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After placing the recently reelected President Ali Bongo Ondimba under house arrest and accusing him of treason and vast embezzlement during his lengthy leadership over the oil-rich Central African country, mutinous troops in Gabon declared their republican guard head to be the country’s leader on Wednesday.
In a statement broadcast on state television in Gabon, the coup’s organizers claimed that Gen. Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema had been “unanimously” elected as the head of a transitional council.
Oligui is a distant relative of Bongo, who was named the victor of the nation’s most recent presidential election earlier on Wednesday. Bongo and his late father had ruled the country for 55 years.
Bongo urged supporters to “make noise” in a video he recorded while being detained at home. However, the masses that flocked to the capital’s streets instead cheered the coup against a family that was allegedly making money off the nation’s resource wealth while many of its residents struggled.
“Thanks, army. We’ve been waiting for this moment for a very long time,” declared Yollande Okomo as she addressed the republican guard personnel who had assisted in the coup.
On Thursday, according to the leaders of the coup, there would be a curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. local time, but everyone would be free to go about their daily lives during the day.
“The president of the transition insists on the need to maintain calm and serenity in our beautiful country … At the dawn of a new era, we will guarantee the peace, stability and dignity of our beloved Gabon,” Lt. Col. Ulrich Manfoumbi said on state TV Wednesday.
Previously serving as the late President Omar Bongo’s bodyguard was Oligui, the new military commander, according to Desire Ename, a journalist with the local media website Echos du Nord.
Prior to leading the republican guard in 2019, Oligui also served as the head of the secret service.
There has been significant discontent with Ali Bongo Ondimba’s tenure, which has lasted two terms since he took office in 2009 following the death of his father, who controlled the nation for 41 years. In 2019, a different gang of rebellious troops attempted a coup but were promptly defeated.
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com
