The latest twists and turns in the Sylvia Bongo affair continue to make headlines. This Friday, September 29, 2023, the former first lady of Gabon was indicted for money laundering, receiving stolen goods, forgery and use of forgery. This resounding arrest comes almost a month after the coup d’état which led to the fall of her husband, former president Ali Bongo.
The precise details of the accusations against Sylvia Bongo are not yet known, but the search carried out in one of her offices revealed the presence of several bundles of bank notes in a huge safe. The penalties incurred for these offenses should not be taken lightly, ranging up to 10 years of imprisonment and fines equivalent to several times the amount of the sums laundered.
Since the coup, Sylvia Bongo had been held in an unknown location, creating uncertainty over her fate. His lawyers had also filed a complaint in France for arbitrary detention, denouncing a hostage-taking. Me François Zimeray, his lawyer, denounces a total disregard for the rules and rights, emphasizing the fact that he has no access to the file.
Many observers suspect Sylvia Bongo of being involved in a vast system of corruption at the top of the state. His collaborator, Kim Oun, was arrested just after the putsch and declared that the sum of money found was linked to the former first lady’s financial unit.
This indictment provoked strong reactions, notably from a group of NGOs which announced a series of complaints against Sylvia Bongo. Geoffroy Foumboula, spokesperson for the group, considers this indictment to be “very good news” and hopes that the investigation will be completed. According to him, it is essential that justice continues its actions and goes back to Ali Bongo himself.
At the same time, the former Minister of the Interior, Lambert Noël Matha, was also charged and placed under house arrest in connection with the company Averda, which was responsible for garbage collection in Libreville between 2015 and 2019. He is suspected of having illegally benefited from sums of money during this contract.
This new arrest marks a turning point in the Sylvia Bongo affair and underlines the need to shed light on possible acts of corruption and money laundering at the highest level of the Gabonese state. The next stages of the investigation will be crucial to determine the responsibility of the former first lady and her entourage in these matters.