DUBAI, September 4. /TASS/. Senior military officers in Gabon, after seizing power in the Central African nation, have announced the launch of an investigation into members of the overthrown elite, including a son of Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba, the Al Mayadeen TV channel reported.
According to the TV channel’s information, the investigation will be launched against individuals who have been detained by the military and accused of high treason, corruption and embezzlement. In turn, Agence France-Presse reported that General Brice Oligui Nguema, who took the helm for the transitional period, will be sworn in as president on Monday. The agency noted that neither the general nor his supporters had indicated how long the transitional period may last.
A group of high-ranking officers in the Gabonese armed forces announced on state television on August 30 that they had taken power in the country. The rebels consist of officers serving in the Central African nation’s Republican Guard, security forces, armed forces and police. The rebels canceled the outcome of the August 26 presidential vote, in which President Ondimba was declared re-elected to a third term in office. The military said that he was under house arrest surrounded by his family and doctors. Later that day, at a meeting of generals, Nguema was named as the country’s transitional leader.