Gabon coup: Junta frees Ali Bongo

Gabon’s military coup leaders have released the deposed President Ali Bongo and allowed him to travel abroad for medical attention.

Col. Ulrich Manfoumbi, the junta spokesperson, made this known on state television on Wednesday.

Bongo has reportedly been held under house arrest since the coup in the Central African nation in August.

“Given his state of health, the former President of the Republic Ali Bongo Ondimba is free to move about. He may, if he wishes, travel abroad to receive medical check-ups,” junta spokesperson Col. Ulrich Manfoumbi said on state television, reading a statement from transitional leader Gen. Brice Oligui Nguema.

The transitional leader Gen Brice Oligui Nguema-led junta also released images showing Bongo greeting Abdou Abarry, head of the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa, at Bongo’s residence in the capital Libreville.

The deposed Gabonese leader has been rarely seen since the coup. Shortly after his overthrow, a video surfaced of him appealing to supporters to “make noise” after military officers placed him on house arrest.

“The people here have arrested me. I’m in the residence. I don’t know what is going on,” he said in the footage.

A failed coup attempt was launched in 2019 after 64-year-old Bongo suffered a stroke in 2018 and spent months outside of Gabon undergoing treatment in Morocco. This raised concerns about Bongo’s fitness to serve as president.

Since taking over from his father Omar Bongo in 2009, he has been in charge for 14 years. In the disputed elections last month, he ran for reelection.