Gabon now has a transitional leader: Coup leader Oligui

September 1, 2023

(3 minutes Read)

Mutinous soldiers in Gabon proclaimed the Republican guard chief as the country’s leader after placing President Ali Bongo Ondimba who was declared the winner of Saturday’s election under house arrest.

The coup leaders said that they had unanimously designated the president of a transitional committee to lead the country. Oligui is a cousin of Bongo. In the meantime, Bongo called on people to make noise to support him. But the crowds who took to the streets of the capital instead celebrated the coup against a dynasty accused of getting rich on the country’s resources while many of its citizens struggled.

Coup leaders extended a night-time curfew imposed after the August 26 election. Gabonese will not be allowed to move freely from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. The president of the transition insists on the need to maintain calm and serenity. Oligui, the new military leader, used to be the bodyguard of Bongo’s father, the late President Omar Bongo. Oligui also was head of the Secret Service in 2019 before becoming head of the republican guard.

Ali Bongo Ondimba, 64, has served two terms since coming to power in 2009 after the death of his father, who ruled the country for 41 years, and there has been widespread discontent with his reign. Another group of mutinous soldiers attempted a coup in 2019 but was quickly overpowered. The former French colony is a member of OPEC, but its oil wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few — and nearly 40% of Gabonese aged 15 to 24 were out of work in 2020, according to the World Bank. Its oil export revenue was $6 billion in 2022, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Nine members of the Bongo family, meanwhile, are under investigation in France, and some face preliminary charges of embezzlement, money laundering, and other forms of corruption, according to Sherpa, a French NGO dedicated to accountability. Investigators have linked the family to more than $92 million in properties in France, including two villas in Nice, the group says. Libreville is a stronghold of the opposition, but it was unclear how the coup was seen in the countryside, where more people traditionally back Bongo. The president pleaded for support in a video showing him sitting in a chair with a bookshelf behind him.

The African Union Commission condemned the coup and called for a return to “democratic constitutional order. The Kingdom of Morocco where Bongo sojourned during his recovery following a stroke in 2018 reacted as well. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin called on all sides to proceed from the basic interests of the country and the people, resolve differences through dialogue, and restore normal order as soon as possible.”

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the events in Gabon were being followed with “great concern.” He said it was too early to call it part of a trend or a “domino effect” in military takeovers on the continent.Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, however, cited a “contagion of autocracy we are seeing spread across our continent,” in a statement issued by his office. It said he was conferring with other heads of state and the A.U. Unlike Niger and two other West African countries run by military juntas, Gabon hasn’t been wracked by jihadi violence and had been seen as relatively stable.