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Military junta charges son of ousted Gabon Leader, Ali Bongo, with treason

Military junta charges son of ousted Gabon Leader, Ali Bongo, with treason

Noureddin Bongo Valentin, the eldest son of deposed president Ali Bongo, has been accused of treason by the military junta in Gabon.

Former presidential spokeswoman Jessye Ella Ekogha and four other close associates of the ousted leader are also indicted.

Libreville prosecutor Andre-Patrick Roponat was quoted by Radio France Internationale as saying that they “have been charged and placed in provisional detention” in an AFP story.

Read also: Niger: Bazoum appeals to ECOWAS court for release

According to the state prosecutor, several supporters of the deposed president of Gabon, including the son of Ali Bongo Ondimba, have been charged with high treason and corruption and are currently in detention.

On August 30, only seconds after being declared the winner of a presidential election, military leaders overthrew Bongo, 64, who had ruled the oil-rich central African nation since 2009.

Read also: Gabon junta frees deposed Bongo from detention, says he can seek medical care abroad

The opposition and the military coup leaders referred to the outcome as a fraud, and they also charged his government with extensive corruption and poor leadership.

Soldiers detained one of Bongo’s sons, five top cabinet members, and his wife Sylvia Bongo Valentin on the same day as the coup.

Rolling photos of people who had been detained in front of luggage purportedly containing cash taken from their houses were broadcast on national television.