AU should be firm on military coups

Apart from the likely growth in human and constitutional rights abuses, coups also tend to be curse to economic growth. Investors tend to be reticent to put money into economies that are run by the whims of a military dictator rather than market forces.

This often results into a lack of economic growth, increased inflation and unemployment — some of the very things the military often cite as the reason they took power in the first place.

So when two weeks ago Mali’s military, no doubt pushed by what was seen as a popular uprising against President Boubaker Keita, did just that, toppled his government.

Then followed the trade mark condemnation from across the globe, Africa in particular with its political grouping – the African Union (AU) suspending the country and calling for swift return to democratic norms. It is still to be seen whether that may happen.

But as often as it happens, coups in Africa tend to embarrass the AU, apart from exposing its hypocrisy. In many cases it doesn’t know what to do with them, let alone correctly react thereto.

In Zimbabwe in late 2017 when President Robert Mugabe was forced by the military to give up power, at first the AU hesitated to define it as a coup or a mere removal of one man – a palace coup. In the end the continental body condemned it any way and called for immediate restoration of a democratically elected government.

When in 2013 Egypt’s military led by Gen Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi toppled the democratically elected government of President Mohamed Morsi, the AU condemned the coup to the skies, promptly suspended Egypt membership from the body and called for immediate return to democracy.

Not only democracy was not restored, hardly two years later the same AU considered Al-Sisi to have enough legitimacy to be elected its Chairman. The development was beyond comprehension, and that is no doubt an understatement.

Earnestly, this man had absolutely no right to join, let alone head, an organisation that promotes democratic norms among its members.

It is time the AU did some soul-searching and come up with some formula on how to deal with forceful removal of democratically elected governments.