- By Thomas Naadi & Paul Njie
- BBC News, Libreville & Yaounde
Ali Bongo managed to launch a video from home arrest, calling for assist
Gabon’s navy leaders say they’ve freed deposed President Ali Bongo from home arrest, the place he has been since they seized energy final week.
This consists of permission to journey overseas for medical check-ups.
He suffered a stroke in 2018 and his well being was a significant supply of concern for a lot of within the build-up to the 2023 presidential election.
The military seized energy shortly after he had been declared the winner of that election, disputed by the opposition.
The announcement to free Mr Bongo follows strain from regional bloc Eccas and neighbouring nations.
In a communique learn on state TV on Wednesday night, navy spokesperson Col Ulrich Manfoumbi mentioned the choice to free Mr Bongo was as a consequence of “his state of well being”.
“He might, if he needs, journey overseas for medical check-ups,” he added.
Mr Bongo had been in energy within the oil-rich nation since 2009, when he succeeded his father who had dominated the nation for 41 years.
The coup has been extensively condemned in Africa and the West, together with by France, the previous colonial energy which had shut ties to the Bongo household. Gabon has been suspended from the African Union.
However, the elimination of the Bongo household after almost 56 years in energy was welcomed by many Gabonese.
Since the junta’s announcement that it was releasing Mr Bongo, there have been requires him to face justice over allegations of corruption.
A seven-year corruption investigation by French police into the Bongo household, which revealed belongings together with 39 properties in France and 9 luxurious automobiles, was dropped in 2017. The household strongly denied all of the allegations.
“Ali Bongo should face justice,” Bouloungui Mouanda Ulrich informed the BBC within the capital, Libreville.
Another resident, Koumbi Anold, mentioned he did not have an issue that the ousted president was being freed however agreed he ought to face justice.
“We are ready, we at the moment are a free folks, we would like work,” he mentioned.
Shortly after the coup, a number of allies of the ousted president had been arrested, together with Mr Bongo’s 31-year-old son Noureddin Bongo Valentin, who has been accused of excessive treason and corruption. National TV has proven pictures of him and different shut Bongo allies in entrance of suitcases of money it mentioned had been seized from their houses. They haven’t commented on the allegations.
It’s unclear the place Mr Bongo will go however a possible vacation spot could be Morocco the place he had beforehand obtained remedy for his stroke.
He enjoys shut ties with Morocco’s King Mohammed VI and in addition reportedly owns a villa within the palm grove of Marrakesh.
Coup chief Gen Brice Oligui Nguema was sworn in as transitional president on Monday. He vowed to return the nation to civilian rule after free and truthful elections however didn’t give a timetable for the switch of energy.
The junta launched different political prisoners, together with pro-democracy activist and chief of essentially the most highly effective commerce union confederation, Jean Rémi Yama, earlier this week.
