Gabon’s ousted president Ali Bongo Ondimba has been freed, a junta spokesperson mentioned on Wednesday. “Given his state of well being, the previous President of the Republic Ali Bongo Ondimba is free to maneuver about. He could, if he needs, journey overseas to obtain medical check-ups,” junta spokesperson Col. Ulrich Manfoumbi mentioned on state tv, CNN reported.
Bongo has reportedly been underneath home arrest for the reason that coup in late August. He was not often seen after the coup. State tv launched photographs that confirmed Bongo greeting Abdou Abarry, head of the United Nations Regional Workplace for Central Africa.
64-year-old Bongo had suffered a large stroke in 2018 and spent months in Morocco receiving remedy. Submit this an unsuccessful coup was tried after questions concerning his well being and capability to proceed as president surfaced.
He had been in energy for 14 years since succeeding his father Omar Bongo in 2009. Omar Bongo had been in energy for 41 years. He sought one other time period in final month’s elections, during which he was introduced winner. However, the junta referred to as it an “outrageously biased electoral course of.”
The coup had been broadly condemned by Africa and the West, together with France, Gabon’s former colonial ruler. Gen Brice Oligui Nguema, who was sworn in as transitional president vowed to return the nation to civilian rule after free and truthful elections. Oligui is a cousin of Bongo and headed the nation’s republican guard, an elite army unit.
Different political prisoners together with pro-democracy activist and chief of probably the most highly effective commerce union confederation, Jean Rémi Yama have been launched by the junta earlier this week.
