#omar bongo

[jloisse]

GABON🔴

LIESSE À LIBREVILLE LA CAPITALE APRÈS L'ANNONCE DU COUP D'ÉTAT MILITAIRE DE CE MERCREDI 30 AOÛT 2023

PEU APRÈS LA PROCLAMATION DE LA VICTOIRE D'ALI BONGO, DES MILITAIRES ONT ANNONCÉ DEPUIS GABON 24, CHAÎNE INSTALLÉE À LA PRÉSIDENCE, LA DISSOLUTION DU SCRUTIN ET DES INSTITUTIONS, ET LA MISE SUR PIED D'UN ORGANE DE TRANSITION. /

Vidéo via @Presstv

[boricuacherry-blog]

"The first time I met him was in America in 1979 and when we went backstage when he saw me, he said, "Gosh you're ugly.'" She was in the States with her father and went to see Marley perform in Los Angeles. She had managed to secure a backstage pass to meet the musician who was unfortunately not impressed with her.

"The affair wasn't hidden, but it wasn't public either," says Jamaican guitarist Junior Marvin, who accompanied Marley in The Wailers.

Bongo suggested that the singer perform in Libreville in early 1980.

Marley and the Wailers were ecstatic. For years they had been singing about pan-Africanism, declaring their love for their ancestors' continent, calling for unity - the cover of their album Survival, which was released in October 1979, was a patchwork of the continent's flags - but paradoxically, none of these Jamaicans from the slums of Kingston had ever set foot in Africa.

After being invited to play in Gabon, the Wailers did not stop to ask themselves any questions. Even when they learned that they would be performing during the birthday celebrations of Omar Bongo - who they weren't sure whether he was the "king" or president, and didn't care - they still didn't ask any questions.

Marley was Bongo's first great love. It was not the case for Marley, however, loving an "African princess" gave him a better understanding of a continent he had long sung about but hadn't really known.

[zvaigzdelasas]

The coup took place on Wednesday, shortly after the electoral commission announced that Bongo had won a third term in office. The announcement was met with widespread protests, and the military stepped in to restore order. Mark Pursey, a British political consultant who advised Bongo's re-election campaign, said he tried to reach people in the president's entourage on Wednesday morning, though his bids were not met with success. "I haven't gotten through to anyone so far," Pursey said. "I see the messages have been received by somebody," he added, suggesting that his contacts' phones remained switched on. The coup's timing underlined that it was not spontaneous as it took place straight after the election results were announced. "It's clear that this has been planned for some time," he said. "The military have been very well-organized." Pursey said that his firm's, BTP Advisers, polling over the past 18 months showed that France was deeply unpopular among the majority of Gabonese. "When you ask the general population, they have a very bad opinion of France," he said. "Not good at all toward French politicians, French geopolitics as well," he said. France has long maintained a foothold in Gabon as its former colonizer, erecting companies there such as mining firms in a bid to plunder the country's resources while only giving back abysmal returns to the state and its institutions.

Pursey said that his firm's polling had pointed to an election victory for Bongo in recent months, but that he was surprised by the large margin he managed to get. Albert Ondo Ossa, Bongo's main challenger, came in second place with 31% of the vote, according to the official results. In addition to anti-French sentiment, Pursey said the polling picked up on concerns about the health of the president, who suffered a stroke a few years ago, and tiredness over his family's long rule. Bongo became president after the 2009 death of his father, Omar Bongo.[...] French mining giant Eramet, which owns and operates the manganese minit unit in Gabon said in the wake of the coup that took place in the country that it halted all operations.

30 Aug 23

[littlesugarwords]

which instruments would ericsons kids + aj clem james play?

this is so fun ahhhh!!!

Clementine: Clementine loved learning how to play the piano, but was tinkering around with learning guitar. She hoped that one day, with enough practice, she would be great at both. The act of playing and listening to music was relaxing. She wanted to offer that to the others.

AJ: AJ had always wanted to learn how to play the ukulele after seeing it in books and comics. When Clementine had found one in the back room, he was thrilled. He tinkered with it every day, even until Clementine told him it was time for bed and to put it away for the day.

