Guinea-Bissau opposition leader summoned to military court over coup allegations

Guinea-Bissau’s main opposition leader, Domingos Simões Pereira, has been summoned to appear before a military court, accused of links to multiple coup plots, according to judicial and military sources.

Pereira, head of the PAIGC party that led Guinea-Bissau to independence in 1974, was arrested during the November coup that toppled President Umaro Sissoco Embaló, just days after presidential elections.

Although released last month, he remains under house arrest over separate financial crime investigations. Now, the military says he’s suspected of involvement in at least two attempted coups, in late 2023 and October 2025.

Guinea-Bissau has suffered five coups since independence, with chronic poverty, corruption, and drug trafficking fueling ongoing instability.