework remains unclear and heavily contested.
7. Guinea-Bissau
The junta in Guinea-Bissau dissolved the electoral process, suspended key institutions, and closed national borders. A self-declared high command has taken control of state media and major government structures.
ECOWAS and the African Union have condemned the coup, but the military continues to hold power firmly. With institutions paralysed and political uncertainty worsening, the country enters yet another turbulent phase in its long history of coups.
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