Guinea-Bissau: General Sadji Fati removed from the palace as the junta prunes Embaló's inner circle

General Horta N'Tam, head of the ruling junta in Guinea-Bissau, has dismissed Lieutenant-General Sadji Fati, who headed the presidential civil office in Bissau, according to a decree consulted by AFP and reported on October 15, 2026, by Le360 Afrique. The text specifies that the measure takes effect immediately. No replacement has been announced.

The position is not merely ceremonial: the civil office manages the presidential palace, both on the civilian and military sides. Sadji Fati had previously served as Minister of Defense and then as a military advisor to former President Umaro Sissoco Embaló. His departure continues a series of removals of figures from the former administration.

A methodical purge

On October 6, 2026, Decree No. 22/2026 had already dismissed the Minister of the Interior, Brigadier General Mamasaliu Embaló, and the Minister for Fisheries and Maritime Economy, Maria da Cruz Correia, both of whom were appointed in late November 2025, reports the Senegalese media outlet Emedia. The mayor of Bissau, Umaro Baldé, a former leader of a movement supporting Umaro Sissoco Embaló, was also removed. Members of the presidential guard, known to be loyal to the former head of state, have been disarmed and placed under the control of the general staff, according to Le360.

The electoral calendar in limbo

Umaro Sissoco Embaló was overthrown on November 26, 2025, the day before the scheduled publication of the provisional results of the presidential and legislative elections, the process of which was suspended. Many observers suspect that the former president himself orchestrated this coup to escape defeat; he currently lives in exile in Morocco, and the junta cites "security conditions" to prevent his return.

The transition promises a return to civilian rule through presidential and legislative elections set for December 6, 2026. However, on October 8, 2026, the National Electoral Commission stated that the conditions were not met to hold them, according to Le360. The country has experienced four successful coups and several attempts since its independence from Portugal in 1974.

For Bissau-Guineans, the stakes go beyond the names written on the decrees. Every week gained by the transition is another week without an elected parliament or a president chosen at the ballot box, in an ECOWAS member state where the army has made a habit of arbitrating political life. The question is not who is leaving the palace, but whether the December vote will actually take place.