Marlon: Marlon learned to play the guitar when he was younger, but was denied the opportunity to attend a class at Ericson due to ‘bad behavior’. When the apocalypse started and Louis handed him one he found in the music room, Marlon cracked his fingers and began. Slightly rusty, but he slowly got back into the swing of it.

Louis: While Louis loved the piano, he was gradually trying to teach himself the cello. He thought it would be a beautiful combo if he could continue to teach Clem the piano and they could play together. He thought it would sound beautiful.

Violet: Violet was trying to learn every percussion instrument she could get her hands on. The triangle, maracas, drums, the tambourine, and bongos were only a handful of the instruments she was attempting to learn. She could be a one woman band if she kept it up.

Mitch: Drums. First, he loved being able to smack things with full force, but Mitch had quick reflexes. He was able to play a full drum solo with ease. It only took him 2 weeks before he sounded like he had been a drummer for years.

Willy: Willy had always wanted to learn the trumpet, and when the apocalypse began, he realized he could. He called dibs on using the trumpet as a wake-up call within the building (outside of walker range) and had been practicing learning notes and tunes ever since.

Aasim: Acoustic guitar. He loved to pluck away, teaching himself different chords, sounds, and melodies. Every now and then, when he was feeling confident, he would bring it outside to their nightly bonfire, playing a soft song that he had just finished - or was in the process of - writing.

Ruby: Cello. She loved being able to sit in the old music room, where the abandoned instruments had been tucked away, playing for hours. She was entirely self-taught - she hadn’t taken a music class when the school was open - but found the movements and sounds to be relaxing.

Tenn: Tenn was gradually learning piano with the help of Louis. Whenever he had free time and wasn’t sketching, he would sit in the study, plunking away at the keys, trying to make a song of his very own.

Omar: Omar had always loved the sound of banjos and decided to finally give it a shot once the apocalypse began. He had free time on his hands, and the practice was good for his mind. Eventually, he brought his banjo out to the campfire every Friday night, and everyone laughed, clapped, and danced.

Brody: Brody loved the violin. She had found one that was slightly beaten up in the back of the music room and claimed it as her own, even carving her initials onto the back. Through books in the library, she gradually began to teach herself. He practiced every day and gradually became a master.

𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 💌☕️♡

[warningsine]

LIBREVILLE, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Military officers in oil-producing Gabon said they had seized power on Wednesday, placing President Ali Bongo under house arrest and naming a new leader after the Central African state's election body announced Bongo had won a third term.

Saying they represented the armed forces, the officers declared on television that the election results were cancelled, borders closed and state institutions dissolved, after a tense vote that was set to extend the Bongo family's more than half century in power.

Within hours, generals met to discuss who would lead the transition and agreed by unanimous vote to appoint General Brice Oligui Nguema, former head of the presidential guard, according to another televised address.

Meanwhile, from detention in his residence, Bongo appealed in a video statement to foreign allies, imploring them to speak out on his and his family's behalf. He said he did not know what was happening.

Bongo's plight was a dramatic reversal from the early hours of Wednesday when the electoral commission declared him the winner of Saturday's disputed vote.

Hundreds of people celebrated the military's intervention in the streets of the Gabonese capital Libreville, while the United Nations, African Union and France, Gabon's former colonial ruler which has troops stationed there, condemned the coup.

The military takeover in Gabon is the eighth in West and Central Africa since 2020, and the second - after Niger - in as many months. Military officers have also seized power in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Chad, erasing democratic gains since the 1990s and raising fear among foreign powers that have strategic interests in the region.

"I am marching today because I am joyful. After almost 60 years, the Bongos are out of power," said Jules Lebigui, a jobless 27-year-old who joined crowds in Libreville.

Bongo took over in 2009 on the death of his father Omar, who had ruled since 1967. Opponents say the family has done little to share the state's oil and mining wealth with its 2.3 million people.

Violent unrest broke out after Bongo's contested 2016 election victory, and there was a foiled coup attempt in 2019.

The Gabon officers, calling themselves The Committee of Transition and the Restoration of Institutions, said the country faced "a severe institutional, political, economic, and social crisis", and that the Aug. 26 vote was not credible.

They also said they had arrested the president's son, Noureddin Bongo Valentin, and others for corruption and treason.

