2003 São Tomé and Príncipe coup d'état

A faction of the armed forces of São Tomé and Príncipe led by Major Fernando "Cobó" Pereira overthrew the country's government in a coup d'état on 16 July 2003. It was São Tomé and Príncipe's second military coup following a similar revolt in 1995. The coup leaders claimed the coup was a response to government corruption and growing poverty.

The bloodless coup was conducted while President Fradique de Menezes was out of the country on a private trip to Nigeria, which Menezes's opponents had accused of having corrupt ties to him. Prime Minister Maria das Neves and other government ministers were detained in military barracks, and the coup leaders declared a military junta. The coup was backed by the Christian Democratic Front, an extra-parliamentary political party whose leadership consisted mostly of participants in a failed coup attempt in 1988, as well as former members of South Africa's 32 "Buffalo" Battalion.

Although Pereira and his co-conspirators initially succeeded in seizing power, international pressure and the threat of a foreign military intervention forced the junta to negotiate an immediate settlement. The coup ended a week later on 22 July, with a number of concessions made to the benefit of the military and ex-Buffalo soldiers.

In the months leading up to the coup, President Fradique de Menezes had been in political deadlock with the country's parliament, the National Assembly. Following the 3 March 2002 parliamentary election, Menezes appointed Gabriel Costa of the Independent Democratic Action (ADI) party as prime minister to lead a coalition government that included all the parties in the National Assembly.^[1] However, on 27 September he dismissed the Costa government and on 3 October replaced Costa with Maria das Neves of the Movement for the Liberation of São Tomé and Príncipe – Social Democratic Party (MLSTP–PSD). The move costed Menezes the support of his own party, the Force for Change Democratic Movement (MDFM), and the National Assembly became almost entirely opposed to Menezes.^[1]

Consequently in late October, opposition parties tabled a motion to revise the constitution, ostensibly to fix ambiguities that they blamed for conflict between the president and National Assembly since 1991.^[1] The amendments, which would be effective after the completion of Menzes's term in 2006, aimed to curtail the powers of the president and increase the influence of the National Assembly.^[2] In December 2002, 52 of the 55 deputies of the National Assembly voted in favour of the amendments, prompting Menzes to denounce and veto the amendments, as well as demand a national referendum on the revised constitution.^[2] The National Assembly ignored Menezes's demand and its deputies reaffirmed their vote and approved the new constitution a second time on 17 January 2003. In response, Menzes dissolved the National Assembly on 21 January and called for early elections on 13 April.^[3][4] However, the two parties quickly came to a memorandum of understanding on 24 January; Menzes pledged to promulgate the amendments, while the National Assembly agreed to hold a national referendum on the country's system of government at the end of Menzes's presidential term in 2006.^[3][5]

Conflict between Menzes and the National Assembly continued despite the memorandum of understanding, and in April 2003 an open later signed by Menzes's opponents was published, accusing Menzes of corruption, incompetence, and lacking transparency. In particular, his opponents highlighted a US$100,000 transfer from Nigerian Chrome Oil Services to the Belgian bank account of a São Tomé–based private company owned by Menzes.^[3] Menzes subsequently held a three-hour press conference attacking the character of the letter's signatories and explaining that the transfer had been a political donation split evenly between the MDFM and the Democratic Convergence Party (PCD). The president had inadvertently admitted to violating the country's laws, which forbid political parties from receiving money from foreign companies.^[6]

In December 1990, Afonso dos Santos, who led the failed coup attempt of 1988, founded the Christian Democratic Front (FDC) to contest the country's first multi-party elections that were taking place the following month.^[7] The FDC failed to secure any seats and remained extra-parliamentary up until the 2003 coup.^[6] The FDC leadership consisted mostly of other participants in the 1988 coup, many of whom fought for South Africa's 32 "Buffalo" Battalion, during the apartheid era. The former soldiers felt entitled to compensation for their service abroad, and by the time das Neves withdrew government support for them in June 2003, they had already been planning a coup for seven months.^[8] Das Neves had been vocally against successive governments' support for the ex-Buffalo soldiers, who she claimed were lazy and dependent, and had demanded from her government $70,000 in cash and a medium-sized farm. The FDC had also demanded $130,000 from the government as compensation for a rebel boat that was confiscated after the 1988 coup attempt. Defence Minister Bragança Neto offered $50,000 in a failed attempt to appease the FDC.^[9]

