The Wonga Coup (2009)
“But the misery of the plotters had just begun. Reaction to the coup attempt was fierce and furious in Malabo. Just as soldiers took to the streets in 1973 after the abandoned ‘dogs of war’ coup attempt, the mood darkened in 2004. Many innocent people were promptly rounded up. Equatorial Guinea draws large numbers of foreign workers – especially traders from Cameroon, Gabon, Ghana and Nigeria – to keep the economy moving. After the failed coup, many were intimidated and attacked. On 13 March Obi...ang said the coup plotters planned to turn ‘our city into a blood bath’. He told his people to suspect all outsiders and ordered ‘operation clean-up’ to expel illegal immigrants. Rich foreigners, notably South Africans who had the misfortune to be in Malabo at the time, were put under hotel arrest. Gangs of xenophobic youths threatened migrant workers in the street, demanding their papers. Many ordinary people were chased from the country. A senior official later told the ruling party’s newspaper, Ebano, that citizens should beware of foreigners and ‘commandos’, who ‘are more highly trained than an ordinary military officer … [and] were going to come into Equatorial Guinea under the effects of drugs, and so they were not going to have pity on anyone.MoreLess
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