There was no immediate comment from Gabon's government.

COUP 'CONTAGION'

Bongo, 64, was last seen in public casting his vote on Saturday. Before the vote, he had looked healthier than his more frail television appearances after his 2018 stroke.

Unlike Niger and other Sahel countries, Gabon, which lies further south on the Atlantic coast, has not had to battle destabilising Islamist insurgencies. But the coup is a further sign of democratic backsliding in the volatile region.

A "contagion of autocracy" is spreading across Africa, said Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, the current chair of West African bloc ECOWAS. He said he was working closely with other African leaders on how to respond in Gabon.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the African Union condemned the events and called on the military to ensure the safety of Bongo and his family, while China and Russia said they hoped for a swift return to stability. The United States said the situation was deeply concerning.

"We condemn the military coup and recall our commitment to free and transparent elections," French government spokesman Olivier Veran said.

The coup creates more uncertainty for France's presence in the region. France has about 350 troops in Gabon. Its forces have been kicked out of Mali and Burkina Faso after coups there in the last two years.

French miner Eramet (ERMT.PA), which has large manganese operations in Gabon, said it had halted operations.

Gabon produces about 200,000 barrels of oil a day, mainly from depleting fields. International companies include France's TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) and Anglo-French producer Perenco.

Concerns about the weekend election's transparency were raised by a lack of international observers, the suspension of some foreign broadcasts and a decision to cut internet service and impose a night-time curfew after the vote. Bongo's team rejected allegations of fraud.

On Wednesday, the internet appeared to be working for the first time since the vote. The junta confirmed web access had been restored as well as all international broadcasts, but it said it would keep the curfew in place until further notice.

Shortly before the coup announcement, the election authority declared Bongo the election winner with 64.27% of the vote and said his main challenger, Albert Ondo Ossa, had secured 30.77%.

Gabon's dollar-denominated bonds fell as much as 14 cents on Wednesday before recovering to trade down 9.5 cents on the dollar.

[beardedmrbean]

The leader of Gabon's military junta has vowed to return power to civilians after "free, transparent" elections.

However, in a speech after being sworn in as interim president, he did not give a date for military rule to end.

Gen Brice Nguema led last Wednesday's coup against Ali Bongo, toppling the president shortly after he was named winner of a disputed election.

Crowds of cheering civilians turned up at the inauguration - the coup was welcomed by many eager for change.

However, some say Gen Nguema's rule will be a continuation of the 55-year Bongo dynasty.

Ali Bongo's father, Omar, was in power for 41 years before he died in 2009 and was succeeded by his son.

The general, aged 48, spent most his career in the Bongo's inner circle and is even thought to be Ali Bongo's cousin.

Africa Live: Updates on this and other stories from across the continent

Gabon's unexpected new strongman

Why young Africans are celebrating military takeovers

At Monday's inauguration, Gen Nguema gave a defiant speech, referencing the likes of South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, French statesman Charles Fe Gaulle and former Ghanaian leader Jerry Rawlings.

"This patriotic action will be a lesson learnt that will be taught in the books of our schools," said the new president, dressed in the red ceremonial costume of the Republican Guard.

He added that a fresh government would be formed "in a few days" and recommended new electoral legislation, a new penal code and a referendum on a new constitution.

Gen Nguema also said he had instructed the new government "to think without delay" about freeing all political prisoners.

The ceremony was broadcast live on Gabonese TV and across online platforms.

Hundreds of officials attended, including former ministers from the ousted government, who were booed by a crowd of junta sympathisers.

The opposition has said it welcomes the removal of Mr Bongo from power but has called for a speedy return to civilian rule.

The defeated presidential candidate Albert Ondo Ossa told the Associated Press that the coup was a "palace revolution", engineered by the Bongo family to retain their power.

Gen Nguema's is the latest in a series of military takeovers across West and Central Africa.

Gabon is the sixth Francophone country to fall under military rule in the last three years as former colonial power France struggles to maintain its influence on the continent.

Gabon was suspended from the African Union following the coup, which has been condemned by the UN and France.

In his inauguration address on Monday, Gen Nguema said he was "surprised" at foreign criticism of the takeover.

