Jim Hoagland of The Washington Post described Kouandété as a "moody, brilliant and highly ambitious soldier".

He handed power to Alphonse Alley two days later, and forced him to retire in 1968 in favor of Kouandété's choice, Emile Derlin Zinsou.

Kouandété was appointed chief of staff of Dahomey's 1,500-man army and launched another coup against Zinsou, on 10 December 1969, to defend it.

The military did not recognise Kouandété as legitimate, and the elections that followed paved the way toward a Presidential Council form of government.

[4] He began to rebel against superior officers such as Colonels Christophe Soglo and Alphonse Alley as well as, by extension, the entire Fon hierarchy, who dominated the Dahomeyan military.

They were spurred by the historical resentment shared by members of the former kingdoms of Abomey, Porto Novo, and disorganised tribes from the north.

[2] In April, Kouandété became the vice president of the Comité Militaire de Vigilance, which was established to manage the Soglo administration.

[18] Because the two men could stop quarreling, a Military Directorate was established with Paul Emile de Souza as its chairman,[19] Kouandete a member, and Col. Benoit Sinzogan of the Gendarmie the occupant of the third seat.

This time, veteran politicians Hubert Maga, Sourou-Migan Apithy, and Justin Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin were allowed to campaign in this election, and they took advantage of the opportunity.

Violent outbursts accompanied these campaigns; unvalidated reports state that six people were killed were wounded at incidents in Parakou on the eve of the elections.

[21] The elections were later annulled, and a presidential council, which consisted of Maga, Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin, and Apithy, was set up on 7 May with a presidency that changed every two years.

[22] Kouandété had his Chief of Staff status revoked and was forced to be an aide of Alley, who was recently let out of jail.

[24] According to its findings, Captains Glélé and Pierre Boni were going to follow Kouandété until de Souza was assassinated, and would then kill their leader and insert Zinsou back into power.

The court tried 21 men in addition to Kouandété,[note 1][27] mostly military officers but also several commoners and Maga bodyguards.

According to a government press release, the mourning was held "in recognition of exceptional services" that Kouandété provided Benin.