The military leaders in Gabon have announced that President Ali Bongo is now under house arrest.
This comes hours after announcing they had overthrown the government.
“President Ali Bongo is under house arrest, surrounded by his family and doctors,” they said in a statement read out on state TV.
Bongo's progeny and esteemed confidant, Noureddin Bongo Valentin, alongside his trusted Chief of Staff, Ian Ghislain Ngoulou, as well as his deputy, two additional counselors in the presidential inner circle, and the preeminent figures within the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), have been apprehended, according to a high-ranking military official.
The litany of accusations leveled against them is extensive, encompassing charges of treason, embezzlement, corruption, and the falsification of the president's signature, among a litany of other allegations, as detailed by the military spokesperson.
In a turn of events earlier on that Wednesday, military figures disclosed that they had effectively ousted President Bongo, who had commanded authority for an unbroken span of 14 years. This abrupt displacement occurred mere hours after the president had been officially declared victorious in the elections held the preceding Saturday.