[burlveneer-music]

The Kitchen II Allstars - Bongo Grove / Onyeabor 80 - single from promising new(ish) label All-Town Sound “that intersects the heavier sides of funk, afrobeat, cumbia, soul, reggae, and beyond”

“Bongo Grove”, an Incredible Bongo Band influenced, upbeat horn-driven anthem. This one features Mitchum Yacoub on Bongos. On the flip side we have “Onyeabor 80” which draws equal influence from War, William Onyeabor, and Isaac Hayes. This steady groover is sure to keep the dance-floor moving! Members of The Sure Fire Soul Ensemble, Mestizo Beat, and Mitchum Yacoub exploring new tones and directions! Bongo Grove Jake Najor - Drums Aquiles Magaña - Guitar Jesse Audelo - Baritone and Tenor Sax Omar Lopez - Bass Kiko Cornejo Jr - Congas Mitchum Yacoub - Bongos Tim Felten - Keyboards Travis Klein - Tenor Sax Wili Fleming - Trombone Sheryll Felten - Hand Percussion Andy Geib - Trumpet Onyeabor 80 Jake Najor - Drums Aquiles Magaña - Guitar Jesse Audelo - Baritone and Tenor Sax Omar Lopez - Bass Kiko Cornejo Jr - Congas Tim Felten - Keyboards Wili Fleming - Trombone Sheryll Felten - Hand Percussion Andy Geib - Trumpet

[bllsbailey]

Progressives are Mentally Defective

I mean this in the nicest possible way, which isn’t saying much since I hold the subject of what I’m about to say in molten hot contempt, but there is some defect in the brains of Democrats. I’m not talking about a brain-eating worm, the type we learned about this week with Robert Kennedy Jr., because it would starve to death in these people, I’m talking about someone who ate too many mercury thermometers or trained to be a world champion lead paint licker – Gary Busey after the motorcycle accident: someone with life-altering brain damage. 

That’s easy to say – it takes a special kind of stupid to literally repeat the things the Nazis did and said while insisting you’re “anti-fascist” – but this goes beyond that. This is your mom and dad first meeting as kids the way Ilhan Omar met her brother/eventual second husband as soon as they both existed, a crime against nature defective. 

It’s not just Joe Biden, though it certainly applies to him. How else to explain such a transparent move to throw Israel under the bus in favor of Hamas just as an election that could be decided in Michigan by Dearborn and Hamtramck residents who favor killing Jews? It’s one hell of a bet – that appealing to genocidal identity politics practitioners will bring in more Democrats than it will alienate – but Joe knows his base and a guilty conscience about trying to finish Hitler’s work isn’t part of the DNA in people who actively cheer slicing the genitals off little boys because they once picked up a Barbie doll.

The fact that Senile bin Gropes Little Girls lambasted his fellow travelers just 5 years ago for simply paying lip service to the concept of cutting aid to Israel, then he did it himself probably only indicates he can’t remember anything from 5 years ago.

Beyond Joe, there are literally thousands of unoriginal thinking, conformist followers cosplaying rebellion while really just crying for attention from mommy and daddy. 

Look at this girl, clearly a couple of bongos short of a drum circle, breaking down because she’s spending a few days with family members who don’t wish to play Auschwitz fantasy camp with her. They are “Zionists” and her non-family – the mutant mob with the Arafat Doilies on their heads who would close their eyes i think about the Nuremburg racial purity laws during sex, were they ever to have sex (not an issue) – are members of her “community.” You don’t see that kind of loyalty outside of Manson Family members. 

Putting aside the goose-stepping campers, the “God put me in the wrong body” crowd is right behind in brain damage. 

There was a time when I was inclined to sympathy for these people, but then it just got insane and lost that concern. When people literally make up words or sounds and insist that is their gender or pronouns, I’m out. I don’t wish anyone ill, but I’m also not going to play a game where someone else sets the rules, is free to change them at will, and not complying is a hate crime. 

Watch this video and tell me these people aren’t over-indulged douchebags with more baggage than a Samsonite factory. 

We all know people who only date damaged people with wildly low self-esteem. Women, I suspect, do it to feel like they’re “fixing” someone, helping them. Men do for the opposite reason – the ease of control and the ability to do and get away with things well-adjusted women would never let you do. It’s just true and you know. 

