Crowds flock for an audience with Madagascar's new military leader

Colonel Michael Randrianirina (C) from the mutinied CAPSAT military contingent speaks to an audience in Antananarivo on October 16, 2025. [AFP]

Colonel Michael Randrianirina had already become the face of Madagascar's military mutiny when he stood in uniform outside the presidential palace on Tuesday and told AFP the army had "taken power".

The 51-year-old commander with a history of opposing President Andry Rajoelina stepped into the limelight Saturday as leader of the mutinied CAPSAT contingent, declaring in a video statement they would "refuse orders to shoot" on anti-government demonstrators.