The fate of Ali Bongo is particularly scrutinized this Wednesday, August 30, 2023. The President of Gabon was overthrown by putschist soldiers. The latter announced that they had placed the statesman under house arrest.
Following the revelation of a coup d’etat in Gabon on Wednesday, the details concerning the situation of the deposed president, Ali Bongo Ondimba, remained temporarily obscure. Reports from sources collected by Agence France-Presse indicate that the neighborhood housing his residence in Libreville was immersed in calm. But on the state television channel, putschist soldiers revealed that the deposed president had been placed under house arrest this Wednesday, August 30 at night. One of his sons was also arrested for “high treason”.
As a reminder, following the outcome of the presidential election and the formalization of Ali Bongo’s victory, this Wednesday morning at night, members of the Gabonese army took the floor on television to proclaim the ” termination of the current regime”. They claimed to have brought the ousted president under their control.
The election results proclaimed Ali Bongo’s victory with 64.27% of the vote in the first round. Albert Ondo Ossa, the main opposition figure had challenged the holding of this election even before the counting of the ballot boxes by denouncing “fraud orchestrated by the Bongo camp”.
Where is Ali Bongo?
The soldiers of the Gabon Institutions Transition and Restoration Committee indicated that Ali Bongo “is surrounded by his family and his doctors”. The health of this head of state has often fueled debates due to a stroke in 2018. The opposition had unsuccessfully requested medical expertise before the elections were held.
The presidential residence of Gabon is called the Palais du bord de mer. This huge building is ten times the size of the Elysée according to Franceinfo. A building with a pharaonic budget with a luxury decoration where imposing paintings by Ali Bongo and his father Omar are enthroned.