Gabon court jails ex-First Lady, son for 20 years over corruption

A court in Gabon has sentenced the country’s former First Lady, Sylvia Bongo, and her son, Noureddin Bongo, to 20 years imprisonment after finding them guilty of embezzling public funds.

The judgment, delivered on Wednesday after a two-day corruption trial, found both Sylvia, 62, and Noureddin, 33, guilty of several graft-related offences. The duo, who were tried in absentia, were accused of diverting public funds for personal use.

Sylvia, the wife of deposed President Ali Bongo, was also accused of manipulating her husband to misappropriate state resources. The Bongo family ruled Gabon for 55 years before being ousted from power.

She denied all charges.

Her son and co-defendant, Noureddin, criticised the trial as a “legal farce” in an interview with AFP last week.

Ex-president Ali Bongo was toppled in a coup on August 30, 2023, which brought General Brice Oligui Nguema to power.

The deposed leader is not facing prosecution.

Bongo ruled for 14 years and was overthrown moments after being proclaimed the winner in a presidential election the army and opposition declared fraudulent.

He had succeeded his father Omar Bongo Ondimba, who ruled with an iron fist for nearly 42 years until his death in 2009.

Bongo’s wife and son, who both hold French citizenship, were accused of exploiting the former leader, who suffered a serious stroke in 2018, to effectively run Gabon for their own personal profit.

Arrested after the coup, they were detained in the country for 20 months before being released in May and allowed to leave the country for London, officially on medical grounds.

Both allege they suffered torture during their detention.

Ten former allies of the Bongos are also on trial, accused of complicity in the embezzlement of public funds. Proceedings are expected to continue until Friday.

Prosecutor Eddy Minang said that statements by the co-accused and witnesses during the trial revealed a system of diverting public funds “for the benefit of private interests”.

In May last year, Sylvia and Noureddin Bongo filed a lawsuit in France alleging that they were “repeatedly and violently tortured” by Oligui’s closest army allies while in detention.

“We know full well that if we go back, we will suffer things far worse than we have already suffered,” Noureddin Bongo told AFP ahead of the trial.

He said his Gabonese lawyer would also not attend the hearing to avoid “justifying… a legal farce”.

“We are not opposed to the idea of being held accountable for so-called acts we may have committed,” Bongo insisted.

“But only if it is before an independent and genuine court of law, not one that is clearly under the orders of the executive branch in Gabon,” he told AFP.

The family also claims the new authorities have leant on the courts to find them guilty.

Oligui was officially sworn in as president in April after handing in his general’s uniform.

He has denied there was any form of torture and promised that both would have a “fair trial”.

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