Albert Ondo Ossa, Gabon’s opposition leader has laid accusations on the family of the recently overthrown President, Ali Bongo Ondimba of orchestrating his removal from power in order to retain their control in the oil-rich Central African nation.
Ossa revealed in comments to a media agency that the junta who ousted Gabon’s President did not engage in a coup but rather a “palace revolution” in order to continue their family’s reign.
On Wednesday, August 30, 2023, soldiers staged a coup against President Ali Bongo Ondimba and put him under house arrest, accusing him of irresponsible governance that risked leading the country into chaos.
Hours later, they announced that Head of the elite republican guard, Gen. Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, who happens to be Bongo’s cousin, is in charge.
Gen. Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema is expected to be sworn as transitional President on Monday, September 4, 2023, before the constitutional court.
“The Bongos have decided to put Ali Bongo aside and continue their system,” Ossa averred.
“The Gabonese people took to the streets at night to celebrate the departure of Bongo, but I’m saying that it’s not the Bongo family that departed. A Bongo took over from a Bongo.”
Albert Ondo Ossa
Bongo has not been heard from since a video message circulated hours after he was toppled on Wednesday. In the video, he stated that he was being held in his residence in the capital, Libreville. He appealed to the international community and Gabonese citizens to “make noise.”
Ossa lost the presidential election in August to Bongo by more than 30 percentage points. The vote was widely criticized by locals and the international community for irregularities and a lack of transparency.
Meanwhile, Ossa’s Chief of staff, Mike Jocktane, has called for a recount of the votes under the supervision of the armed forces, so that Ossa could assume the presidency.
“A Ridiculous Thing To Say”
Mark Pursey, the Chief executive officer of BTP Advisers, criticized Ossa’s statement.
He called allegations that the Bongos were behind the coup “nonsense.”
Pursey averred, “It’s a ridiculous thing to say. Does anyone really believe that the President Bongo would organize a coup against himself?
“I think Ossa in a few short sentences has demonstrated why he was not fit to hold the office of President himself,” he added.
Maja Bovcon, senior Africa Analyst at risk intelligence company, Verisk Maplecroft opined that it “is a question of whether the coup indeed ended the Bongo family rule or if we are simply witnessing another power struggle between different factions within the family.”
She noted that the Bongo dynasty and those associated with it through family ties have permeated state institutions and key economic activities and it will be extremely difficult to undercut their influence.
Ali Bongo Ondimba has served two terms since coming to power in 2009 after the death of his father, who ruled the country for 41 years, and there has been widespread displeasure with his reign.
Another group of mutinous soldiers attempted a coup in 2019 but was quickly overpowered.
Bongo’s family has been accused of corruption and not utilizing country’s oil wealth for the betterment of the population of about 2 million people.
Gabon’s coup is the eight military takeover in Central and West Africa in three years and comes roughly a month after Niger’s democratically elected President, Mohamed Bazoum, was ousted.
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