It’s not healthy in its own right, but the one thing everyone knows is you can spot the people who qualify for what I’m talking about a mile away. The way they dress, the way they talk, the way they carry themselves, etc. The moment you meet them you know your friend will be all over them. 

The same goes for people susceptible to recruitment into Marxist causes and protests. They always look like you picture them in your head; they are the same people in all cases. 

The paid leadership of these riots-in-waiting are that friend you had, scouting for their next victim. Take a look at any footage of any of them and tell me they aren’t that waifish guy who spends more time drawing in his sketchbook than talking with another human being because he just hates his parents. Tell me whatever girl you see isn’t eating her feelings or someone who likes Japanese anime a little too much, trying to make up for whatever it is Teen Vogue told her to care about. Tell me she’s not the personal playground of some perverted guy about 10 years older than her, someone who finally “gets” her. 

Then there’s Greta “Turdburglar” Thunberg, the personification of everything listed about and then some. While not an official Democrat, Little Miss I Smell A Fart Resting Face (go ahead, tell me I’m wrong) might as well replace the ass as the party’s new mascot. She’s out marching against a Jew being able to participate in a singing contest because…reasons. Of course, one of the reasons is progressives hate Jews; always have. 

Another reason is they’re brain damaged, all of them. Not defective from the factory, but certainly since, and well out of warranty. 

Derek Hunter is the host of a free daily podcast (subscribe!) and author of the book, Outrage, INC., which exposes how liberals use fear and hatred to manipulate the masses, and host of the weekly “Week in F*cking Review” podcast where the news is spoken about the way it deserves to be. Follow him on Twitter at @DerekAHunter.

[africabriefingsblog]

Paris court weighs corruption charges against Gabon ex-leader's daughter

THE trial of Pascaline Bongo, daughter of late Gabonese President Omar Bongo and sister of ousted President Ali Bongo, is nearing a pivotal moment as a verdict is anticipated in a Paris court on Monday. Pascaline Bongo stands accused of facilitating public contracts for French construction company Egis Route in Gabon between 2010 and 2011 in exchange for an €8 million payment. The prosecution has…

[jloisse]

Scènes de liesse au Gabon après un coup d'État. Des militaires viennent d'annoncer la dissolution du régime et l'annulation du scrutin à la télévision suite à l'annonce de la réélection d'Ali Bongo. Internet était coupé et un couvre-feu instauré depuis samedi.

[ivoiremelody]

MICHAEL JACKSON EN COTE DIVOIRE

La venu de Michael Jackson en cote d'ivoire a été le sujet de toutes les polémiques. Michael dit que Abidjan sent c'est pourquoi il s'est bouché les narines en descendant de l'avion. Michael Jackson dit que les ivoiriens sont sale c'est pourquoi il n'a pas salué quelqu'un. Michael Jackson va faire un concert à abidjan. Qu'est ce qui n'a pas été dit sur cette visite pharaonique. Tout ! Mais tres peu de vérité. La venu du King Of Pop en cote d'ivoire a été dans le cadre d'une tournée africaine de l'artiste qui voulait renouer avec ses sources. Michael Jackson voulait découvrir la tete de ces ancentres. La tournée africaine de la megastars a été orchestré par le fils du president du gabon Omar Bongo. Ali, son fils, était un mordu de musique et grace à son art s'est batti un carnet d'adresse solide. C'est lui qui proposera a Jackson de découvir l'Afrique. Michael Jackson étant lui meme un féru de découverte et aillant été surtout marqué par son passage au sénégale en 1974, va toute suite saisir l'opporutinité.

[gaboninfoslive]

« Dialogue National Inclusif : Un tournant historique et décisif pour l'avenir du Gabon » par MINTSA ANGO Verdaly

L’histoire du Gabon nous enseigne que les pères de notre jeune nation, à savoir Feu Leon Mba Minko et Feu Omar Bongo Ondimba puis récemment l’ancien président Ali Bongo Ondimba, ont en leur temps respectif jeté les bases des valeurs cardinales de l’unité nationale que sont la paix, l’unité, la cohésion sociale et des libertés fondamentales, socle de notre démocratie et surtout des valeurs…

[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

[usnewsper-politics]

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

[kingonews]

CONVOCATION DE DOMINIQUE OUATTARA À PARIS PAR LE PARQUET FINANCIER POUR BIEN MAL ACQUIS DU CLAN BONGO. ENFIN LES OUATTARA SONT-ILS LÂCHÉS PAR LA FRANCE?

