All news

Deposed Gabonese president Ondimba free to leave country — interim president

General Bris Oliga Nguema, president of the transitional period of Gabon, read on national television in a statement saying that Ali ben Bongo Ondimba is free to move

PRETORIA, September 7. /TASS/. The ousted president of Gabon Ali Bongo Ondimba, who is currently under house arrest, can travel abroad, interim president Brice Oligui Nguema said in his statement, air on the national television.

"Ali Bongo Ondimba is free in his movement and can travel abroad, should he so desire," he said.

On August 30, a group of high-ranking officers in the Gabonese armed forces announced on state television that they had taken power in the country. The rebels consist of officers serving in the Central African nation’s security forces, armed forces and police, as well as members of the national guard and presidential guard. The rebels canceled the outcome of the August 26 presidential vote that resulted in President Ali Bongo Ondimba’s election to his third office term. The military claimed that the president was put "under house arrest, accompanied by his family and medics." Later on August 30, Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema was appointed an interim president.

On September 1, the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) summit demanded that the Gabonese military authorities immediately released Ondimba and restored the constitutional order in the country. On September 5, President of the Central African Republic Faustin-Archange Touadera arrived in Gabon with an ECCAS mandate. He was received by Nguema and held negotiations, including on Ondimba’s fate.