LIBREVILLE: Sylvia Bongo Ondimba Valentin, the wife of Gabon’s deposed president Ali Bongo Ondimba, who has been under house arrest since a late August coup over alleged embezzlement of public funds, was placed in a Libreville prison on Thursday.
Sylvia Bongo, a Franco-Gabonese national, faced charges of money laundering, forgery, and falsification of records, and she was provisionally imprisoned after an extended hearing in front of a judge, according to her lawyer Gisele Eyue-Bekale.
The lawyer mentioned that a request for a hearing in 10 days had been granted, during which she would seek her client’s release. Sylvia Bongo and one of the couple’s sons are under investigation as part of a broader inquiry into alleged massive embezzlement of public funds. Their eldest son, Noureddin Bongo Valentin, has been detained, along with six former cabinet officials, according to legal sources.
Military Coup Ends 55-Year Rule of Bongo Dynasty in Gabon
Sylvia Bongo had been under house arrest in Libreville since an August 30 coup that marked the end of 55 years of rule by the Bongo dynasty. The coup leaders accused her of manipulating the former president, who suffered the after-effects of a severe stroke in 2018, and of effectively controlling the oil-rich country for the past five years.
Her husband, Ali Bongo, had ruled the central African nation since 2009 and was overthrown by military leaders, moments after being declared the winner in a presidential election that was widely regarded as fraudulent. The military coup leaders accused his regime of extensive corruption and poor governance.
Sylvia Bongo had been isolated from her husband, and her French lawyers had criticized what they perceived as a hostage situation. Her Paris-based lawyer, Francois Zimeray, denounced the imprisonment, stating, “We condemned this illegal procedure” and emphasizing the difference between justice and arbitrary actions and the rule of law versus revenge.
The overthrow of the Bongo dynasty was seen by many in Gabon as an act of liberation rather than a military coup, and Sylvia Bongo had little or no support on the capital’s streets.
