deep clean

In Gabon, anti-Bongo coup or internal clan purge?

By Mathieu Olivier

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Posted on September 1, 2023 09:52

A torn campaign sign of Gabon’s now-deposed president, Ali Bongo Ondimba, in Libreville on 31 August 2023. (Photo ©AFP) — A torn campaign sign of Gabon’s now-deposed president, Ali Bongo Ondimba, in Libreville on 31 August 2023. (Photo © AFP)

Close friends and former staff members of Ali Bongo Ondimba were arrested on 30 August. Almost all have something in common: close ties with the former president’s son, Noureddin Bongo-Valentin.

The coup hasn’t revealed all its secrets yet, and Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, the general now leading the transitional government in Gabon, hasn’t fully explained his deeper reasons.

One thing is clear, though: the Comité pour la Transition et la Restauration des Institutions (CTRI) junta is targeting a segment of the old power structure, especially one man: Noureddin Bongo-Valentin (NBV).

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