A wave of Gen Z-led protests has forced Madagascar’s former president Andry Rajoelina from power and out of the country ushering in a new administration led by Colonel Michael Randrianirina, who was sworn in as president last month after his military unit sided with demonstrators.
Sitting in his new office at the presidential palace, the 47-year-old colonel appears both reflective and cautious.
“It is a great honour to serve the Malagasy people, especially those living in deep poverty,” he said quietly.
Randrianirina, who previously commanded the Corps d’Administration des Personnels et des Services de l’Armée de Terre (CAPSAT) an elite, non-combatant army unit rose to prominence after publicly supporting the youth-led protests. On October 11, 2025, he posted a video online urging fellow officers to ignore shoot-to-kill orders and stand with the people.
At least 22 protesters were killed and over 100 injured during weeks of demonstrations denouncing worsening power cuts, water shortages, and widespread corruption in the resource-rich but impoverished island nation.
“I am a soldier, but also a citizen,” Randrianirina said. “When your people are suffering and you’re ordered to harm them, that’s not honour it’s betrayal. I did not join the military to kill my fellow Malagasy.”
Following his viral appeal, soldiers refused to disperse protesters who had occupied Place du 13 Mai Square in the heart of Antananarivo. Randrianirina soon joined them, addressing the crowd from an armoured vehicle:
“The president must leave,” he declared. “If that does not happen, we will act.”
Days later, Rajoelina fled the country on October 23, 2025. The National Assembly swiftly voted to impeach him for “desertion of duty.” Three days after, Randrianirina, flanked by senior officers, announced the dissolution of the constitution and all government institutions except the National Assembly, declaring that the military had assumed interim control.
The African Union responded by suspending Madagascar’s membership, citing the unconstitutional transfer of power.
Now seated in the presidential palace, Colonel Randrianirina insists the takeover was not a coup.
“This was not about seizing power it was about preventing civil war and protecting our people,” he said. “We acted to restore peace and unity after the president abandoned his responsibilities.”
Whether his government can stabilise the nation and deliver on the hopes of a generation that brought it to power remains to be seen.
