#Ali Bongo Ondimba

[ivoire-tv5]

Gabon : les nouvelles ne sont pas reluisantes pour Ali Bongo

À quand du répit pour l’ex-président déchu du Gabon, Ali Bongo Ondimba ? Une question à laquelle il est difficile de répondre. Depuis qu’il a été renversé du pourvoir, les choses ne sont pas très reluisantes pour l’ex-Chef d’État qui a commis l’erreur de vouloir s’éterniser à la tête du Gabon. En effet, après une succession d’événements peu joyeux dans sa vie depuis qui a été balayé du pouvoir,…

[workersolidarity]

Military officers in Gabon say they have seized power : NPR

Military leaders in the West African country of Gabon have arrested President Ali Bongo Ondimba, a Neocolonialist Vassal of France and declared the newly reelected Government dissolved.

This marks the eighth coup in West and Central Africa since 2020, and the sixth former French Colony to be taken over in a Military Coup.

Just as there were in Niger, crowds of Gabonese citizens swarmed Libreville to cheer on and hug soldiers in the streets in what has become a symbol of African sovereignty and independence from France and the other Western Powers.

President Bongo took over leadership of the country in 2009 after the death of his father whose family had ruled the country with an iron fist since 1967. Elections were known to have irregularities and corruption ensured election results almost never reflected public opinion.

[zvaigzdelasas]

[Al Jazeera is Qatari State Media]

Minutes after Gabon’s electoral commission announced on Wednesday that President Ali Bongo Ondimba had won a third term in office, senior military officers announced a coup and annulled the election results. According to local media reports, Brice Clothaire Oligui Nguema, the commander-in-chief of the Gabonese Republican Guard – the country’s most powerful security unit – and a cousin to Bongo, is the ringleader of the attempted coup.[...]

Nguema is one of the most influential and enigmatic figures in the country today. The son of a military officer, he trained at the Royal Military Academy of Meknes, in Morocco. Nguema then served as Bongo’s “aides-de-camp” to a commander in former President Omar Bongo’s Republican Guard, until the former Gabonese leader’s death in 2009.

When Omar Bongo’s son Ali Bongo rose to power in October 2009, Nguema was sent to Morocco and Senegal for diplomatic missions. A decade later, he took over as the head of the guard.[...]

Besides military and diplomatic duties, Nguema was seen as entrepreneurial and also believed to be a millionaire in Gabonese circles.

According to a 2020 investigation by The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) on the Bongo family’s assets in the United States, Nguema invested in real estate, paying in cash. “He bought three properties in middle- and working-class neighbourhoods in the Maryland suburbs of Hyattsville and Silver Spring, just outside the capital, in 2015 and 2018. The homes were purchased with a total of over $1 million in cash,” the OCCRP report said.[...]

In an interview with French daily Le Monde on Wednesday, Nguema [said the following] “Beyond this discontent, there is the illness of the Head of State [Ali Bongo suffered a stroke in October 2018 which left him weakened]. Everyone talks about it, but no one takes responsibility. He did not have the right to serve a third term, the Constitution was violated, the method of election itself was not good. So the army decided to turn the page, to take its responsibilities,” Nguema said. He added that Ali Bongo can retire and continue to enjoy his rights like every other Gabonese citizen, adding that the generals would meet to decide on a successor to Bongo at 14:00 GMT on Wednesday.[...]

Gabon’s soldiers have apparently begun celebrating Nguema. Unverified videos and images on social media showed a group of soldiers dancing with Nguema and calling him Gabon’s “next strongman.”

30 Aug 23

[stele3]

[gaboninfoslive]

Lettre d'adieu politique d'Ali Bongo Ondimba qui appelle à la réconciliation nationale et à la clémence pour sa famille

Un an après le coup d’État ayant mis fin à son mandat présidentiel, Ali Bongo Ondimba sort de son silence. Dans une lettre adressée au peuple gabonais et dont l’authenticité a été confirmée par Me Gisèle Eyue Békalé l’un de ses trois avocats, l’ancien chef d’État annonce son retrait définitif de la vie politique et appelle à la libération de son épouse Sylvia et de son fils Noureddin, emprisonnés…

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 8.30 (after 1940)

