From prison to the presidential palace: Who is Colonel Michael Randrianirina, the new military leader of Madagascar?
Before last weekend, if you had asked anyone on the island of Madagascar about Colonel Michael Randrianirina, you would have received many puzzled looks.
But in just a few days, he had become the most powerful person in the country and was inaugurated as president, the BBC reports. Randrianirina’s sudden rise began last Saturday when, as head of Madagascar’s elite CAPSAT military unit, he led his troops into the center of the capital, joining thousands of protesters who had long called for the president’s resignation.
After Andry Rajoelina finally fled the city and lawmakers voted to remove him, Randrianirina, 51, appeared in front of the vacant presidential palace and informed the world’s media that CAPSAT was taking power.
The Constitutional Court then declared him the new leader of the country, even though the ousted president still insists that he remains in power. Randrianirina has a rare aura of mystery – for the leader of the most powerful military unit in the country, there is not much information about him in the public domain.
A servant of the people What we do know is that he was born in 1974 in Sevohipoty, a village in the Androy region, in the south of the country. He later became governor of the Androy region, holding this position between 2016 and 2018 under former President Hery Rajaonarimampianina. Randrianirina then became the head of an infantry battalion in the city of Toliara, a position he held until 2022.
He was a vocal critic of Rajoelina, a businessman who seized power in a coup in 2009, resigned in 2013, then returned five years later after winning elections. Randrianirina was imprisoned in a maximum security prison without trial in November 2023, accused of inciting rebellion and planning a coup.
Student groups, fellow soldiers, and politicians were among those who claimed that Randrianirina was imprisoned for unjust political reasons, and he was released in February of the following year.
Just hours before announcing he would take power in Madagascar on Tuesday, Randrianirina told the BBC he was a simple “servant” of the people.
He exuded charm, hospitality, confidence, but no arrogance. The colonel is also known as a staunch Christian. Malagasy journalist Rivonala Razafison describes him as “simple but tough”, “direct” and “patriotic”.
Randrianirina certainly has opinions about her country and how it is still influenced by France, which was Madagascar’s colonial power until 1960.
When offered the opportunity to answer BBC questions in French, an official language in Madagascar, Randrianirina replied: “Why can’t I speak my language, Malagasy?”, adding that she doesn’t like glorifying the colonial language.
“We commit to breaking with the past” The CAPSAT leader told local media that, going forward, his priority is “social welfare” – an urgent issue in a country where approximately 75% of the population lives below the poverty line.
He said the military would govern for a maximum of two years alongside a civilian government, before holding elections. After a tumultuous few days, the colonel was sworn in in a ceremony in which he certainly looked like a president, ditching his military uniform in favor of a smart suit, with an official scarf and a star of office pinned to his jacket.
“We are committed to breaking with the past,” he said, promising to get to work immediately to address the root causes of the Gen Z protests – anger over persistent electricity and water shortages.
He put on his sunglasses as he left the Constitutional Court after taking the oath and confidently entered the front of the press to announce that an investigation into the state-owned electricity and water company had been launched. It appears he intends to take no prisoners in his mission to reform the Indian Ocean island nation.
