The son of Ali Bongo and some of the former president’s close associates have been accused of serious wrongdoing and taken into custody, according to the state prosecutor.
Ali Bongo’s oldest son, Noureddin Bongo Valentin, and a former spokesperson for the president, Jessye Ella Ekogha, along with four others close to the former leader, have been formally accused and put in temporary custody, stated Libreville prosecutor Andre-Patrick Roponat.
Bongo, aged 64, who had been in charge of the oil-rich country in Central Africa since 2009, was removed from power by military leaders on August 30, right after he was announced as the winner of a presidential election.
The opposition and the military who led the coup called the result a fake, and they also accused Bongo’s government of widespread corruption and poor leadership.
On the same day as the coup, soldiers arrested one of Bongo’s sons, five top government officials, and his wife, Sylvia Bongo Valentin. The national TV show showed continuous images of those detained in front of bags of money reportedly taken from their homes.
SOURCE: FRANCE24