The former spokesperson for the presidency of the Gabonese Republic, Ike Ngouoni, released on April 3 following a presidential pardon, after five years in prison for embezzlement of public funds, embezzlement and money laundering, broke his silence on Saturday, by delivering his first public statement to the press.
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With our correspondent in Libreville, Yves-Laurent Goma
White shirt, suit without tie, well-groomed, Ike Ngouoni appeared before the press in perfect form. “ Free, finally! After almost five years of injustice in conditions of incarceration that I would not wish on anyone. I have a heartfelt thought for all those whose sad condition I shared and who remain wrongly incarcerated. “, he declared Saturday April 6.
Ali Bongo’s former spokesperson was arrested and imprisoned in September 2019. He was prosecuted as part of an anti-corruption operation called “Scorpion” which caused the fall of several strong men of the Bongo system in 2019. Tried in July 2022, Ike Ngouoni was sentenced to eight years in prison. prison closed. The court found him guilty of having embezzled seven billion CFA francs (around ten million euros).
“Clean hands” operation
“ During my purely political trial, I never stopped proclaiming my innocence, he recalled. Never the slightest evidence, never the slightest testimony has been provided to support the unfounded accusations made against me. »
“ My release, like others, sends a strong signal, he said after his release following a presidential pardon. The signal that Gabon today, in democratic recovery, is on the right track. » Several former relatives of Ali Bongo, thrown in prison as part of this “clean hands” operation, have already been released by the military in power. Others are still in jails. Ike Ngouoni said he made himself available to the Republic.