Gabon army speaks on Ali Bongo’s whereabouts after coup

Military officers in Gabon said Wednesday they have seized power and put long-serving President Ali Bongo under house arrest, sparking early morning celebrations in the central African nation.

Key points to note

Mr Bongo and his father ruled the oil rich since for 56 years. He took over after his father died in 2009. On Monday, the country’s electoral body announced that Mr Bongo had won a third term.

In an overnight television announcement, a dozen senior officers declared the election results cancelled, closed borders and dissolved state institutions.

They said the August 26 election was not transparent or credible, and said Gabon was “undergoing a severe institutional, political, economic, and social crisis.”

“President Ali Bongo is under house arrest, surrounded by his family and doctors,” the soldiers, calling themselves The Committee of Transition and the Restoration of Institutions, said in a statement read out on state TV.

The soldiers said one of his sons and close adviser Noureddin Bongo Valentin had been arrested for “treason”.

Mr Bongo’s chief of staff Ian Ghislain Ngoulou as well as his deputy, two other presidential advisers and the two top officials in the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) “have been arrested”, a military leader said.

They are accused of treason, embezzlement, corruption and falsifying the president’s signature, among other allegations.

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Gabon is an OPEC member and produces about 200,000 barrels of oil a day. Major international companies include France’s TotalEnergies and Anglo-French producer Perenco.

The country is also rich in solid minerals and forest resources. Ninety percent of the country is covered by forest.

The coup is the eighth in West and Central Africa since 2020. The latest one, in Niger, was in July. Military officers have also seized power in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Chad.

Bongo, 64, was last seen in public casting his vote on Saturday. Ahead of the election, his government barred some foreign journalists and international observers from covering the polls.

It also cut internet service and impose a night-time curfew nationwide after the poll.

Similar measures were taken in 2016 and violent unrest broke out after Mr Bongo was declared winner. In 2019, there was a foiled coup attempt, months after Mr Bongo suffered a stroke.