Son Of Ousted Gabon Leader Held In Graft Case

The son of Ali Bongo Ondimba and several allies of the ousted Gabon president have been charged with corruption and placed in custody, the state prosecutor told AFP Wednesday

Libreville, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 20th Sep, 2023 ) :The son of Ali Bongo Ondimba and several allies of the ousted Gabon president have been charged with corruption and placed in custody, the state prosecutor told AFP Wednesday.

Bongo's eldest son Noureddin Bongo Valentin and former presidential spokesman Jessye Ella Ekogha "have been charged and placed in provisional detention" on Tuesday over alleged corruption, said Libreville prosecutor Andre-Patrick Roponat.

In all, 10 people were indicted on Tuesday with charges ranging from electoral college operational issues, counterfeiting and use of the seals of the republic, to corruption, embezzlement of public funds and money laundering, Roponat told a press conference.

Bongo, 64, who had ruled the oil-rich central African country since 2009, was overthrown by military leaders on August 30, moments after being proclaimed the winner in a presidential election.

The result was branded a fraud by the opposition and the military coup leaders, who have also accused his regime of widespread corruption and bad governance.

On the same day as the coup, soldiers arrested one of Bongo's sons and five senior cabinet officials.

National tv showed rolling images of those arrested in front of suitcases filled with cash allegedly seized from their homes.

Bongo's wife Sylvia Bongo Valentin is under house arrest in the capital Libreville "for her protection", according to authorities. Her lawyers say she is being held "arbitrarily".

Bongo, who was himself under house arrest for several days after the coup, is "free to move around" and go abroad, Gabon's new military ruler General Brice Oligui Nguema said on September 6.