Latest news with #AliBongo
Arab News
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Gabon's ousted President Bongo flies to Angola with wife and son
LUANDA: Gabon's former leader, Ali Bongo Ondimba, who was detained after being ousted in a 2023 coup, has been released and has gone to Angola with his family, the Angolan presidency said. Bongo, whose family ruled Gabon for 55 years, had been under house arrest in the capital, Libreville, since being overthrown in August 2023. His wife and son had also been in detention, accused of embezzling public funds. A statement on the Angolan presidency's Facebook page announcing the arrival of the Bongo family in the capital, Luanda, was accompanied by photographs showing the former leader being welcomed at an airport. The 'Bongo family has been released and has just arrived in Luanda,' it said. The release of the family followed talks between Angolan President Joao Lourenço and Gabon's new leader, Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, the statement said. Lawyers for the Bongos in France said their release had been the 'result of long efforts on both the judicial and diplomatic levels. 'After 20 months of arbitrary and cruel detention accompanied by torture, the family is finally reunited around the former president Ali Bongo,' they said in a statement. But a prosecutor in Libreville said Bongo's French-born wife Sylvia, 62, and son Noureddin, 33, had only been provisionally freed, awaiting a trial for alleged embezzlement. Prosecutor Eddy Minang said the pair's release 'does not in any way interrupt the normal course of the proceedings, which will continue until a fair, transparent, equitable and timely trial is held.' Oligui, a former junta leader, seized power in the August 2023 coup that ended the 55-year rule of the Bongo dynasty. The general was sworn in earlier this month after winning 94.85 percent in an April 12 vote in which international observers signaled no major irregularities. Oligui's main rival, Alain-Claude Bilie By Nze, the last prime minister under Bongo, said the family's release demonstrated that their detention 'did not respect the framework of law and justice. 'President Oligui Nguema did not show clemency: He had to bow to international demands after what everyone understood to be an abuse of power,' he said. Lawyers for Sylvia and Noureddin alleged they had suffered torture while in detention. Several Gabonese news media reported recently that they had been moved from cells in an annex of the presidency to a family residence in Libreville. A member of Gabon's transitional parliament, Geoffroy Foumboula Libeka, said the move of the family 'in the middle of the night and total silence' was 'a real disgrace for the first days' of the new government. 'Where is Gabon's sovereignty?' he asked on social media. The Bongo family's release, he said, was 'the price to pay' for the country's reintegration into the African Union, which Angolan leader Lourenco currently heads. The African Union announced on April 30 that it had lifted sanctions against Gabon, which was suspended from the organisation following the coup. The country of 2.3 million people has endured high unemployment, regular power and water shortages, and heavy government debt despite its oil wealth. The Gabon presidency announced on social media on May 12 that Lourenco had met Oligui in Libreville for talks focused 'on strengthening bilateral cooperation, the smooth running of democratic elections marking the end of the transition in Gabon.' They also discussed lifting sanctions following Gabon's reintegration into the AU. Bongo, 66, who is suspected to be in poor health, came to power in 2009, taking over from his father, Omar Bongo Ondimba, who ruled for 41 years. In 2016, he was narrowly reelected for a second term by a few thousand votes, beating opposition challenger Jean Ping after a campaign marred by bloody clashes and allegations of fraud. He suffered a stroke in October 2018 while on a visit to Saudi Arabia, and there was speculation about his health and fitness to govern when he returned home. His public appearances were rare, and the times when he spoke live outside the confines of the presidential palace were rarer still. Bongo ruled for 14 years until he was overthrown moments after being proclaimed the winner in a presidential election the army and opposition declared fraudulent.
