Gabon military leader, Gen Brice Oligui Nguema
Gabon: Nguema, coup leader and Bongo’s cousin, sworn in as interim president
The military leader of the coup that ousted Gabon’s president last week was sworn in Monday as the country’s new transitional president.
General Brice Oligui Nguema replaced Ali Bongo, whose family has held the presidency for more than half a century.
Nguema, who was the head of the country’s presidential guard, led a group of soldiers to seize power from Bongo last Wednesday after a controversial election.
The military officers had cited institutional, political, economic, and social crises as reasons for the coup.
After announcing that Bongo had been ousted, the soldiers, who identified themselves as members of the Committee of Transition and Restoration of Institutions (CTRI), said they were dissolving “all the institutions of the republic” and closing the country’s borders.
However, on Saturday, the coup leaders reopened the borders, saying they were “concerned with preserving respect for the rule of law, good relations with our neighbours and all states of the world” — and wanted to keep “international commitments”.
Nguema delivered a televised address following the swearing-in ceremony.
Bongo’s ouster last month happened just moments after he declared victory in the presidential election.
Soldiers of the Republican Guard stand on their armed pick-up in a street in Libreville, Gabon, August 30, 2023.
The coup seems to have support from people who took to the streets in Gabon to celebrate the ouster of the Bongo family.
Western leaders see the situation differently, but Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, said, “Naturally, military coups are not the solution, but we must not forget that in Gabon there had been elections full of irregularities.”
The opposition believes it is the rightful heir to the election and has called on the international community for support in that effort.
