Soldiers Who Seized Power in Gabon Name Their New Leader
Soldiers who seized power in a coup in Gabon on Wednesday have named General Brice Oligui Nguema as the West African state’s transitional leader.
Within hours, generals met to discuss who would lead the transition and agreed by a unanimous vote to appoint general Nguema, former head of the presidential guard.
General Nguema was earlier carried triumphally through the streets of the capital Libreville by his troops.
The deposed President, Ali bongo, has appeared in a video at his home, calling on his “friends all over the world” to “make noise” on his behalf.
Army officers appeared on TV in the early hours of Wednesday to say they had taken power.
The officers also said they had arrested one of Mr. Bongo’s sons for treason.
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Crowds in Libreville and elsewhere celebrated the army’s declaration, but the coup was condemned by the United Nations (UN), the African Union (AU) and France, which had close ties to the Bongo family.
The United State department urged Gabon’s military to “preserve civilian rule” while the United Kingdom (UK) condemned the “unconstitutional military takeover” of power.
Gen Nguema, 48, was absent from the first three statements read out by senior army officers on national television to announce the coup.
But he was named transitional leader soon after, and was carried through the streets in jubilant scenes.
He was aide-de-camp to the ousted leader’s father, Omar Bongo, who ruled for almost 42 years until his death in 2009.
A former close colleague told AFP news agency that Gen Nguema had been extremely close to Omar Bongo, serving him from 2005 until his death in a Spanish hospital.
Under Ali Bongo he first worked as a military attache at Gabon’s embassies in Morocco and Senegal.
