Court sentences mother, son of ex- Gabon president to 20 years in prison

Gabon’s former first lady and her son were sentenced in absentia by a special criminal court to 20 years in prison following a two-day trial in Libreville.

Sylvia Bongo and Noureddin Bongo Valentin were convicted of concealment and embezzlement of public funds, money laundering, criminal association and forgery.

The court sentenced the duo late Tuesday, according to a judgement, and also issued an arrest warrant for them. They were ordered to pay millions of dollars in damages for “crimes against the Gabonese state.”

Valentin said the verdict had long been “predetermined” under the office of President Oligui Nguema and called the trial a “simple formality.”

Sylvia Bongo and Noureddin Bongo Valentin were influential during former president Ali Bongo’s 14 years in power of the central African country. Ali Bongo was ousted in a coup in 2023 after winning a disputed election that the military and opposition said was marred by fraud. The coup put an end to the Bongo dynasty’s 56 years in power. Ali Bongo’s father, Omar Bongo, ruled for 42 years.

The prosecutor accused both defendants of manipulating the former president’s health issues to control state funds.

Source: AP News