By Emmanuel Nduka Obisue
Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina has revealed that he fled the country to escape an alleged assassination plot amid intensifying protests and growing military dissent.
In a Facebook broadcast on Monday, Rajoelina said his life had been in danger since late September.
“Since 25 September, there have been attempts on my life and coup attempts. A group of military personnel and politicians planned to assassinate me,” he said.
While he did not disclose his current location, the president explained that he left to protect himself. “I was forced to find a safe place to protect my life. There is only one way to resolve these issues; that is to respect the constitution in force in the country,” he added.
According to Reuters, a French military aircraft transported Rajoelina out of Madagascar on Sunday, reportedly after he struck a deal with French President Emmanuel Macron. The report said a French Army Casa aircraft landed at Sainte Marie airport before a helicopter arrived to transfer the president aboard.
The development came as protests entered their third week, sparked initially by widespread water and electricity shortages but now demanding Rajoelina’s resignation. Despite the president’s plea for calm and calls for dialogue, demonstrations have persisted across the country, with security forces accused of using excessive force.
Before his flight, Rajoelina had dissolved his cabinet in a bid to ease tensions and appealed to citizens for “one year” to fix the country’s infrastructure woes, promising to resign if he failed.
However, the protests escalated after CAPSAT — a key unit of Madagascar’s army that played a pivotal role in the 2019 coup, publicly declared support for the demonstrators and warned other security forces not to “blindly follow unlawful orders”.
At least 22 people have been killed and over a hundred injured since the protests began, according to the United Nations.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, expressed alarm over the situation, saying he was “shocked at the violent response by security forces to the ongoing protests”. He urged the authorities to “ensure respect for freedom of expression and peaceful assembly”.
