Former Benin police chief detained on ‘rebellion’ charge

A former Benin police chief turned government critic has been detained pending trial on a charge of “incitement to rebellion”, judicial sources told AFP on Friday.

General Louis Philippe Houndegnon was arrested less than two months after several prominent government figures were detained and accused of plotting a coup.

Houndegnon was influential under former president Thomas Boni Yayi but was sacked in 2016 by his successor President Patrice Talon.

Two sources close to the former police chief told AFP that he was in good spirits and calm, while he awaits the start of his trial on December 16.

Political tensions are mounting in Benin, a small West African nation of 11 million people, with apparent fractures in Talon’s governing camp.

The president will come to the end of his second and, under the rules of the constitution, final term in 2026.

In September, two of his most prominent supporters, businessman Olivier Boko and former sports minister Oswald Homeky, were accused of plotting to seize power.

Once seen as a thriving multi-party democracy, Benin has become increasingly authoritarian since Talon came to power in 2016, critics say.