The commander of the Gabonese Republican Guard who deposed democratically elected President Ali Bongo, General Brice Clothaire Oligui Nguema, has been charged with embezzlement and drug trafficking.Read Full Article
The military junta in Gabon declared on Wednesday morning that it will succeed Bongo following the removal of Mohamed Bazoum as president of Niger.
According to Bendelnews, a number of military authorities announced today’s revocation of the recently held general elections in Gabon, which gave rise to President Bongo.
They asserted that there had been irregularities in the election and that it was necessary for them to seize power “in the interest of the Gabonese people.”
A 2020 Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) poll claims that General Oligui Nguema, one of the most influential individuals in the Gabonese army, is the owner of many properties in the United States that are apparently valued more than $1 million. After the successful coup, this information initially became public.
General Nguema purchased a home in Silver Spring, Maryland, for $447,000 cash in 2018, according to The New Tribune, a French news source.
The article claims that General Nguema is well known for being a multibillionaire, engaged in embezzlement, and having ties to the drug trade operated by South American-Ivorian cartels.
The magazine conducted research on the background of the Coup leader and discovered that Nguema served as a military attaché at the Gabon Embassy in Morocco and Senegal for ten years prior to taking on his current position.
The source also speculated that Nguema had been in exile during this period.
Additionally, he assumed leadership of the Republican Guard a year after the stroke Ali Bongo suffered in October 2018.
Nguema was apparently involved in disputed issues prior to his recent participation in the removal of President Bongo, whose family had long maintained the position of power.
