Coup plotters in Gabon, Central Africa, have named the head of the presidential guard, Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, as the new ruler. Nguema, who according to media reports is also a cousin of deposed President Ali Bongo Ondimba, will become “interim president”, as announced yesterday by the Transitional Council spokesperson on state broadcaster Gabon 24.
Earlier in the day, the military announced the seizure of power and the dismissal of the Bongo family, which ruled autocratically for decades, after Ali Bongo was elected for a third term, according to official election results. on the weekend.
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Chief of the Guard
Since 2020, Nguema has been head of the Republican Guard, an elite army unit responsible for protecting the head of state. According to a report by medium Jeune Afrique, his mother was related to Ali Bongo’s father, Omar, who governed the small country on the Atlantic coast from 1967 until his death in 2009.
Like the Bongo family, considered one of the richest families in the world, Nguema has also been linked to corruption accusations. He is said to own several properties in the US. Gabon’s approximately 2.3 million inhabitants live in great poverty, despite enormous oil reserves.