Leaders of the coup in Gabon named a general transitional president after seizing power following disputed elections in which President Ali Bongo Ondimba, whose family has ruled for 55 years, was declared the winner. The claimed takeover sparked condemnation from the African Union and alarm from Nigeria over “contagious autocracy” in a continent where military forces have seized power in five other countries since 2020. Bongo, 64, who took over from his father Omar in 2009, was placed under house arrest and one of his sons was arrested for treason, the coup leaders said. TV images showed the head of the Republican Guard, General Brice Oligui Nguema, being carried triumphantly by hundreds of soldiers, to cries of “Oligui president”.

 The coup leaders later named Oligui Nguema “transitional president”, according to a TV statement. The coup began with a pre-dawn address in which a group of officers declared that “all the institutions of the republic” had been dissolved, the election results cancelled and the borders closed. “The country is going through a serious institutional, political, economic and social crisis,” according to a statement read on state TV. It was read by an officer flanked by a dozen army colonels, members of the elite Republican Guard, regular soldiers and others.

The elections “did not meet the conditions for a transparent, credible and inclusive ballot so much hoped for by the people of Gabon”, the statement said. “Added to this is irresponsible and unpredictable governance, resulting in a continuing deterioration in social cohesion, with the risk of leading the country in chaos. “We — the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions (CTRI) on behalf of the people of Gabon and as guarantors of the institutions’ protection — have decided to defend peace by putting an end to the current regime,” it said.  Bongo’s son and close adviser Noureddin Bongo Valentin, his chief of staff Ian Ghislain Ngoulou, 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, he said. A worried-looking Bongo, in a video from an unidentified location, appealed to “all friends that we have all over the world… to make noise” on his behalf. “My son is somewhere, my wife is in another place and I’m at the residence and nothing is happening. I don’t know what’s going on. I’m calling you to make noise.” On the streets of the capital, and the economic hub Port-Gentil, groups of joyous people were seen celebrating. In Libreville, around 100 people shouted “Bongo out!” and applauded police in anti-riot gear, an AFP staff member saw.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)