Africa-Press – Cape verde. The President of the Republic of Cape Verde, José Maria Neves, condemned, Wednesday, 30, the ongoing coup d’état in Gabon, warning that coups are not the solution to the political and economic problems of the African continent. The military of this Central African country, who took power at dawn on Wednesday, August 30, have already announced the dissolution of the Republic’s institutions.
This coup once again shows the complexity and difficulty of the continent at this time. It also shows us that there are certainly problems in terms of governance, political and economic institutions, the expectations of citizens and civil societies in different African countries and responses to the challenges facing the development of the continent”, said the head of Cape Verdean state.
The Gabonese army overthrew President Ali Bongo Ondimba and announced, early on Wednesday, General Brice Oligui Nguema, head of the presidential guard, as the country’s new head of state, in the latest coup d’état in the region.
President ousted from house arrest
The military coup took place shortly after the announcement of the results of last weekend’s presidential elections, which brought the president back to the post he has held since succeeding his father in 2009.
According to information advanced by the international press, members of the army appeared on a broadcast on state television, with soldiers in the background shouting “Oligui president” and the sound of automatic machine gun fire.
Quoted by the French newspaper Le Monde, Nguema said that Bongo “was retired”: “He was reformed. He has all his rights. He is an ordinary person from Gabon, like everyone else,” he said, denying, however, that he led the coup.
Bongo, the ousted president, is under house arrest, according to the army.
In a video released, he asked for help against his arrest: “I am sending a message to all the friends we have around the world to tell them to make noise against the people who arrested me and my family.”
Accusation of high treason against state institutions
Nureddin Bongo Valentin, son and close associate of the deposed president; Ian Ghislain Ngoulou, Chief of Staff; and other government officials, as well as numbers one and two of Bongo’s Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) were also detained, announced an army colonel, who read, in the early hours of the morning, a communiqué announcing that the military was “putting an end to the regime ”.
“They were arrested for high treason against state institutions, massive embezzlement of public funds, international financial embezzlement in an organized gang, active corruption and drug trafficking,” said the colonel.
Presidential elections on Saturday, August 26, were troubled
Hours before the announcement of the seizure of power, the Electoral Center of Gabon (CGE, in its acronym in French) had announced, on state TV, without prior announcement, the official results of the presidential elections, which gave victory to Ali Bongo Ondimba, with 64.27% of the votes against 30.77% for his main rival, Albert Ondo Ossa.
The election was, however, highly questioned by the opposition, which alleges fraud. On polling day, two hours before the polls closed, the main Gabonese opposition parties denounced fraud and began to demand that the victory of Ondo Ossa, a former minister and university professor, be recognized.
On Saturday, August 26th, in the midst of the tension, Ali Bongo cut internet connections and imposed a curfew. Hours after the coup was announced, internet connections were restored.
dissolved institutions
In the statement, the military announced the annulment of the elections and the dissolution of “all institutions” in the country.
The military, who claimed to speak on behalf of a “Commission for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions”, also announced that the country’s borders will remain “closed until further notice”.
In the streets of Libreville, residents danced and celebrated the coup. In one video, people can be seen shouting “liberated!” and waving the Gabonese flag alongside military vehicles.
The Bongo family has governed the country since 1967: first was Omar Bongo, who remained in the Presidency for 42 years until his death in 2009, being succeeded in the same year by his son Ali Bongo, now 64 years old. Previously, Ali Bongo was Minister of Defense from 1999 to 2009.
international reaction
At the international level, China called for the “guarantee of Ali Bongo’s security”, while France, a former colonial power, “condemned the ongoing military coup”.
Russia, which has increased influence in the region, expressed its “deep concern”.
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