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☆ Wife of Gabon's Deposed Leader Ali Bongo Jailed - AFP
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: 1 min

(Reuters) - The wife of Gabon's deposed leader Ali Bongo has been jailed, the AFP news agency said in a post on social media platform X on Thursday, citing a lawyer. Gabon army officers seized power on Aug. 30, annulling an election minutes after an announcement that President Ali Bongo had won, which they said was not credible. Bongo, in power since 2009, had succeeded his father Omar Bongo, who ruled for 42 years.

Persons: Gabon's, Ali Bongo, annulling, Bongo, Omar Bongo Organizations: Reuters, AFP Locations: Gabon

☆ Gabon coup: US suspends aid program
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Reuters —The United States is holding back assistance that might aid the government of Gabon following last month’s coup, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement released by the US State Department on Tuesday. The move is in line with steps taken by Economic Community of Central African States, the African Union, and other international partners. Army officers in Gabon seized power on Aug. 30, annulling an election minutes after an announcement that President Ali Bongo had won, which they said was not credible. A 24-month transition to elections in Gabon would be “reasonable” after last month’s coup, junta-appointed Prime Minister Raymond Ndong Sima was quoted as saying by French news agency AFP earlier this month. The African Union suspended Gabon’s membership following the coup.

Persons: Antony Blinken, ” Blinken, annulling, Ali Bongo, Bongo, Raymond Ndong Sima Organizations: Reuters, US State Department, Economic Community, Central, African Union, Army, AFP Locations: United States, Gabon, Central African States, Central

☆ Gabon Junta Eyes 24-Month Transition to Elections - AFP Cites Interim PM
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( Sept. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

(Reuters) - A 24-month transition to elections in Gabon would be "reasonable" after last month's coup, junta-appointed Prime Minister Raymond Ndong Sima was quoted as saying by French news agency AFP on Sunday. Army officers seized power on Aug. 30, annulling an election minutes after an announcement that President Ali Bongo had won, which they said was not credible. Bongo, in power since 2009, had succeeded his father Omar Bongo, who ruled for 42 years. The junta has promised to oversee free and fair elections, but has not given a timetable for organising them. In the first comments on a possible length of this transition, Ndong Sima told AFP: "It is good to start with a reasonable goal by saying: 'We hope to see the process completed within 24 months so that we can return to elections.'"

Persons: Raymond Ndong Sima, annulling, Ali Bongo, Bongo, Omar Bongo, Ndong Sima, Nilutpal, Alessandra Prentice, Peter Graff Organizations: Reuters, AFP, Sunday . Army Locations: Gabon, Bengaluru

☆ Gabon Military Says Deposed President Is ‘Free’ to Travel Overseas
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Abdi Latif Dahir | More About Abdi Latif Dahir | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ali Bongo Ondimba, who was deposed as president of Gabon last week in a coup that ended his family’s decades-long grip on power in the central African nation, is no longer subject to house arrest and is free to leave the country, the ruling military junta has said. Mr. Bongo’s health has long been a concern after he suffered a stroke five years ago and was often seen walking with a cane. The military said in a statement read on national television on Wednesday night that he would be allowed to travel overseas for medical care. The announcement from the military came two days after the leader of the coup, Gen. Brice Oligui Nguema, a cousin of the ousted leader and the head of the elite Republican Guard that was tasked with guarding him, was sworn in as Gabon’s new leader. After taking oath on Monday, General Nguema promised to hold free and fair elections but did not indicate when or how they would take place.

Persons: Ali Bongo Ondimba, Brice Oligui Nguema, General Nguema Organizations: Republican Guard Locations: Gabon

As the all-powerful ruler of oil-rich Gabon, Ali Bongo Ondimba had two passions, music and forests, that forged powerful ties across the world. An accomplished musician, Mr. Bongo recorded a disco-funk album and lured James Brown and Michael Jackson to Gabon. As president, he built a music studio at his seaside palace and played improv jazz to foreign diplomats at state dinners. More recently, Mr. Bongo allied with Western scientists and conservationists, entranced by both the paradisiacal beauty of Gabon, an Arizona-sized country covered in lush rainforest and teeming with wildlife, and by his commitment to protecting it. But to his own people, Mr. Bongo, 64, embodied a family dynasty, founded by his father, which had dominated Gabon for 56 years — until this week, when it came crashing down.

