The spouse of Gabon’s deposed president, Ali Bongo Ondimba, has been formally charged with “money laundering” and other related offenses, as announced by the public prosecutor on Friday. This comes a month after her husband was overthrown in a coup.
Sylvia Bongo Ondimba Valentin was charged by an investigating judge on Thursday, as confirmed by Andre Patrick Roponat on state TV channels on Friday.
She has remained confined to her residence in the capital city of Libreville since the coup occurred in the oil-rich nation on August 30th.
Her house arrest order has also been upheld, Roponat said.
One of her legal representatives stated earlier this month that she was being held “incommunicado outside any legal framework”.
Their son, Noureddin Bongo Valentin, has previously faced charges of corruption and misappropriation of public funds, alongside multiple former cabinet members and two former ministers.
Bongo, aged 64, who had governed the central African nation since 2009, was ousted by military leaders shortly after being declared the victor in a presidential election.
The outcome was denounced as fraudulent by both the opposition and the military coup leaders, who have additionally accused his administration of extensive corruption and poor governance.
Ali Bongo assumed leadership after his father, Omar, passed away in 2009, following an almost 42-year-long tenure in power.