LUANDA, Angola — Ali Bongo Ondimba, the former president of Gabon who was deposed in a military coup last year, has been freed from house arrest and flown to Angola, officials said on Friday.
Bongo, who led Gabon for 14 years before being ousted in August 2023, arrived in the Angolan capital, Luanda, with his wife Sylvia and their son, Noureddin. The move ends nearly nine months of confinement in the family’s residence in Libreville, where they were held following the sudden collapse of the Bongo dynasty.
The Angolan presidency confirmed the arrival in a brief statement on social media, saying simply: “The Bongo family has been released and has just arrived in Luanda.” Photographs showed the 65-year-old former leader being greeted on the tarmac by Angolan officials.
His release came after quiet negotiations between Angolan President João Lourenço and Gabon’s current leader, Brice Oligui Nguema a former military chief who led the coup and has since been confirmed as president in elections last month.
The Angolan government did not provide further details about the discussions that led to Bongo’s departure. However, it marks a significant shift in a saga that has gripped Central Africa since the coup toppled a family that had ruled Gabon for more than five decades.
Nguema, 49, was sworn in earlier this month after winning nearly 95 percent of the vote in a tightly controlled poll that followed his months-long rule as interim president. While his administration has promised reforms, critics have raised concerns about democratic backsliding and the lack of political pluralism.
Bongo’s fall came amid growing discontent over corruption, economic inequality, and questions about his health following a 2018 stroke that left him visibly weakened. His wife Sylvia and son Noureddin were accused of siphoning public funds and faced criminal investigations under the junta’s anti-corruption drive. Both had been held in an annex of the presidential compound but were reportedly transferred to a private residence in recent weeks.
Human rights organisations had raised concerns about the family’s detention, particularly the lack of due process. Their departure to Angola may now serve as a face-saving solution for both sides one that offers exile rather than prosecution, and potentially defuses a sensitive political standoff.
Neither Bongo nor his family have made public statements since their arrival in Luanda. It is unclear whether they will remain in Angola permanently or seek asylum elsewhere.
The Bongo family’s long rule beginning with Ali Bongo’s father, Omar, in 1967 came to symbolize both stability and stagnation in the oil-rich West African nation. The coup last year, though largely peaceful, was a jarring moment for Gabonese citizens accustomed to dynastic continuity.
Nguema’s government has framed the takeover as a necessary “correction,” pledging to root out corruption and hold new elections. Whether Bongo’s quiet release signals a softening stance or a strategic decision to move forward remains to be seen.
