Just In : Wife Of Gabon’s Deposed Leader Ali Bongo Sent To Jail (DETAILS)
Since the coup that took place in late August, Sylvia Bongo Ondimba Valentin, the wife of Gabon’s deposed President Ali Bongo Ondimba, who has been under house arrest, has now been incarcerated, as confirmed by her lawyer on Thursday.
She is suspected of embezzling public funds and was detained on Wednesday, a move that her lawyer, Francois Zimeray, denounced as an “arbitrary and illegal procedure.”
On September 28, Bongo’s wife was charged with money laundering, forgery, and falsification of records. She has been confined to her residence in the capital, Libreville, since the coup on August 30, which brought an end to the 55-year-long Bongo dynasty
The coup leaders allege that the former head of state and his circle manipulated election results. They accuse Sylvia Bongo and her son, Nourredin Bongo Valentin, of exerting undue influence over the former president, who has not fully recovered from a severe stroke in 2018.
It is claimed that the two have effectively governed the oil-rich nation for the past five years and have misappropriated public funds. Nourredin Bongo Valentin has been in detention since the coup, facing corruption charges.
Lawyer Zimeray stated, “We condemn this unlawful procedure. There is a distinction between justice and arbitrary actions, between the law and revenge.”
The public prosecutor in Libreville has not yet responded to an AFP request for comment.
Ali Bongo, 64, who had been in power since 2009, was ousted by military leaders shortly after being declared the winner of a presidential election. Many viewed it as a liberation rather than a military coup.
Ali Bongo was elected after his father, Omar, passed away in 2009, having ruled the central African country for nearly 42 years. Despite being the third-richest nation in Africa in terms of per-capita GDP, one in three people in Gabon lives below the poverty line, according to the World Bank.
