President Of Gabon Is Set Free & Permitted To Travel Overseas

Ali Bongo Ondimba, the former president of Gabon who was overthrown in a military coup, is now free and permitted to travel abroad, according to a junta spokesperson on Wednesday.

Since the coup in the Central African country in late August, Bongo is reportedly being kept under house arrest.

“Ali Bongo Ondimba, the former president of the Republic, is mobile given his health. Gen. Brice Oligui Nguema’s announcement was read aloud on state television by junta spokeswoman Col. Ulrich Manfoumbi. “He may, if he wishes, travel abroad to receive medical examinations,” the statement said.

Images of Bongo welcoming Abdou Abarry, chief of the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa, at Bongo’s mansion in the nation’s capital Libreville were also shown on state television.

Since the revolution, the ousted Gabonese president has not been seen. A video of him pleading with followers to “make noise” after being placed under house arrest surfaced soon after he was overthrown.

“These people have taken me into custody… I’m at the house… In the video, he is heard saying, “I don’t know what’s happening.

The 64-year-old Bongo underwent treatment in Morocco for several months after experiencing a stroke in 2018. His ability to serve as president was under scrutiny, leading to a failed coup attempt in 2019.

Since taking over for his father Omar Bongo in 2009, he has been in charge for 14 years. In the contested elections last month, he ran for reelection.

He was declared the winner in what the junta called an “outrageously biased electoral process.”

Before passing away in 2009, Bongo’s father had controlled Gabon for more than 40 years. The election was thrown out by the Junta’s leader Nguema, who claimed that Bongo’s government had “confiscated power for several years, in flagrant violation of democratic rules.”

Nguema, who is thought to be Omar Bongo’s cousin, was formerly his bodyguard. Since 2009, charges of electoral fraud have marred every Bongo election. Some provoked bloody anti-government demonstrations.

Many people in his oil-rich but impoverished country cheered for his overthrow and supported the military coup. It’s not yet known if Bongo will leave Gabon after the coup granted him freedom.

According to French media, Nguema met with ECCAS mediators earlier this week where they purportedly discussed a potential escape route for Bongo to Morocco.

If the expelled leader departs, he would probably travel to France, where the Bongo family owns a variety of opulent properties. Additionally, it has homes in the US that are worth millions of dollars.