By Enyichukwu Enemanna
A court in Gabon has sentenced the former first lady and the son of ousted President Ali Bongo to 20 years in jail after just two days of trial.
Sylvia Bongo and Noureddin Bongo on Tuesday night were found guilty of embezzlement and corruption in absentia after a trial that began a day earlier.
They were both fined 100m CFA francs ($177,000) with Noureddin ordered to pay an extra 1.2tn CFA francs ($2.1; £1.6bn) for financial damages suffered by the Gabonese state. This was in connection with his role as the General Coordinator of Presidential Affairs, a position that he allegedly used to embezzle this amount of public money.
They were accused of exploiting Ali Bongo’s condition after he suffered a stroke in 2018 to run the affairs of the West African nation for their selfish interest.
The duo denied the charges ahead of their trial, describing it as “a legal farce”. They are believed to be in London on exile.
Ali Bongo was ousted in an August 2023 coup led by Brice Oligui Nguema, who has since transformed into a civilian leader following a election in April this year.
Gabonese state prosecutor Eddy Minang on Monday told the court that they were “surprised” not to see the former first lady and her son in court as the trial began.
Noureddin described the conviction as a “rubber-stamping exercise”, saying it had been “predetermined a long time ago”, referring to the office of President Nguema.
He said it was “disappointing that a finding of guilt has been made without any semblance of evidence”.
The swiftness at which their case was handled and conviction passed has been met with surprise as they allege it was politically motivated.
The trial had been expected to last until Friday. Nine other co-accused allies of Bongo are still answering to corruption allegation and were present in court.
The Bongo family ruled Gabon for more than five decades. Ali Bongo was in power for 14 years before he was deposed in 2023. He had succeeded his father, Omar Bongo, who ruled for 42 years.
