On 12 October 2025, CAPSAT, an elite unit of the Madagascar Armed Forces, overthrew the government of former President Andry Rajoelina, the culmination of a protest movement which began in late September. The unit urged the rest of the military to join them and the capital Antananarivo was seized with little resistance. Later that day, the president of the Senate was removed and CAPSAT’s nominee for chief of the armed forces was accepted by the civilian authorities.
CAPSAT (French: Corps d’administration des personnels et des services administratifs et techniques) is an elite unit of the Madagascar Armed Forces based in the Soanierana district on the outskirts of Antananarivo. It played a major role in the 2009 mutiny which brought Rajoelina to power.
Former President Andry Rajoelina fled the country under disputed circumstances shortly after that, and from an undisclosed location ordered the dissolution of the National Assembly the next day. The legislative body ignored Rajoelina and proceeded to impeach him. Later that day, the military announced that it was taking power and dissolved numerous political institutions except the National Assembly. On 17 October, CAPSAT colonel Michael Randrianirina was inaugurated as 9th president.
On 15 October, the official government television station in Madagascar, Malagasy state television announced that Colonel Michael Randrianirina would be inaugurated on 17 October as President of Madagascar during a session of the High Constitutional Court. He was inaugurated on the said date as planned.
During his inaugural speech at the High Constitutional Court, Randrianirina said it marked a “historic turning point” for Madagascar and expressed his determination to “break with the past” and “open a new chapter in the nation’s life.” Randrianirina thanked the Gen Z protestors. He stated that his first three priorities would be an investigation into the water and power company ‘Jirama’, rice farming, and appointing a prime minister and government.
This Monday, the new Head of State Col Michael Randrianirina named businessman Herintsalama Rajaonarivelo as his prime minister. But in a statement on Facebook, Gen Z Mada said the appointment was made in a “non-transparent” manner and “without consultation”.
The leaders of Madagascar’s Gen Z movement, whose protests helped topple President Andry Rajoelina, say they disapprove of the prime minister appointed by the country’s new ruler.
Gen Z Mada added that the decision “runs contrary to the desired structural change” the movement was seeking. The group has demanded to know how Rajaonarivelo was selected given what it says was his connection to the previous government.
Before last weekend, if you’d have asked about Col Michael Randrianirina on the island of Madagascar, you’d have got a lot of blank looks. In just a few days, however, he has become the most powerful person in country and has now been sworn in as president.
Randrianirina’s sudden ascent began last Saturday, when as the head of Madagascar’s elite CAPSAT army unit, he drove with his troops into the centre of the capital city, joining thousands of protesters who had long been demanding the president’s resignation.
After former President Andry Rajoelina eventually fled the city and MPs voted to impeach him, 51-year-old Randrianirina stood in front of the vacant presidential palace and informed the world’s media that CAPSAT was taking over. The Constitutional Court then declared that he was the country’s new ruler, even though the ousted president still insists that he remains in charge.
Randrianirina carries a rare air of mystery – for the leader of the country’s most powerful military unit, there is not much information about him in the public domain.
What we do know is that he was born in 1974 in Sevohipoty, a village in the southern Androy region.
He later became the governor of Androy, serving between 2016 and 2018 under former President Hery Rajaonarimampianina. Then, Randrianirina became head of an infantry battalion in the city of Toliara, a position he held until 2022.
He was a vocal critic of Rajoelina, an entrepreneur who took power via a coup in 2009, stepped down in 2013, then returned five years later after winning elections. Randrianirina was jailed in a maximum-security prison without trial in November 2023, accused of inciting a mutiny and planning a coup.
Student groups, fellow soldiers and politicians were among those who argued Randrianirina had been imprisoned for unfair political reasons, and he was released in February the following year.
Just hours before announcing he was taking over Madagascar on Tuesday, Randrianirina told the BBC he was a mere “servant” of the people. He exuded charm, hospitality, confidence – but not arrogance.
The colonel is also known to be a staunch Christian. Malagasy journalist Rivonala Razafison describes him as “simple but tough”, “straightforward” and “patriotic”.
Randrianirina certainly has thoughts about his country and how it is still influenced by France, which was Madagascar’s colonial master until 1960.