The FDC found an important ally in Major Fernando "Cobó" Pereira, who headed the general staff of the armed forces.^[6] Pereira was vocal about his dissatisfaction with the state of the military, which had substandard barracks, outdated equipment, and salaries paid in arrears.^[6] A month before the coup, Pereira sent a letter with the military's demands to Menzes and the National Assembly, but he never received a reply back. The FDC were aware of Pereira's grievances and received his support for a coup.^[10]

Menezes was out of the country, on a private trip to a conference in the Nigerian capital Abuja, when the bloodless coup began on 16 July 2003.^[6][11] Pereira led around 200 São Toméan and 16 ex–Buffalo soldiers in securing strategic sites and detaining government ministers at the Quartel do Morro barracks.^[8] Das Neves was hospitalised after suffering a heart attack during a gunfight at her home.^[12] The coup leaders – Pereira, FDC president Alércio Costa, and FDC vice-president Sabino dos Santos – subsequently declared a military junta, the Junta of National Salvation. Costa was an ex-Buffalo soldier, and dos Santos participated in the 1988 coup attempt.^[10] In a press conference thereafter, Pereira said the military was not interested in holding on to power and would hold early elections as soon as possible.^[12] He and his co-conspirators cited government corruption, growing discontent among the population, and the widening gap between the rich and poor as the reasons for their rebellion. The coup received a mix reaction from the São Toméan public, with some supporting the coup's goals, but others disapproving the use of violence.^[10]

The coup was swiftly condemned by São Tomé and Príncipe's African and Western donor countries, which urged the restoration to power of the civilian government. The junta rejected the condemnations as hypocrisy, arguing that São Tomé and Príncipe was a sham democracy because foreign vote buying had unduly influenced the country's elections. The junta, however, was not only isolated internationally, but it also lacked support from major political forces within the country.^[10] Fearing a foreign military intervention, the junta began negotiating with international mediators from Nigeria, Portugal, South Africa (to negotiate with the ex-Buffalo soldiers^[13]), the United States, the African Union, the Economic Community of Central African States (CEEAC), and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries. Rodolphe Adada, the foreign minister of the Republic of the Congo, was the chief coordinator during the negotiations, as his country held the rotational presidency of the CEEAC at the time.^[10]

The coup ended with the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Pereira, Menezes, and Adada on 22 July.^[10][13] Menezes had returned to the country together with Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, underscoring Nigeria's interest in the reinstatement of Menezes. The memorandum stipulated a number of concessions to the coup plotters, most importantly a general amnesty and a commitment by the government to improve the conditions of the military and address the grievances of the former Buffalo soldiers.^[14] Menezes also had to concede on a number of issues as a precondition to his reinstatement; he promised to "respect the constitution and the separation of powers" and approve a law proposed by the National Assembly on "the proper use of oil revenue".^[15] Public funds were also to be managed transparently by the government, and the junta was assured that no foreign military intervention would take place in the future.^[14]

São Tomé and Príncipe expert Gerhard Seibert commented in 2006 that the memorandum had "safeguarded primarily the corporate demands of the military and the ex-Buffalo soldiers, while political claims were almost absent", and "despite its particularities the 2003 coup was very similar to the previous military takeover in 1995".^[15] He also suggested that international interest in a quick resolution to the conflict may have been because of São Tomé and Príncipe's presumed oil wealth.^[10]

• History of São Tomé and Príncipe
• 2022 São Tomé and Príncipe coup attempt