A court in Gabon has sentenced former First Lady Sylvia Bongo and her son Noureddin Bongo Valentin to 20 years in prison after finding them guilty of embezzlement and corruption. The judgment, delivered on Tuesday night, followed a remarkably swift two-day trial conducted in their absence.
The pair were fined 100 million CFA francs ($177,000) each, while Noureddin was ordered to pay an additional 1.2 trillion CFA francs ($2.1 billion) in damages to the Gabonese state. Prosecutors accused them of abusing Ali Bongo’s ill health after his 2018 stroke to manipulate state resources for personal gain.
Both Sylvia and Noureddin denied the charges, calling the trial a “legal farce.” Noureddin described the verdict as a “rubber-stamping exercise,” alleging that the outcome was predetermined by President Brice Oligui Nguema, the military leader who overthrew Ali Bongo in August 2023 and later transitioned into civilian leadership.
The Bongos were detained for 20 months after the coup before being released in May 2025 and allowed to travel to London for medical reasons. Despite their release, the Gabonese court proceeded with the case in their absence.
Sylvia, a French national, and her son have accused Gabonese authorities of torture during detention, claims which the government has denied. Noureddin, who previously served as General Coordinator of Presidential Affairs, was accused of forgery and using his father’s signature to divert public funds.
The Bongo family ruled Gabon for more than five decades, with Omar Bongo governing for 42 years before his son Ali took over in 2009. Despite Gabon’s oil wealth, nearly a third of its citizens live in poverty.
The convictions mark a major shift in Gabon’s post-Bongo political era, as authorities pursue what they call a “new dawn of accountability.”