France 24
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- France 24
Libyan protesters demand Prime Minister's resignation as three ministers resign
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Straits Times
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Gabon's ousted president Bongo flies to Angola with family
FILE PHOTO: Gabon's President Ali Bongo Ondimba arrives for the second day of a European Union (EU) African Union (AU) summit at The European Council Building in Brussels, Belgium, February 18, 2022. John Thys / Pool via REUTERS/File Photo LUANDA - Gabon's ousted former president Ali Bongo has flown to Angola with his wife and son, who had been freed almost two years after being detained following a coup, Angola's presidency said on Friday. The family were welcomed "for humanitarian reasons," presidency spokesperson Luis Fernando said. "They will then decide what they want to do, in other words, which country they want to go and live in as exiles," he added. The presidency posted photos that it said showed Bongo arriving at Luanda airport, 700 miles (1,100km) down Africa's western coast from Gabon's capital on Thursday night. It said the family had been freed after diplomatic representations from Angola. Sylvia Bongo, 62, and son Noureddin, 33, were taken into custody shortly after the August 2023 coup and accused of crimes including embezzlement and money laundering. They were transferred to house arrest on May 9, two sources familiar with the case said. They had most recently been held in basement cells in the presidential palace in Libreville, one of the sources said. Ali Bongo, now 66, was initially placed under house arrest after the coup, though officials later said he was free to move as he wished. His supporters said that was untrue. Family lawyer Francois Zimeray confirmed their release. "Sylvia and Noureddin Bongo will finally be able to turn the page, heal and rebuild. We would like to thank all those who, in one way or another, played a part in this outcome," he said. "This release is the fruit of long judicial and diplomatic efforts." African Union officials called for the release of Bongo's wife and son last month. Their supporters have said they were tortured in custody, though coup leader Brice Oligui Nguema, now serving as president, has denied that. Gabon's communications minister, Paul-Marie Gondjout, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Nguema was sworn in for a seven-year term as president this month after winning an election with nearly 95% of the vote. Bongo had ruled Gabon since 2009, taking over from his father, who died after more than four decades in office. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Russia Today
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Ousted African leader relocates to neighboring state
Ousted Gabonese President Ali Bongo and his family have been released from house arrest and have been flown to Angola, African Union (AU) Chairperson Joao Lourenco announced on Friday. The move came days after Lourenço, who is Angola's president, visited the Central African country and held talks with its leader, Brice Oligui Nguema, who led the August 2023 military coup that removed Bongo. 'Following the demonstrations made by the President …of Angola and the President-in-charge of the African Union, Joao Lourenco, together with President Brice Oligui Nguema, from Gabon, the Bongo family has been released and has just arrived in Luanda,' Angola's presidency said in a statement posted on Facebook. Bongo's wife, Sylvia Bongo Ondimba, and son, Noureddin Bongo Valentin, were transferred from prison to house arrest last week, after being detained for over a year on charges of embezzlement, corruption, and money laundering. They had been moved to the family residence in Gabon's capital, Libreville, where Bongo had been staying since his removal from office. Local media earlier reported that the former first lady and her son were under judicial supervision and would be required to cooperate with local authorities pending their trial. Sylvia Bongo was formally detained in October 2023, months after the coup. Her lawyer previously described her detention as 'arbitrary' and 'illegal.' The Bongo family has dominated Gabon's politics for over five decades. Ali Bongo came to power in 2009 following the death of his father, Omar Bongo, who had ruled since 1967. Ali Bongo's presidency ended in August 2023 when General Nguema led a military takeover following a disputed election. Authorities accused Sylvia Bongo of exploiting her husband's poor health – resulting from a 2018 stroke - and embezzling public funds with help from key officials. Both she and her son have denied the allegations. The former president staged a hunger strike last year in protest over alleged mistreatment of his family in custody. On April 30, the African Union adopted a resolution calling for the release of Bongo and his family, urging the former French colony's new leadership to uphold their rights and safety. The Gabonese government has not officially commented on what local outlet Gabon Review described as a discreet release and evacuation of the Bongo family to neighboring Angola. President Brice Oligui Nguema – who won last month's election with a sweeping 90.35% of the vote – is also a cousin of Ali Bongo.
16-05-2025
- Politics
Overthrown Gabon President Bongo and his family arrive in Angola, officials say
CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- The former president of Gabon, who was ousted in a 2023 coup, has been allowed to leave the country and has flown to Angola with his family, the Angolan leader's office said Friday. The Angolan presidency posted photos on its official Facebook page of Ali Bongo Ondimba arriving in the Angolan capital, Luanda. It said the release of Bongo, his wife and their son came after an agreement between Angolan President Joao Lourenco and new Gabon leader Gen. Brice Oligui Nguema, who overthrew Bongo nearly two years ago and was declared the winner of an election last month. Alain-Claude Bilie-By-Nze, the former prime minister of Gabon and a spokesperson for Bongo, said the Bongo family had been detained illegally and were released after 'international demands." The African Union had called for the Bongo family's release and Angola's Lourenco was acting in his capacity as the chairperson of the AU when he facilitated the agreement, his office said. Bongo was placed under house arrest after the coup in August 2023, but was freed a week later due to health concerns, according to Gabon authorities. His supporters denied he was free and said his movements were still being restricted. His wife Sylvia Bongo and son Noureddin Bongo Valentin had been detained in a prison in the capital, Libreville since 2023 on money laundering and corruption charges. Ali Bongo himself was not charged. The coup by Oligui Nguema, the former head of the country's Republican Guard, ended 54 years of Bongo family rule in Gabon, a nation of 2.3 million people on the Atlantic coast in central Africa. Ali Bongo's father Omar Bongo Ondimba was president from 1967 until his death in 2009. Ali Bongo succeeded him.
