Gabonese junta jails former first lady for embezzlement
The wife of Gabon’s ousted President, Ali Bongo Ondimba, who has been under house arrest since the coup in late August, has been jailed on suspicion of embezzling public funds.
Sylvia Bongo Ondimba Valentin was charged in September with money laundering, forgery and falsification of records.
The former first lady has remained in Libreville under house arrest until her arrest and her lawyer, Francois Zimeray, denounced the “arbitrary… illegal procedure”.
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Their eldest son, Noureddin Bongo Valentin, has already been charged with corruption and embezzlement of public funds along with several former cabinet members and ex-ministers.
Bongo, who ruled Gabon for ten years, was overthrown by military leaders following his presidential election win.
Gabon is Africa’s third-richest nation in terms of per-capita GDP, however, one in three people live below the poverty line according to the World Bank.