1940 – The Second Vienna Award reassigns the territory of Northern Transylvania from Romania to Hungary. 1941 – The Tighina Agreement, a treaty regarding administration issues of the Transnistria Governorate, is signed between Germany and Romania. 1942 – World War II: The Battle of Alam el Halfa begins. 1945 – The Japanese occupation of Hong Kong comes to an end. 1945 – The Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, General Douglas MacArthur lands at Atsugi Air Force Base. 1945 – The Allied Control Council, governing Germany after World War II, comes into being. 1959 – South Vietnamese opposition figure Phan Quang Dan was elected to the National Assembly despite soldiers being bussed in to vote for President Ngo Dinh Diem's candidate. 1962 – Japan conducts a test of the NAMC YS-11, its first aircraft since World War II and its only successful commercial aircraft from before or after the war. 1963 – The Moscow–Washington hotline between the leaders of the U.S. and the Soviet Union goes into operation. 1967 – Thurgood Marshall is confirmed as the first African American Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. 1974 – A Belgrade–Dortmund express train derails at the main train station in Zagreb killing 153 passengers. 1974 – A powerful bomb explodes at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries headquarters in Marunouchi, Tokyo. Eight are killed, 378 are injured. Eight left-wing activists are arrested on May 19, 1975, by Japanese authorities. 1974 – The Third World Population Conference ends in Bucharest, Romania. At the end of the ceremony, the UN-Romanian Demographic Centre is inaugurated. 1981 – President Mohammad-Ali Rajai and Prime Minister Mohammad-Javad Bahonar of Iran are assassinated in a bombing committed by the People's Mujahedin of Iran. 1983 – Aeroflot Flight 5463 crashes into Dolan Mountain while approaching Almaty International Airport in present-day Kazakhstan, killing all 90 people on board. 1983 – STS-8: The Space Shuttle Challenger takes off on the first night launch of the shuttle program. Guion Bluford becomes the first African-American in space on this mission. 1984 – STS-41-D: The Space Shuttle Discovery takes off on its maiden voyage. 1991 – Dissolution of the Soviet Union: Azerbaijan declares independence from Soviet Union. 1992 – The 11-day Ruby Ridge standoff ends with Randy Weaver surrendering to federal authorities. 1995 – Bosnian War: NATO launches Operation Deliberate Force against Bosnian Serb forces. 1998 – Second Congo War: Armed forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and their Angolan and Zimbabwean allies recapture Matadi and the Inga dams in the western DRC from RCD and Rwandan troops. 2002 – Rico Linhas Aéreas Flight 4823 crashes on approach to Rio Branco International Airport, killing 23 of the 31 people on board. 2008 – A Conviasa Boeing 737 crashes into Illiniza Volcano in Ecuador, killing all three people on board. 2014 – Prime Minister of Lesotho Tom Thabane flees to South Africa as the army allegedly stages a coup. 2021 – The last remaining American troops leave Afghanistan, ending U.S. involvement in the war. 2023 – Gabonese coup d'état: After Ali Bongo Ondimba's reelection, a military coup ousted him, ending 56 years of Bongo family rule in Gabon.

[almanach-international]

17 août : la fête nationale du Gabon

Le Gabon célèbre une indépendance, acquise le 17 août 1960, à l’égard de la France. Mais, à l’époque, il n’avait pas vraiment souhaité. Léon Mba, le leader local, avait réclamé la départementalisation de son pays, comme la Guadeloupe ou la Guyane. L'indépendance lui sera finalement imposée par Paris. Le président De Gaulle ayant mis son véto à la demande gabonaise.

Léon Mba est élu président de la république en 1961 (il était le seul candidat). Trois ans plus tard, il sera déposé lors d'un coup d'État puis ramené au pouvoir par une intervention militaire française. À sa mort, Albert-Bernard Bongo (qui deviendra Omar Bongo Ondimba, après sa conversion à l’islam) instaure, en 1967, une dictature soutenue par la France, qu’il lèguera à son fils, Ali Bongo. Il laissera en héritage une fortune considérable, fruit de quatre décennies de pillage de son pays. Ali Bongo a régné jusqu’en 2023, année où il a été renversé par une révolution de palais. Le pays est aujourd’hui dirigé par le Général Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, qui se présente comme le « président de la transition »… Le Gabon, ce meilleur élève de la Françafrique, n’a jamais connu la démocratie.

Le Gabon n’était pas une colonie comme les autres, il est devenu français dès 1839 après la signature d'un traité entre la France et un souverain de l'estuaire du Gabon, Antchuwè Kowè Rapontchombo, dit le « roi Denis ». Sa capitale, Libreville a été fondée en 1849 pour accueillir des esclaves libérés comme de Freetown en Sierra Leone. En 1886, le Gabon devient officiellement une colonie française et, malgré la résistance de quelques chefs guerriers fangs, mitsogos ou punus, avant d’être intégré à l’Afrique Equatoriale française (AEF) en 1910. Lors de sa première visite en France en tant que président, Léon Mba déclarait : « Le Gabon est indépendant, mais entre le Gabon et la France rien n’est changé, tout continue comme avant. »Ce pays qui célèbre son indépendance aujourd’hui  a-t-il jamais été vraiment indépendant ? Même si aujourd’hui, le pays se détache de la France pour s’offrir à la Chine qui ne fera qu’une bouchée de ce pays de deux millions d’habitants richement doté en matières premières.

