Former Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba and his family have been released from detention and have arrived in Luanda, Angola, the Angolan presidency confirmed on Friday. Bongo, who led Gabon for 14 years before being overthrown in a military coup in August 2023, had been under house arrest in the capital Libreville since his ouster.
Photos released on the Angolan presidency’s Facebook page showed the former leader arriving in Luanda, accompanied by his wife Sylvia and son Noureddin, both of whom had also been detained. Sylvia and Noureddin faced accusations of embezzling public funds and had reportedly endured harsh conditions during their detention, with their lawyers alleging acts of torture.
The release followed diplomatic negotiations between Angolan President Joao Lourenco and Gabon’s transitional leader, General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, who led the coup that ended the Bongo family’s 55-year grip on power. No detailed terms of the agreement were disclosed, but the move comes after Gabon’s recent reintegration into the African Union, which Lourenco currently chairs.
General Oligui, sworn in earlier this month after winning 94.85 percent of the vote in an April 12 election deemed broadly credible by international observers, has faced criticism for the Bongo family’s quiet release. Former Prime Minister and opposition leader Alain-Claude Bilie By Nze argued their detention lacked legal basis and claimed Oligui yielded to international pressure rather than showing clemency.
Domestic criticism has also emerged. Geoffroy Foumboula Libeka, a member of Gabon’s transitional parliament, described the release as “a real disgrace” and questioned the country’s sovereignty, suggesting it was a concession made to regain AU membership.
The Bongo dynasty, which began with Omar Bongo in 1967, presided over a nation rich in oil but plagued by poverty, unemployment, and poor infrastructure. Ali Bongo’s leadership was marred by allegations of corruption and questions over his health, particularly following a debilitating stroke in 2018.
His rule ended abruptly in August 2023, shortly after being declared the winner of a disputed election—one the military and opposition denounced as fraudulent.
