The wife of ousted Ali Bongo had been in detention since the 2023 military coup
Gabon’s government has transferred former First Lady Sylvia Bongo Ondimba and her son, Noureddin Bongo Valentin, to house arrest after detaining them for more than a year on charges of embezzlement, corruption, and money laundering, according to local media reports.
The move comes just one week after the swearing-in of the Central African country’s new leader, Brice Oligui Nguema, the former general who led the August 2023 military coup that ousted long-serving former President Ali Bongo Ondimba.
According to “reliable” sources cited by the Gabon Review news agency, Sylvia and Noureddin Bongo were moved from their cells on Friday to their family residence in Gabon’s capital, Libreville, where former president Ali Bongo has been under house arrest since his ouster. The two remain under judicial supervision, with charges pending and an obligation to cooperate with Gabonese authorities when required, the outlet stated.
Sylvia was first held in the wake of the coup and formally detained in October 2023, following a committal order related to accusations of money laundering and forgery.
At the time, her lawyer, François Zimeray, described the detention as “arbitrary” and “illegal,” while reports suggested she and her son were held either in the Central Prison in Libreville or possibly the basement of the presidential palace.
The Bongo family has long been at the center of Gabon’s political dynasty. Ali Bongo succeeded his late father, Omar Bongo, president of Gabon from 1967 to 2009, and ruled until the August 2023 coup, which followed a widely disputed election.
Bongo suffered a severe stroke in October 2018, causing him to have difficulty moving his right arm and leg. The coup leaders suspected Sylvia Bongo of manipulating her husband, who they claimed was suffering from the effects of the stroke, and of “massively embezzling public funds” alongside certain government officials.
Sylvia Bongo denied all of the allegations when she first appeared before judges in October 2023.
On April 30, the African Union adopted a resolution calling for the immediate release of Gabon’s former president, his family, and ex-officials, and for their rights, safety, and health to be protected.
Last year, the deposed president launched a hunger strike to protest the alleged torture of himself and his family after lawyers claimed that Sylvia and Noureddin Bongo had been beaten and strangled while in custody.
