BISSAU, — Domingos Simões Pereira, leader of Guinea-Bissau’s historic PAIGC party, has appeared before military investigators over allegations linking him to attempted coup plots in late 2023 and October 2025, according to officials and local reporting. A senior military source said there were “many suspicions” of Pereira’s involvement in what were described as “subversive actions,” but no detailed formal indictment has been made public so far.
Pereira was first detained during the November 2025 military takeover that removed President Umaro Sissoco Embaló. He was released on January 31, 2026, but remains under house arrest while separate financial-crime investigations continue. His legal team has denounced the process as politically charged, saying Pereira has never supported unconstitutional seizures of power.
The case unfolds amid prolonged instability in Guinea-Bissau, a country with a long record of coups and attempted coups since independence in 1974. Recent political turmoil has deepened uncertainty over the electoral process and the balance of power between military authorities and civilian actors.
PAIGC offices in Bissau have also remained effectively shut in parts of the post-coup period, adding to tensions between the military authorities and opposition structures. The military-led authorities have presented the investigation as a national security matter. Opposition figures and civil-society observers, however, argue that the inquiry risks being seen as selective justice in a context where the legitimacy of post-coup institutions remains contested.
