- Credible media sources, including local ones, have reported that the news about the coup was fake.
- This year alone, Junta has taken over power in Niger and Gabon, indicating a surge in coup d'états across the African continent.
Image: BBC
There was no coup in Congo Brazzaville on Sunday, September 17, 2023. The Minister of Communication and Media Thierry Moungalla has said.
Through an X post ( formerly Twitter) in French, Moungalla said the government has denied such an event, urging Congo Brazzaville's citizens to stay calm and go about their daily activities.
“Urgent - Des informations fantaisistes évoquent des événements graves qui seraient en cours à #Brazzaville. Le Gouvernement dément ces fake news. Nous rassurons l’opinion sur le calme qui règne et invitons les populations à vaquer sereinement à leurs activités. #ComGouvCg,” he said.
This is translated to: “Urgent - Fanciful information suggests serious events that are underway in #Brazzaville. The Government denies this fake news. We reassure the public that the calm that reigns and invite people to calmly go about their activities. #ComGouvCg”.
The fake news started circulating on social media on Sunday evening, with one X user Chinasa Nworu saying the military had seized control of key installations of the country’s capital Brazzaville.
“The Military in #Congo #Brazzaville has just toppled the government of President Denis Sassou Nguesso who is away from #Congo and is in New York to attend the UNGA. The military seizes control of key installations in the capital Brazzaville. According to preliminary data, the initiator of the coup is a certain commander of the presidential guard,” the X post read.
Credible media sources, including local ones, have reported that the news about the coup was fake.
LePrince Idad Majesty, a journalist from Congo, Brazzaville who spoke to the Star, verified that there was no coup in the country and that citizens were going on with their daily activities evens as the fake news broke on Social media.
“Nothing happened, the whole country found out the news from Social Media, as Journalist, we called our credible sources, and they disputed the claim, everyone was going on with their businesses,” LePrince Majesty told the Star in a direct message.
This year alone, Junta has taken over power in Niger and Gabon, indicating a surge in coup d'états across the African continent.
This fact check was published by The Star, Kenya, with technical support from Code for Africa’s PesaCheck newsdesk, through the African Fact-Checking Alliance (AFCA).