Persons: Ali Bongo Ondimba, Bongo, James Brown, Michael Jackson, . Bongo Locations: Gabon, an Arizona

☆ Gabon President Ali Bongo wins third term after disputed election
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Gabon's President Ali Bongo Ondimba addresses the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. Headquarters in New York City, U.S., September 21, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLIBREVILLE, Aug 30 (Reuters) - President Ali Bongo has won a third term in the presidential election with 64.27% of the vote, the Gabonese Election Centre (CGE) said on Wednesday, after a delay-plagued general election that the opposition has denounced as fraudulent. Announcing the result in the early hours, CGE head Michel Stephane Bonda said Bongo's main challenger, Albert Ondo Ossa, had come in second place with 30.77%. Bongo's team have rejected Ondo Ossa's allegations of electoral irregularities. Reporting by Gerauds Wilfried Obangome; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Gerry DoyleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Ali Bongo Ondimba, Brendan McDermid, Ali Bongo, Michel Stephane Bonda, Bongo's, Albert Ondo Ossa, Bongo, Gerauds Wilfried Obangome, Alessandra Prentice, Clarence Fernandez, Gerry Doyle Organizations: United Nations General Assembly, REUTERS, Rights, Gabonese Election, Thomson Locations: U.N, New York City, U.S, Rights LIBREVILLE, Ondo, Central African

CNN —A group of military officers claiming to represent “defense and security forces” in Gabon announced on Wednesday they had seized power in the African nation, according to a televised address circulating on social media. In the broadcast, the military officer said the election results would be voided and the country’s borders would be closed until further notice. Bongo’s long ruleEarlier on Wednesday, Gabon’s election body said Bongo had won the presidential election with 64.27% of the vote, after a delay-plagued general election that the opposition denounced as fraudulent. The elder Bongo came into power in 1967, seven years after the country’s independence from France. Ahead of the election, the non-profit Reporters Without Borders condemned the Gabonese government for obstructing foreign press coverage of the event.

Persons: ”, Ali Bongo, “, Bongo, Albert Ondo Ossa, Omar Bongo, Ondo, Bongo’s Organizations: CNN, Gabon24, Twitter, Senate, National Assembly, Constitutional, Economic, Social, Environmental Council, Reuters, Union, Borders, United Nations, Gabonese Locations: Gabon, Gabonese, Libreville, West, Central Africa, Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger, Ondo, France

☆ Who is Brice Oligui Nguema, the general named as Gabon's transition leader?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Aug 30 (Reuters) - Gabon's military junta named General Brice Oligui Nguema as transition leader on Wednesday, following the apparent ouster of President Ali Bongo. The elite force is in charge of protecting the president, his family and other high-profile figures. ANTICORRUPTION MANDATEShortly after he took on the new role in 2019, Nguema launched an operation named "clean hands" to crack down on alleged state-led embezzlement. The Bongo family has ruled oil-rich Gabon for over half a century. In an interview with French newspaper Le Monde on Wednesday, Nguema said people in Gabon were frustrated with their government.

Persons: General Brice Oligui Nguema, Ali Bongo, Bongo, Nguema, Gerauds Wilfried Obangome, Ingrid Melander, Anait, Sofia Christensen, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Republican Guard, Thomson Locations: Gabon's southeasternmost, Haut, Republic of Congo, United States, Gabon, Libreville, Paris, Johannesburg

☆ Gabon Military Officers Say They Are Seizing Power
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Declan Walsh | More About Declan Walsh | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A group of senior military officers appeared on television in the oil-rich Central African nation of Gabon early Wednesday and announced they were seizing power, hours after the incumbent president, Ali Bongo Ondimba, was declared to have won a third term in office. There was no immediate reaction from Mr. Bongo or the government. Bursts of gunfire could be heard in the capital, Libreville, shortly after the broadcast ended, Reuters reported. “We have decided to defend the peace by putting an end to the current regime,” one of the officers said on the Gabon 24 station. If it succeeds, the coup would be the latest in an extraordinary run of military takeovers in Western and Central Africa — at least nine in the past three years, including one in Niger last month.

Persons: Ali Bongo Ondimba, Bongo Organizations: Reuters, Central Africa — Locations: Gabon, Libreville, Western, Central, Niger

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