LAST UPDATE | 30 Aug 2023

GABONESE PRESIDENT ALI Bongo Ondimba is being detained at home and one of his sons has been arrested for “treason”, military officers said, hours after announcing they had overthrown the government.

“President Ali Bongo is under house arrest, surrounded by his family and doctors,” they said in a statement read out on state TV.

Bongo’s son and close adviser Noureddin Bongo Valentin, his chief of staff Ian Ghislain Ngoulou as well as his deputy, two other presidential advisers and the two top officials in the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) “have been arrested”, a military leader said.

They are accused of treason, embezzlement, corruption and falsifying the president’s signature, among other allegations, he said.

Earlier today, military officers said they had toppled Bongo, who has been in power for 14 years, hours after he had been declared the victor in Saturday’s elections.

In a televised statement, they said the vote results had been cancelled and “all the institutions of the republic” dissolved.

A dozen soldiers appeared on television in the early hours of this morning announcing they were “putting an end to the current regime” and cancelling the results of the recent election that, according to official results, President Ondimba won.

The soldiers also announced the closure of the country’s borders. 

During the announcement, journalists heard gunfire ring out in the Gabonese capital, Libreville.

“We have decided to defend peace by putting an end to the current regime”, one of the soldiers said on TV channel Gabon 24, adding that he was speaking on behalf of the “Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions”.

“To this end, the general elections of 26 August 2023 and the truncated results are cancelled,” he added.

“All the institutions of the republic are dissolved: the government, the Senate, the National Assembly and the Constitutional Court,” he added, announcing the closure of the country’s borders “until further notice”.

France – which formally colonised Gabon – condemned the coup this morning.

France “condemns the coup that is underway” in Gabon, government spokesman Olivier Veran said.

France was watching events closely and “reiterates its desire to see the results of the election respected, once they are known,” Veran added, referring to Saturday’s disputed presidential polls in the West African country.

Sparsely populated 

Gabon is a sparsely populated and densely forested country in Central Africa, with an estimated population of 2.3 million people. 

After 50 years of colonial rule, France agreed to Gabon gaining independence in 1960. 

The family of the current president has held power since 1967, through the Gabonese Democratic Party. 

Irregularities in previous elections have been noted by regulators.

Human rights abuses in Gabon including credible reports of torture and inhuman treatment by the government, problems with the independence of the judiciary, restrictions of freedom of the press, the inability of citizens to change their government peacefully and more have been noted by the US Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, human rights and labour. 

The bureau has also noted that the Government has made strides in trying to implement anti-corruption measures. 

 Gunfire in the capital 

 AFP journalists heard gunfire in several districts of Libreville during the statement.

The announcement came shortly after the national election authority said Bongo, who has been in power for 14 years, had won a third term in Saturday’s election with 64.27 percent of the vote.

Bongo’s main rival, Albert Ondo Ossa, won just 30.77 percent of the vote, according to the results.

Ondo Ossa had denounced “fraud orchestrated by the Bongo camp”, claiming victory ahead of the closure of polls.

On Monday, Ondo Ossa’s campaign manager Mike Jocktane called on Bongo to hand over power “without bloodshed”, insisting a partial count had Ondo Ossa clearly ahead, without providing any proof.

Gabonese law forbids any publication of partial results pending the final result which only the Gabonese Elections Centre, the body that organises the polls, is legally allowed to publish.

The official election results were broadcast at 03:30 (02:30 GMT) on state television without any prior announcement of the event.

Before polls closed on Saturday, Bongo’s government imposed a curfew and a nationwide internet shutdown to prevent the spread of “false news” and possible violence. 

© Agence France-Presse