On Wednesday, August 30, Gabon’s Electoral Commission(EC) announced that President Ali Bongo Ondimba had won a third term in office that would see him rule for another seven years as President of Gabon.
A few minutes after the declaration by the EC, army officers appeared on TV to say that they had taken power.
Crowds in Libreville and elsewhere celebrated the army’s action.
Within hours, the generals met to discuss who would lead the transition and agreed by a unanimous vote to appoint Gen Nguema, former head of the presidential guard.
The army officers named General Brice Oligui Nga as the country’s transitional leader.
Gen Nguema was carried shoulder-high through the streets of the capital Libreville by his troops.
The deposed President, Ali Bongo, appeared in a video at his home, calling on his “friends all over the world” to “make noise” on his behalf.
The coup has been condemned by the UN, the African Union and France, which had close ties to the Bongo family.
In 2018, President Ali Bongo suffered a stroke, which sidelined him for almost a year and led to calls for him to step aside.
The following year, a failed coup attempt saw mutinying soldiers sent to prison.
The former French colony is one of Africa’s major oil producers.