ALBAWABA - Earlier on Thursday, the lawyer of the wife of Gabon's deposed president Ali Bongo Ondimba, under house arrest since a coup in the central African country in late August, has been jailed.
On September 28, Bongo's wife was accused of money laundering, forgery, and falsification of records. Sylvia Bongo Ondimba Valentin, accused of embezzling public funds, was jailed late Wednesday, according to her lawyer Francois Zimeray, who condemned the "arbitrary... illegal procedure" AFP reported.
The coup leaders claim that the former president and his supporters tampered with the election results.
They accuse Sylvia Bongo and her son, Nourredin Bongo Valentin, of seeking to sway the former president, who is still recovering from a catastrophic stroke suffered in 2018.
They say that for the last five years, the two have effectively ruled the oil-rich country and cheated the public money.
The Bongos lawyer Zimeray said: "We condemned this illegal procedure. There is a difference between justice and arbitrary actions, between the law and revenge".
Bongo, who had ruled the central African country since 2009, was deposed by military leaders just seconds after being declared the winner of a presidential election. Many interpreted it as a liberation gesture rather than an ousting by the military.
Gabon Coup
On August 30th, A number of senior military officers in Gabon appeared on the Gabon 24 television channel to announce the suspension of elections and the closing of borders shortly after the election commission said President Ali Bongo had won a third term.
This announcement came after the Gabonese Election Centre (CGE) said on Wednesday that President Ali Bongo has won a third term in the presidential election with 64.27% of the vote.
Re-elected president Bongo was seeking to extend his family's 56-year reign in the country and to tighten the grip on the oil industry in the poverty-stricken African nation.
They also announced closing the country's borders till further notice. "We call on the people, the communities of brotherly nations that reside in Gabon as well as the Gabonese diaspora to remain calm and serene".
Gabon's government declared a statewide curfew and blocked internet access on Saturday (Aug. 26) evening, as voting in key national elections concluded.
