Global outrage over Ali Bongo’s ouster in Gabon coup
Written by Adeola Ibrahim on August 31, 2023
The international community, yesterday, expressed concern and deplored the upwelling wave of military coups in Africa, as Gabon became the seventh African country to fall to a military coup.
Gabonese army officers, under the aegis of the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions, CTRI, yesterday, sacked President Ali Bongo, placed him under house arrest and took over power in the oil-rich Central African country.
The leaders of the coup in Gabon have named Republican Guard Chief, General Brice Oligui Nguema, as transitional president, according to a TV statement.
“General Oligui Nguema Brice was unanimously appointed chairman of the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions, chairman of the transition,” declared an officer in the presence of dozens of senior officers, according to the press release read out on Gabon 24.
With Gabon, the number of countries in Africa under military rule in the last two years has jumped to seven. The others are Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Sudan and Niger.
As the ousted Ali Bongo cried out for help, the Gabon coup elicited immediate reactions from President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria; the United Nations, UN; European Union, EU; African Union, AU; Commonwealth; United States of America, US; Russia; and France, who deplored the putsch.
While French Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, said her government was following events in Gabon “with the greatest attention,” Russia said it was “deeply concerned” over the situation in Gabon.
China called for “all sides” in Gabon to guarantee the safety of Bongo, “resolve differences through dialogue, (and) restore normal order as soon as possible.”
The French mining group, Eramet, which employs 8,000 people in Gabon, said it had halted activities in the country “for the safety of staff and the security of operations.”
