Protesters celebrating in Antananarivo last October over the toppling of the previous government. Now many are concerned the old, corrupt elite is back in a different guise. Photograph: Luis Tato/AFP/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Protesters celebrating in Antananarivo last October over the toppling of the previous government. Now many are concerned the old, corrupt elite is back in a different guise. Photograph: Luis Tato/AFP/Getty Images Madagascar Arrests fuel fears among Madagascar’s gen Z protesters that new regime no better than one they overthrew Jubilation is turning to disenchantment as young activists arrested after protest calling for election date to be set Rachel Savage in Johannesburg Mon 20 Apr 2026 05.00 BST Last modified on Tue 21 Apr 2026 05.08 BST Share Prefer the Guardian on Google The arrest of several protesters in Madagascar has increased fears among young people that the military regime that took power last year after huge Gen Z demonstrations will be no better than the government it overthrew. Four Gen Z activists, Herizo Andriamanantena, Miora Rakotomalala, Dina Randrianarisoa and Nomena Ratsihorimanana, were arrested on 12 April, one of their lawyers said, two days after taking part in a protest calling for an election date to be set. They are accused of offences related to undermining state security and criminal conspiracy, said Aliarivelo Maromanana. “They’ve all denied it and there’s no evidence whatsoever,” he said. Col Michael Randrianirina came to power in a coup in October 2025 after weeks of youth-led protests under the banner Gen Z Madagascar. His spokesperson, Harry Laurent Rahajason, asked about the arrests, said: “Here in Madagascar there is what we call the separation of powers. So the presidency has nothing to do with cases dealt with by the national police.” Two of the activists were released and admitted to hospital on Tuesday, Maromanana said. On Friday, only Herizo, the group’s leader, was still in detention. Local media quoted the national police as saying that the activists were not harmed or intimidated during detention and the two in hospital had taken ill. Two more activists were arrested on Wednesday night, Gen Z 261, one of the groups that emerged from the previously leaderless Gen Z Madagascar movement, said on Thursday. No further information was available about their detention. Young people had been jubilant when the previous president, Andry Rajoelina, fled in October. However, many have since become disenchanted by Randrianirina’s choice of government officials, whom they see as being part of the old, corrupt elite; a lack of economic reforms; and the new regime’s closeness to Russia. The arrests raise “serious concerns around the respect for fundamental freedoms,” said Ketakandriana Rafitoson, a Transparency International Madagascar board member. “It is a pattern we saw under the previous administration and one that many hoped would be broken with the transition. So [last] Friday’s protests were a test for this regime and they failed it.” View image in fullscreen Members of the Madagascar army gather with celebrating protesters in Antananarivo during last October’s coup. Photograph: Luis Tato/AFP/Getty Images Madagascar, an Indian Ocean island of 32 million people, is rich in biodiversity and natural resources, including vanilla, rubies and sapphires. However, the former French colony has been bedevilled by coups and corruption, as well as cyclones and droughts that have been made worse by the climate crisis. In 2024, it was the fifth poorest country in the world, with a GDP per capita of $545 (£403), according to the World Bank . September’s protests erupted after two councillors in the capital, Antananarivo, were arrested for protesting against water and electricity outages. Since the regime change, these services have not substantively improved, said Elliot Randriamandrato, a leader of Gen Z Madagasikara, another Gen Z Madagascar group. He said: “For the momen