Procès de l'entourage des Bongo : deux à quinze ans de prison pour les accusés
The criminal court in Libreville on Tuesday sentenced nine former close associates of Sylvia and Noureddin Bongo, wife and son of ousted Gabonese President Ali Bongo, to prison terms ranging from two to 15 years, notably for massive embezzlement of public funds.
This verdict comes 6 days after the conviction of Sylvia and Nourredin Bongo, sentenced in absentia to 20 years in prison for astronomical embezzlement of public funds.
"This is a historic moment for our country," said the president of the specialized criminal court, Jean Mexant Essa Assoumou, on Tuesday, closing an eight-day trial broadcast live on national television and closely followed by many Gabonese.
Nine of the ten defendants who held positions at the presidency or with the family of President Ali Bongo's son, nicknamed "the Young Team", were convicted, only one was found not guilty.
The Court also demanded that the convicted persons reimburse the State for the moral damage suffered, estimated at several billion CFA francs (several million euros).
Most of the accused were arrested during the 2023 coup, along with Sylvia and Noureddin Bongo. They were notably accused of complicity in the embezzlement of public funds, active corruption, bribery, forgery and use of forged documents, criminal conspiracy, and money laundering.
Sylvia and Noureddin Bongo, authorized by the Gabonese authorities to leave the territory after 20 months of detention, as part of a provisional release, have settled in London and have not returned to Gabon to stand trial.
Originally scheduled to last until November 14, the trial continued until Tuesday morning.
The accounts of some co-defendants and witnesses during the trial revealed a system of misappropriation of public money "for the benefit of private interests", amounting to billions of CFA francs, according to the indictment of Attorney General Eddy Minang.
And in court, some of them revealed the staggering sums siphoned from public coffers and received privately as bonuses.
According to the public prosecutor's office, "the people's money was taken, recycled, laundered, and reinvested in disconnected luxury" during Ali Bongo's 14 years in power (from 2009 to 2023).
The money was used by the Bongos to acquire oil fields worth 350 billion CFA francs (approximately 533 million euros), two Boeing aircraft (195 billion CFA francs, a little over 297 million euros) and movable property in Gabon, Morocco and London worth 170 billion CFA francs (approximately 259 million euros), according to the prosecution.
The prosecution estimates the total amount embezzled by Sylvia and Noureddin Bongo at 4.917 billion CFA francs, or nearly 7.5 billion euros.
Commentaires (4)
Voilà des pays sérieux où ceux qui ont détourné des fonds publics sont incriminés contrairement au Sénégal où une comédie hollywoodienne de justice fait défiler des supposés voleurs à des bracelets électriques. Une justice miliadaire nommée pour un folklore vide de danseurs. La justice senelaise est une mousse sans bateaux
Le Gabon a ete une dynastie pendant plus 50 et le pay s a ete le protefeuille des Bongos n’est pas comparer au Senegal. Ou le droit de l’individu est plus moins respecte.
Il faut lancer une procédure afin de retourner tous les sous au Gabon pour les pauvres.
Tout cela c'est du cinema. Pourquoi les laisser quitter le pays? Et qui va rembourser?
Participer à la Discussion