Ali Bongo Ondimba Gabonese ousted president’s wife was charged on Friday (September 29, 2023) with “money laundering” and other offenses, the public prosecutor, a month after her husband was overthrown in a coup.
Franco-Gabonese Sylvia Bongo Ondimba Valentin and one of the couple’s sons have been charged by the coup leader with orchestrating events in the nation rich in oil.
With five former cabinet members and two ex-ministers, their eldest son Noureddin Bongo Valentin has previously been accused of corruption and embezzling public monies.
Andre Patrick Roponat revealed on state TV stations that Sylvia Bongo was charged by an investigating magistrate on Thursday and ordered to continue to be under home arrest.
He added that she is also accused of forgery and deception.
Since the revolution on August 30 brought an end to the 55-year dominance of the Bongo line, Sylvia Bongo has been placed under house arrest in the country’s capital, Libreville.
She has been separated from her spouse, and her French attorneys have reported what they claim “appears to be a hostage-taking” in Paris.
No one is above the law, but everyone must respect the law, according to one of her attorneys, Francois Zimeray, who spoke with AFP on Friday (September 29, 2023).
What should we make of a legal system that holds suspects without access to a lawyer in solitary confinement for weeks prior to prosecuting them?
Moments after being declared the winner of a presidential election, military leaders deposed Bongo, 64, who had ruled the country since 2009.
The opposition and the architects of the military coup have also accused his rule of extensive corruption and poor leadership, branding the election results a fraud.
Many believed it to be a liberation act rather than a military takeover.
After Omar Bongo, who had held office for over 42 years, passed away in 2009, Ali Bongo was elected.
His son Noureddin Bongo Valentin was charged with corruption earlier this month and jailed on a temporary basis.
According to Roponat, who spoke at a news conference, ten people were indicted on allegations ranging from corruption, misuse of public funds, and money laundering to problems with the electoral college, counterfeiting, and the usage of the republic’s seals.
Noureddin Bongo is one of seven people that have been arrested.
Additionally, two former ministers for public works and oil have been jailed.
General Brice Oligui Nguema, the new military ruler of Gabon, declared a week after the coup that Bongo, who was himself placed under house arrest for several days following the revolution, is free to travel anywhere and anywhere in the world.
Bongo experienced a stroke in October 2018 that left him disabled for ten months.
In an address this month to the Republican Guard, Oligui charged that the former “First Lady” and Noureddin had “squandered” the presidency’s authority.
He claimed that orders were given in lieu of the president “because they forged his signature ever since his stroke.”
Quickly after taking office, the new strongman issued a warning that corruption would no longer be tolerated.
He called a conference with 200 business executives in Gabon right away after assuming control. He harshly warned business executives against “over-billing” and exhorted them to commit to the “development of the country” in a speech that was broadcast on state television.
Furthermore, he promised to ensure that the overcharged money “comes back to the state”.
Although no date has been specified, Oligui has promised to hold elections after a transitional period and return the country to civilian administration.
He has conducted a busy round of in-depth consultations with all facets of the populace over the course of the past month.
A new constitution that claims to be “more respectful of human rights” and that will be voted on in a referendum before “free and transparent elections” has been established by him in order to rule the nation.
Political figures, members of civil society, and former regime insiders make up the administration of interim prime minister Raymond Ndong Sima, who was a well-known Bongo opponent.
Despite the significant political, economic, and social difficulties the nation is currently facing, Oligui has promised to improve circumstances for the underprivileged.
According to the World Bank, one in three people in the third-richest country in Africa in terms of GDP per capita live below the poverty line.
Ref: AFP
