Gabon Junta leader, Brice Oligui Nguema sworn in as interim President

The Leader of Gabon Coup, General Brice Oligui Nguema, has been sworn in as the Interim President less than a week after ousting Ali Bongo.

This online medium had reported that a group of senior military officials in Gabon declared on national television that they had assumed control of the government following the announcement by the state election body that President Ali Bongo had secured a third term.

Return to Democracy

Taking the oath of office, the coup leader said he was committed to serving the Gabonese people during the transitional process to a democratic election.

According to CNBC Africa, Oligui declared that the military had taken over without resorting to bloodshed and vowed to organize elections that would be free, transparent, and trustworthy to return power to the people. He said:

• “When the people are crushed by their leaders … it’s the army that gives them back their dignity. People of Gabon, today the times of happiness that our ancestors dreamt of are finally coming.”
• Oligui also assured that elections will be on the agenda until the transition period is over.
• “After this transition … we intend to return power to civilians by organizing new elections that will be free, transparent, credible, and peaceful.”

What you should know

On August 30, shortly after Gabon’s election commission declared President Ali Bongo’s victory for a third term, a faction of Gabonese military officers from the elite presidential guard took control, detaining the president at his palace.

Within the same day, these officers appointed General Brice Oligui Nguema as the head of the transitional government bringing an end to nearly 60 years of dictatorship of the Bongo family.

AU Reacts

Following the military coup that happened last week, The African Union (AU) suspended the membership of Gabon. This marks the first regional response to the eighth coup that has occurred in West and Central Africa since 2020.

The military takeover of President’s Bongo rule was strongly condemned by the African Union, hence the reason why the Central African country participated in all activities of the AU and its institutions until democracy was restored.

Gabon joins Niger Republic, Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea, and Sudan as countries that have been suspended by the AU.