Gabon’s General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema has struggled with military and civilian protocol

On one foreign visit, he showed up at the host’s presidential palace with a pistol openly strapped to his hip.

On another occasion, he shook hands with a visiting envoy while sitting down.

Bad manners, perhaps. But he has been learning politics fast since seizing power in a bloodless coup on August 30 last year.

Now peace talks are under way that should lead to constitutional and institutional reforms in the country, the last on the continent to suffer a coup.

The Central African country is one of several countries on the continent under military rule, the others being Chad, Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea and Niger. All but Chad have been suspended from AU activities for engineering unconstitutional changes of power.

Convened by the junta leader himself and chaired by Monsignor Jean-Patrick Iba-Ba, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Libreville, the month-long peace talks began on April 2 and will continue until April 30.

Return to civilian rule

Organisers say the dialogue will pave the way for a return to civilian rule with the drafting of a new constitution to be approved in a referendum on a date to be set by the military leader before the country holds presidential elections next year.

The junta had suspended the constitution of March 26, 1991, which established the democratic regime in Gabon, and dissolved all democratic institutions created under the same law.