The wife of Gabon’s ousted President Ali Bongo Ondimba, under house arrest since a coup in the central African country in late August, has been jailed, her lawyer said on Thursday.
Sylvia Bongo Ondimba Valentin, suspected of allegedly embezzling public funds, was jailed late on Wednesday, her lawyer Francois Zimeray told AFP, condemning the “arbitrary… illegal procedure”.
On September 28, Bongo’s wife was accused with money laundering, forgery, and falsification of records.
Sylvia Bongo has been under house arrest in Libreville since the August 30 coup that ended the Bongo dynasty’s 55-year reign.
The putschists claim that the former president and his entourage tampered with the election results.
They accuse Sylvia Bongo and her son, Nourredin Bongo Valentin, of manipulating the former president, who has not fully recovered from a serious stroke in 2018.
They say the two have effectively run the oil-rich country for the past five years and have misused public money.
Nourredin Bongo Valentin has been placed in detention since the coup, charged with corruption.
“We condemned this illegal procedure,” lawyer Zimeray said.
“There is a difference between justice and arbitrary actions, between the law and revenge.”
The public prosecutor in Libreville has not yet responded to an AFP request for comment.
Bongo, 64, who had ruled the central African country since 2009, was overthrown by military leaders moments after being proclaimed the winner in a presidential election.
Many saw it as an act of liberation rather than a military coup.
Ali Bongo was elected after his father Omar died in 2009 after nearly 42 years in power.
Gabon is Africa’s third-richest nation in terms of per-capita GDP but one in three people lives below the poverty line, according to the World Bank.