Africa is seeing yet another scenario, of a Government being replaced by another by force. Since the beginning of the year, there has been a protracted struggle in Magadascar, between the incumbent president and the mayor of the capital of that country.

This is nothing short of a coup with a difference. We have seen coups by the military. What we are seeing now is a coup led by a mayor, a civillian. But it is still a coup.

The military largely kept off, although they refused to take orders from the President. The military infact went ahead and occupied some Government offices in the city, while the president is holed up in the outskirts of the city.

Predictably, the African Union has largely kept quiet, and only indicated they would meet to discuss what they have termed as the worsening situation.

The fear for Africa, is that this could lead to other situations in other countries. It could happen in other countries where the opposition refuses to accept the outcome of election results and resort to civil disobedience to force the incumbent out of office and take over power.

It may be possible that there are true grievances against the incumbent president, but these civillian or even military coups are not democratic. They should not be allowed; not in Africa or anywhere else. They are a blow to the fledgling democratic process in Africa.