Pour ce 64e anniversaire de l’indépendance au Gabon, le président lance les festivités en allant déposer une gerbe au Mausolée Léon Mba, avant la parade militaire proprement dite de ce mardi 17 aout, à partir de 10h., sur sur le grand boulevard du bord de mer. Les journée du 15, 16 et 17 ont été déclarées fériées.

Un article de l'Almanach international des éditions BiblioMonde

[afrimag]

Dans les archives Afrimag.... Le président gabonais Ali Bongo Ondimba se rendra en République populaire de Chine du 18 au 21 avril, à l'invitation de son homologue chinois Xi Jinping, a annoncé vendredi 14 avril la porte-parole du ministère des Affaires étrangères Hua Chunying sans fournir d'amples détails.

[usnewsper-politics]

Africa: Gabon's President Bongo Ondimba ousted in coup #africa #bongo #coup #Gabon #president

[pndiho]

GABON ELECTIONS AFRICA OBSERVER REACTIONS

By Paul Ndiho People in Gabon cast their ballots on Saturday as voters in the central African nation looked to elect new local leaders, legislators, and a president. Incumbent Ali Bongo Ondimba, 64, is seeking a third term that could extend his family’s 55-year political dynasty. Locals complained that voting was delayed and did not begin until late morning. According to witnesses, dozens waited…

[hicginewsagency]

Gabon: wife of deposed president Ali Bongo jailed

Sylvia Bongo, wife of ousted Gabonese President Ali Bongo, is being held in pre-trial detention on allegations of the embezzlement of public funds, her lawyer says. The Franco-Gabonese wife of Gabon’s ex-president Ali Bongo Ondimba, Sylvia Bongo Ondimba Valentin, under house arrest since a military coup at the end of August for alleged embezzlement of public funds, has been jailed, her lawyer…

[warningsine]

Sylvia Bongo Ondimba Valentin, suspected of allegedly embezzling public funds, was jailed late on Wednesday, her lawyer Francois Zimeray told AFP, condemning the "arbitrary... illegal procedure".

Bongo's wife was charged on September 28 with money laundering, forgery and falsification of records.

Sylvia Bongo has been under house arrest in the capital, Libreville, since the August 30 coup brought the curtain down on 55 years of Bongo dynasty rule.

The putschists allege the former head of state and his entourage falsified the election results.

They accuse Sylvia Bongo and her son, Nourredin Bongo Valentin, of manipulating the former president, who has not fully recovered from a serious stroke in 2018.

They say the two have effectively run the oil-rich country for the past five years and have misused public money.

Nourredin Bongo Valentin has been placed in detention since the coup, charged with corruption.

"We condemned this illegal procedure," lawyer Zimeray said.

"There is a difference 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.

Bongo, 64, who had ruled the central African country since 2009, was overthrown by military leaders moments after being proclaimed the winner in a presidential election.

Many saw it as an act of liberation rather than a military coup.

Ali Bongo was elected after his father Omar died in 2009 after nearly 42 years in power.

Gabon is Africa's third-richest nation in terms of per-capita GDP but one in three people lives below the poverty line, according to the World Bank.

(AFP)

[zvaigzdelasas]

Gabon’s leader of the transition Gen. Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema has instructed the Foreign ministry to launch an embassy in Rwanda as soon as possible, the office of the Gabonese leader announced in a statement following a meeting with Gabonese living in the central African country on Monday October 16.

Nguema visited on October 16 President Paul Kagame as part of a regional tour to end Gabon’s isolation following his seizure of power on August 30 in a coup against longtime leader Ali Bongo Ondimba.

Both leaders, according to Nguema’s office, discussed the transition process underway in Gabon, the security situation in Africa and the ECCAS region, and opportunities for collaboration between Gabon and Rwanda.

Following the meeting, the Gabonese leader also met with Gabonese citizens living in Rwanda and pledged the launch of an embassy in Kigali. There are around 1,500 Gabonese in Rwanda. Both countries do not have diplomatic representations as of now.

interesting.... [18 Oct 23]

[stele3]

[newshuntermag]

Wife of Deposed Gabon President Charged With Money Laundering     

[gaboninfoslive]

Alain-Claude Bilie By Nzé : le retour de l'élève chez le maître, ou comment saboter une transition en quatre leçons

Il était une fois, dans les arcanes de Libreville, un ancien Premier ministre, Alain-Claude Bilie By Nze, qui, malgré la chute de son maître et mentor, Ali Bongo Ondimba, n’avait visiblement pas encore dit son dernier mot. Le 6 septembre dernier, tel un chevalier de l’ancien régime, il s’est faufilé jusqu’à la résidence de l’ex-président, non pas pour partager des souvenirs d’un passé révolu,…