Gabon Military Coup: President Ali Bongo Detained, Former Head of Paspampres Appointed to Lead the Transition

President Gabon Ali Bongo Ondimba. (Wikimedia Commons/Foreign and Commonwealth Office)

JAKARTA - Senior Gabonese military officers announced they had placed President Ali Bongo Ondimba under house arrest, in line with their power struggle after the incumbent won a third term, appointing an interim leader from among them during the transition period.

Within hours, the generals met to discuss who would lead the transition and agreed unanimously to appoint Gen. Brice Oligui Nguema, the former head of Gabon's presidential security force (Paspampres), according to another televised speech.

Meanwhile, from his detention location at his residence, Bongo appealed via video statement to foreign allies, asking them to speak on behalf of him and his family. She said she didn't know what happened.

Hundreds of people celebrated the military intervention in the streets of Gabon's capital, Libreville. Meanwhile the UN, African Union and France, Gabon's former colonial ruler which has troops there, condemned the coup.

"I'm protesting today because I'm happy. After almost 60 years, Bongo lost his power," said Jules Lebigui, an unemployed 27-year-old who joined the crowd in Libreville, as reported by Reuters, August 31.

Bongo took power in 2009 after the death of his father, Omar, who ruled since 1967. Opponents say the family has done little to share the country's oil and mining wealth among its 2.3 million people.

Gabonese officials, calling themselves the Committee for Transition and Restoration of Institutions, said that the country was facing a "grave institutional, political, economic and social crisis", that the August 26 vote could not be trusted.

They also said they had arrested the president's son, Noureddin Bongo Valentin, and a number of other people for corruption and treason.

There has been no direct comment from the Gabon Government regarding this matter.

As previously reported, a number of senior military officers appearing on the Gabon 24 television channel said the election results were annulled, all borders were closed until further notice and state institutions were disbanded.

The soldiers introduced themselves as members of the Institutional Transition and Restoration Committee. The state institutions that they declared dissolved included the government, the senate, the national assembly, the constitutional court and the electoral body.

"In the name of the Gabonese people, we decided to maintain peace by ending the current ruling regime," the officers said in a statement.

It is known that the officers said they represented all security and defense forces in the Central African country.

Tensions are running high in Gabon amid fears of rioting following Saturday's presidential, parliamentary and legislative elections, which saw Bongo seek to extend his family's 56-year rule.

Meanwhile, Gabon's opposition is pushing for change in a country rich in oil and cocoa but poor and frequently hit by disasters.

The lack of international monitors, the suspension of some overseas broadcasters, and the government's decision to cut off internet services and impose a nationwide curfew after the election have raised concerns about the transparency of the electoral process.