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The Contradictions of Benin’s Alleged Coup Plot

BeninDecember 24/January 25
Benin

[L-R] Olivier Boko, Oswald Homeky, Patrice Talon and Elon‘m Mario Metonou. Photo illustration by Dami Mojid / THE REPUBLIC. Ref: PRÉSIDENCE DU BÉNIN, UN PHOTO / FLICKR.

THE MINISTRY OF WORLD AFFAIRS

The Contradictions of Benin’s Alleged Coup Plot

In September 2024, news of an alleged coup surfaced in the typically stable Republic of Benin, raising questions about the country’s democratic stability, and the broader implications for West Africa.
Benin

[L-R] Olivier Boko, Oswald Homeky, Patrice Talon and Elon‘m Mario Metonou. Photo illustration by Dami Mojid / THE REPUBLIC. Ref: PRÉSIDENCE DU BÉNIN, UN PHOTO / FLICKR.

THE MINISTRY OF WORLD AFFAIRS

The Contradictions of Benin’s Alleged Coup Plot

In September 2024, news of an alleged coup surfaced in the typically stable Republic of Benin, raising questions about the country’s democratic stability, and the broader implications for West Africa.

Benin—a small coastal West African country of around 14.5 million people, nestled between Togo, Burkina Faso, Niger and Nigeria—has recently been at the centre of a coup controversy. Since 2020, there have been nine successful coups (alongside several attempted coups) across the West and Central African regions. Most have occurred in Francophone Africa, destabilizing the region and prompting deeper structural questions about the future of governance and security in the region. Despite the democratic backsliding across many countries, Benin had in fact been one of West Africa’s more stable democracies. Since the country returned to democratic rule in 1991, after almost two decades of military dictatorship, regular presidential elections have been held in the country every five years.  

On the morning of 24 September 2024, however, the state prosecutor, Elonm Mario Metonou, announced that the former sports minister, Oswald Homeky, had been arrested while trying to hand over six bags of money to the head of the Republican guard, Colonel Djimon Dieudonne Tevoedjre. The prosecutor stated that the bags contained 1.5 billion CFA francs (about $2.5 million). Olivier Boko, a businessman and long-standing friend and advisor to President Patrice Talon, was also arrested and detained. Boko had recently indicated his ambition to contest the 2026 presidential elections, while Homeky had resigned from his ministerial position in 2023 to support Boko’s presidential ambition. Metonou, the special prosecutor at Benin’s court for economic and terrorism crimes (Cour de Répression des Infractions Économiques et du Terrorisme; CRIET) stated that: ‘It appears the Republican guard commander in charge of the president’s security was engaged by Minister Oswald Homeky and Olivier Boko in order to carry out a coup by force on September 27, 2024’. 

WAS THERE REALLY A COUP ATTEMPT?

Since the announcement of the coup, Benin has been on high alert with heavy security presence in the capital, Porto-Novo, and around other major cities such as Cotonou. However, several people in the country, including loyalists of the arrested men, have called the coup attempt a fabrication and an ‘obvious political persecution’. Several suspicions have emerged regarding the arrests and some of the facts outlined by the prosecutor.  

Firstly, there has been some confusion over the seizure of the money and where it was found. Mr Homeky’s lawyers questioned the seizure of the money and stated that some cash had been taken from one of Homeky’s vehicles parked in the garage of his house when the brigade raided his house to arrest him. Apart from stating the amount, the prosecutor did not provide any evidence citing ongoing investigations.  

Secondly, Metonou stated that the planning for the coup started on 6 August, when the Republican guard commander opened an account in an Ivorian bank in his name. He further stated that 105 million CFA francs (approximately $178,000) were discovered in the account. Yet, this claim has been refuted by the bank, NSIA Banque. The president of the bank, Jean Kacou Diagou, stated that no account had been opened in the name and on behalf of the commander of the Republican guard of Benin at his bank. 

Lastly, there has been some disquiet in the country about the activities of CRIET, the organization established by President Talon in 2016 to combat financial crimes and terrorism. Notably, CRIET has been accused of being used as a tool for persecuting the president’s opponents. In the runoff to the 2021 elections, Amnesty International recorded the arrests, and in some cases, convictions of at least twelve political opponents and voices critical of the government. Most of these involved CRIET, which was accused of harassing Talon’s political enemies.  

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PRESIDENT TALON’S THIRD TERM AMBITIONS

Before the incidence of the alleged coup, suspicion had emerged about President Talon’s political ambitions and potential quest for a third term in office, despite Benin’s constitutional provisions limiting the president to a maximum of two terms of five years in office. 

The first attempt of President Talon’s tinkering with the constitution was in 2017—just one year into his first term—during which he attempted to limit his successors to a single six-year term in office. The move however failed as he required the approval of three-quarters of the National Assembly to vote in his favour, although this was rejected by a small margin. While President Talon has repeatedly assured the populace that he will leave office after the completion of his second term in 2026, his regime has been accused of becoming more autocratic in recent years. 

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In terms of sustaining democratic dividends in the country and handing over power in 2026, President Talon has been accused of harbouring sinister motives. A political analyst in Benin, Omar Arouna, accused President Talon of preparing for a third term on the basis that Talon, during a business community meeting in 2022, which was attended by French president, Emmanuel Macron, had expressed that: ‘democracy can lead to anarchy and paralyze government decisions… and I don’t intend to fully implement it’. Arouna argued that this is indicative of a president with the intent of indefinitely remaining in power. 

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POTENTIAL IMPLICATIONS OF DEMOCRATIC INSTABILITY IN BENIN

Although generally underdiscussed, the Republic of Benin plays a significant role in the West African region, particularly in the areas of regional democratic advocacy and security. Benin has notably been vocal in condemning democratic backsliding in the Sahel, urging countries in the region to embrace democracy. In addition, the country plays a significant role in fighting terrorism in the region as an active member of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) in the Lake Chad Basin, and the Accra Initiative, set up in 2017 to stem spillover of insecurity from the Sahel to West Africa’s littoral states.  

While it is important for President Talon to protect the country’s hard-earned democracy, which is now over 30 years old, unproven allegations of a coup could damage the country. The onus is on the president and CRIET to prove beyond doubt that there was indeed a coup attempt. The behaviour of the president since he assumed power has cast doubt on the strength and solidity of democracy in the country. If the alleged coup cannot be adequately proven, two scenarios may unfold. Either the purported third term could begin to materialize, or the president might be intent on installing candidates that are favourable to him in the 2026 elections. Either of the two scenarios indicate a tampering with democracy in the country, which could have further implications not just for the country but the region at large.  

Against a backdrop of growing democratic fragility in West Africa, it is vital for President Talon to contribute to reversing the trend, as he had previously indicated. The president had previously condemned the coup in Niger and stated that constitutional must be restored in the country by ‘all means if necessary’. With Benin standing out as one of the more stable democracies in the region, it is imperative for the president to prevent any form of democratic backsliding in the country⎈

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