Amidst the turbulent political landscape in Gabon, Sylvia Bongo Ondimba Valentin, the wife of the deposed president Ali Bongo Ondimba, has been incarcerated after being under house arrest since the late August coup. The arrest is linked to suspicions of embezzlement of public funds, as confirmed by her Paris-based lawyer, Francois Zimeray, who denounced the entire process as “arbitrary and illegal.”
Sylvia Bongo Ondimba Valentin, a Franco-Gabonese national, was detained late on Wednesday. Her legal troubles began on September 28 when she was charged with offenses that included money laundering, forgery, and falsification of records.
According to reports from Gabonese media, after an extended hearing in front of a judge, she was taken into custody at a prison in the capital city of Libreville.
Sylvia Bongo had previously been placed under house arrest in Libreville following a coup that unfolded on August 30, culminating in the end of the Bongo dynasty’s 55-year rule. The coup transpired just moments after Ali Bongo, who had governed the central African nation since 2009, was declared the victor in a presidential election.
The election’s legitimacy had been fiercely contested by the opposition and the military leaders who executed the coup. These coup leaders have also accused Ali Bongo’s administration of rampant corruption and poor governance.
The putschists further assert that Sylvia Bongo played a pivotal role in manipulating the former president, who had been grappling with the after-effects of a severe stroke in 2018. Additionally, it is alleged that she and one of their sons effectively controlled the levers of power in the oil-rich nation for the past five years and misappropriated public funds.
In connection to these allegations, their eldest son, Noureddin Bongo Valentin, has been formally charged with corruption and embezzlement of public funds, along with several former cabinet members and two ex-ministers. The arrest and legal actions reflect the complexities of the ongoing political transformation in Gabon.