The senior General officers who seized power in Gabon through a military coup named General Brice Oligui Nguema as the Country’s transitional leader.
He was carried triumphantly through the streets of Libreville by his troops as they celebrated his appointment. The citizens were elated as the general was carried through the streets.
The generals met hours after their announcement to determine who the leader would be. General Nguema, former head of the presidential guard, was unanimously voted as the transitional leader.
Prior to the announcement, the deposed President, Ali Bongo, appeared in a video in his home calling on his ‘friends all over the world’ to ‘make noise’ on his behalf. The deposed president was put under house arrest by the coup leaders after they took over power.
Gabon was a French colony and is considered one of the major oil producers in Africa. Aside from Gabon, many West African countries that were under French colonisation have suffered coups since 2020. This includes Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali among others.
Ali Bongo’s deposement put an end to his family’s 55-year hold on power. He took over power from his father and had been re-elected for a third term according to the election results.
The Army officers who took over power were seen on television announcing that they had annulled the Saturday election results in which Ali Bongo was declared the winner. The opposition mentioned after the election results were released that the elections were fraudulent.
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The Gabon Coup
In addition to that, the officers mentioned that they had arrested one of Ali Bongo’s sons for treason.
Crowds throughout the capital city, Libreville, celebrated the announcement from the army.
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The coup has however been condemned by the United Nations, the African Union, and France, which has close ties to the Bongo families. In addition to that, they are against the disregard of election results and coup takeovers. According to them, the coups taking place throughout West African Countries are undermining democracy and what it stands for.
“At first I was scared, but then I felt joy. I was scared because of the realisation that I am living through a coup, but the joy is because we’ve been waiting for so long for this regime to be overthrown,” a citizen of Gabon stated.
In Gabon, there has been a growing resentment towards the Bongo family for the past 55 years. The public has shown its discontent with the rulers but the poll results always announce them as the leaders elect.
The US state urged Gabon’s military to ‘preserve civilian rule’ and urged ‘those responsible to release and ensure the safety of members of government’. The UK also condemned the ‘unconstitutional military takeover’ of power.
The Coup has sparked a lot of fear for leaders who have been in power for an extended period of time. Paul Kagame, the Rwandese president approved the retirement of some senior officials in his army a few hours after the Gabon coup occurred. Nigerians have equally warned their president to work for their citizens or they will continue the trend that is taking place.
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