La France n’a pas d’amis mais essentiellement des intérêts. Et les traîtres de l’Afrique ont tous fini par payer de leur sang et de leur fortune. Après Jean Bédel Bokassa, Félix Houphouët Boigny, Joseph Mobutu, Pascal Lissouba, Omar Bongo, Léon Mba, Blaise Compaorè et tous les autres africains qui ont royalement trahi leurs peuples en se mettant loyalement au service de la France, il semble enfin…

[beardedmrbean]

Army officers who seized power in a coup in Gabon on Wednesday have named Gen Brice Oligui Nguema as the country's transitional leader.

Gen Nguema was earlier carried triumphally through the streets of the capital Libreville by his troops.

The deposed President, Ali Bongo, has appeared in a video at his home, calling on his "friends all over the world" to "make noise" on his behalf.

The former French colony is one of Africa's major oil producers.

Africa's coup pandemic spreads

The rise of military coups in Africa

Ali Bongo: The playboy prince now under house arrest

Mr Bongo's overthrow ended his family's 55-year hold on power in the Central African state.

Army officers appeared on TV in the early hours of Wednesday to say they had taken power.

They said they had annulled the results of Saturday's election in which Mr Bongo was declared the winner but which the opposition said was fraudulent.

The officers also said they had arrested one of Mr Bongo's sons for treason.

Within hours, generals met to discuss who would lead the transition and agreed by a unanimous vote to appoint Gen Nguema, former head of the presidential guard.

Gen Nguema told France's Le Monde newspaper that Gabonese people had had enough of Ali Bongo's rule, and that he should not have run for a third term.

"Everyone talks about this but no one takes responsibility," he said. "So the army decided to turn the page."

Crowds in Libreville and elsewhere celebrated the army's declaration.

But the coup was condemned by the UN, the African Union and France, which had close ties to the Bongo family.

The US state department urged Gabon's military to "preserve civilian rule" and urged "those responsible to release and ensure the safety of members of government". The UK condemned the "unconstitutional military takeover" of power.

There has long been simmering resentment of the Bongo family - it ruled Gabon for almost 56 years - and there has been public discontent over broader issues such as the cost of living.

"At first I was scared, but then I felt joy," a resident of Libreville, who requested anonymity, told the BBC. "I was scared because of the realisation that I am living through a coup, but the joy is because we've been waiting for so long for this regime to be overthrown."

Gen Nguema, 48, was absent from the first three statements read out by senior army officers on national television to announce the coup.

But he was named transitional leader soon after, and was carried through the streets in jubilant scenes.

He was aide-de-camp to the ousted leader's father, Omar Bongo, who ruled for almost 42 years until his death in 2009.

A former close colleague told AFP news agency that Gen Nguema had been extremely close to Omar Bongo, serving him from 2005 until his death in a Spanish hospital.

Under Ali Bongo he first worked as a military attache at Gabon's embassies in Morocco and Senegal.

But in 2018 he was made intelligence chief under the elite republican guard - Gabon's most powerful army unit - replacing Ali Bongo's half-brother Frederic Bongo, before getting promoted to general.

As in previous general elections in Gabon, there were serious concerns about the process in Saturday's vote.

Main opposition candidate Albert Ondo Ossa complained that many polling stations had lacked ballot papers bearing his name, while the coalition he represented said the names of some of those who had withdrawn from the presidential race had still been on the ballot sheet.

Both of Mr Bongo's previous wins were disputed as fraudulent by opponents. This time, controversial changes were made to voting papers just weeks before election day.

In 2018, he suffered a stroke which sidelined him for almost a year and led to calls for him to step aside.

The following year, a failed coup attempt saw mutinying soldiers sent to prison.

Read more: A simple guide to the coup in Gabon