The Mutinous soldiers in Gabon, who took over the country’s leadership and cancelled the election have proclaimed their republican guard chief as the country’s leader on Wednesday night, after placing President Ali Bongo Ondimba, who was declared the winner of Saturday’s election, under house arrest.
The coup leaders said in an announcement on Gabon’s state TV that Gen. Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema had been “unanimously” designated president of a transitional committee to lead the country. Oligui is a cousin of Bongo.
Oligui, the new military leader, used to be the bodyguard of Bongo’s father, the late President Omar Bongo, said Desire Ename a journalist with Echos du Nord, a local media outlet. Oligui also was head of the secret service in 2019 before becoming head of the republican guard.
“Thank you, army. Finally, we’ve been waiting a long time for this moment,” said Yollande, standing in front of Republican guard members who had helped stage the takeover.
Coup leaders extended a night-time curfew imposed after the August 26 election.
Gabonese will not be allowed to move freely from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.
The previous night-time curfew ran from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m.
The house arrested president, Ali Bongo Ondimba, 64, has served two terms since coming to power in 2009 after the death of his father, who ruled the country for 41 years, and there has been widespread discontent with his reign. Another group of mutinous soldiers attempted a coup in 2019 but was quickly overpowered.
Findings show that The former French colony is a member of OPEC, but its oil wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few, and nearly 40% of Gabonese aged 15 to 24 were out of work in 2020, according to the World Bank. Its oil export revenue was $6 billion in 2022, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Nine members of the Bongo family, meanwhile, are under investigation in France, and some face preliminary charges of embezzlement, money laundering and other forms of corruption, according to Sherpa, a French NGO dedicated to accountability. Investigators have linked the family to more than $92 million in properties in France, including two villas in Nice, the group says.
A spokesman for the coup leaders said that Bongo’s “unpredictable, irresponsible governance” risked leading the country into chaos. In a later statement, the coup leaders said people around the president had been arrested for “high betrayal of state institutions, massive embezzlement of public funds and international financial embezzlement.”
The Bongo family has been associated with “systematic misappropriation of state revenues,” but the latest events “should be viewed with great caution, as they offer no guarantee of good governance and democratic transition,” Sherpa said in a statement
International reactions
The African Union commission condemned the coup and called for a return to “democratic constitutional order.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the takeover in Gabon, his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said.
He said Guterres “firmly condemns the ongoing coup attempt as a means to resolve the post-electoral crisis” and reaffirms “his strong opposition to military coups.’’
He further called on all involved to exercise restraint, engage in an inclusive and meaningful dialogue, and ensure that the rule of law and human rights are fully respected.
Similarly, the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Patricia Scotland, observed that the situation was “deeply concerning.”
A French government spokesman, Olivier Veran, said Paris condemned the coup in Gabon and wants the election result to be respected.
Earlier, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said France was following events in Gabon “with the greatest attention.”
Paris maintains a military presence in many of its former colonial territories, including Gabon, where it has 370 soldiers permanently deployed, some in the capital, Libreville, according to the French Ministry of the Armed Forces website.
Also, Russia has expressed concern about the situation in the oil-rich country.
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, stated, “Moscow has received with concern reports of a sharp deterioration in the internal situation in the friendly African country. We continue to closely monitor the development of the situation and hope for its speedy stabilisation.”
In its reaction, Spain noted it would evaluate peacekeeping missions in Africa after coups in Niger and Gabon, acting Defence Minister Margarita Robles said at a European Union defence ministers’ meeting in Toledo.
Spain has about 140 troops stationed to the northeast of Mali’s capital, Bamako, as part of the EU’s training mission there.
The Kingdom of Morocco, where Bongo sojourned during his recovery following a stroke in 2018, reacted as well.
Stressing the importance of “preserving stability”. Rabat said it trusted the wisdom of the Gabonese nation, of its [leaders], and its institutions,” to make a way to “move forward with the utmost interest of the nation as a priority” to “safeguard the achievements that were gained and respond to the aspirations of the Gabonese people.”
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Wang Wenbin, called on: “all sides […] to proceed from the basic interests of the country and the people, resolve differences through dialogue, and restore normal order as soon as possible.”
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the events in Gabon were being followed with “great concern.” He said it was too early to call it part of a trend or a “domino effect” in military takeovers on the continent.
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, however, cited a “contagion of autocracy we are seeing spread across our continent,” in a statement issued by his office. It said he was conferring with other heads of state and the A.U.
Unlike Niger and two other West African countries run by military juntas, Gabon hasn’t been wracked by jihadi violence and has been seen as relatively stable.
