Gabon’s new military junta is permitting former Gabonese now-ousted President Ali Bongo, 64, to leave the country “for medical reasons,” announced Colonel Ulrich Manfoumbi Manfoumbi on Wednesday via State television on behalf of General Brice Oligui Nguema, who was sworn in on Monday as “transitional President.”
Bongo has been debilitated since a serious stroke in 2018, after which he spent many months convalescing and undergoing physical therapy in both the UK and Morocco.
Having served as Gabon’s president for 14 years, Bongo has been under house arrest since the bloodless military coup on August 30, less than an hour after his campaign declared he had won re-election in a poll the putschists regard as illegitimate.
Gabon’s new strongman has accused Bango’s family, in particular his wife and one of his sons, all of whom are in detention, as well as members of his cabinet, of having embezzled massive amounts of public funds and running the country in an irresponsible and unpredictable manner.
The military has also accused those close to the deposed president of having manipulated him, specifically by “forging” his signature.
Bongo was elected in 2009 following the death of his father, Omar Bongo Ondimba, who had ruled this small state for over forty-one years. Although one of Africa’s richest countries thanks to its oil reserves, a third of its inhabitants live below the poverty line.