The son of Gabonese former president Ali Bongo Ondimba, Noureddin Bongo Valentin, and numerous members of his government have been imprisoned and charged with “high treason” and “active corruption,” according to the Libreville prosecutor.
Ali Bongo’s eldest son, former presidential spokeswoman Jessye Ella Ekogha, and four others were “indicted on Tuesday and remanded in custody,” according to André-Patrick Roponat, the public prosecutor in Gabon’s capital.
The military, led by General Brice Oligui Nguema, overthrew Ali Bongo on August 30th, less than an hour after the announcement in the middle of the night of his re-election. Ali Bongo had been in power since 2009 and was accused of massive fraud.
The military specifically accused his regime of “massive misappropriation” of public funds.
The military detained five other young top officials from the office of the former president and his wife Sylvia Bongo Valentin on the very day of the coup, along with one of the deposed head of state’s sons. They were seen at the foot of trunks, suitcases, and bags filled to the brim with bundles of cash during searches of their residences, which were widely televised on state television.
The government claims that Mrs. Bongo Valentin is under house arrest in Libreville “for her protection,” but her attorneys claim that she has been “arbitrarily detained.”
General Oligui stated on September 6 that Ali Bongo, who had been first kept under house arrest in Libreville for many days following the putsch, is now “free to move about” and had the option of “traveling abroad.”
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