By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Gabonese authorities have transferred the wife and son of the country’s former president, Ali Bongo, from prison to house arrest, Reuters news agency quoted two sources as saying.
The 62-year-old Sylvia Bongo and her 33-year-old son, Nourredin Bongo, were taken into custody shortly after Ali Bongo was toppled in a military coup in 2023.
According to one of the sources, the duo had most recently been held in basement cells in the presidential palace in Libreville.
Following the transfer to house arrest on 9 May, they have been reunited with Ali Bongo.
The move came after pressure from African Union officials for their release. On 1 May, one of the sources said, they had been hospitalised after staging a hunger strike.
Sylvia and Nourredin Bongo have been accused of crimes including embezzlement and money laundering. Their supporters have claimed they were tortured while in custody.
Gabon’s new president, Brice Oligui Nguema, who staged the coup that ousted Bongo, denied in a March interview that they were tortured, and said their trials would proceed.
Nguema was elected to a seven-year term last month with nearly 95% of the vote and was sworn into office on 3 May.
In a meeting on 30 April, the African Union’s Peace and Security Council lifted its suspension of Gabon, which had been imposed following the 2023 coup.
In a statement, the council called for the immediate release of Ali Bongo’s family and for guarantees that their rights and health would be protected.
A representative for the family said Sylvia and Nourredin Bongo would not be making a public statement.
“This house arrest, which their lawyers have long been calling for, cannot be seen as clemency on the part of a government that has violated all the rights of the defence for more than 20 months,” said Alain Claude Bilie By Nze, a former prime minister under Bongo.
Nze ran in the presidential election that produced Nguema as winner.
“However, it is to be hoped that the trial, if it takes place, will respect all the legal guarantees of impartiality, fairness, and transparency,” he added.
It is not yet clear when the duo will appear in court for trial.
