His name has been on everyone’s lips ever since Military coup in Gabon Which led to “ending the existing regime” headed by Ali Bongo. Brice Olegy Nguema, commander of the Republican Guard who, since Wednesday, has become the strong man in the rich Central African country.
And done Appointment of General Nguema “Unanimously, he will be the head of the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions and the head of the transitional period,” said a statement read by military leaders on the official Gabon 24 channel, in the presence of dozens of senior officers and generals representing all army brigades, members of the Republican Guard, and soldiers.
The military did not specify the duration of the political transition.
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After meeting under the banner of the “Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions”, the putschists decided earlier “in the name of the Gabonese people to defend peace by ending the existing regime,” according to an army colonel.
We do not know yet whether Nghima was the actual leader of the putschists. During the recitation of the statement, all the armed forces were represented: the Republican Guard, the army and the police. Gabonese television contented itself with circulating the same pictures: a man appears in military uniform and a green hat, and soldiers lift him in the air while saying “Olegy President” in reference to Brice Olegy Nguema, the commander of the Republican Guard who Ali Bongo was in charge of security.
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Nguema himself had answered questions For the French newspaper Le Monde A few hours after the announcement of Bongo’s removal from power. He stressed that Bongo “has been retired and will enjoy all his rights.” He said, “He did not have the right to run for another term, the constitution was violated, and the electoral system was not appropriate. Therefore, the army decided to fold the capacity and assume its responsibilities,” speaking of the “discontentment” that permeates the country and the “illness of the head of state” who suffered a stroke in 2018.
Military training in Morocco
General Brice Olegy Nguema was already very influential, even before the coup. After receiving training at the Royal Military Academy in Meknes, Morocco, Ngema, the son of a senior officer in the army, quickly climbed the military ranks until he became one of the most important aides to the camp of former President Omar Bongo until his death in 2009.
“When I got to know him, he was an intelligent person who could communicate easily and was not afraid of journalists at that time,” says Francis Kabatende, a lecturer in political science at the University of Paris who specializes in Gabon.
Since 2021, Nguema has headed the Republican Guard, whose officers yesterday are President Ali Bongo.
Three houses in the Washington suburbs?
Francis Kabatende states that “he (Olegie Nguema) had some problems with Ali Bongo, who decided to appoint him as a military attaché at the Gabon embassy in Morocco and then at his country’s embassy in Senegal.”
Nghima returned from abroad after Ali Bongo suffered a stroke while he was in Saudi Arabia in 2018.
Although his name was not mentioned in the ‘illegal property’ case, unlike several of Omar Bongo’s children, Nguema is not above suspicion regarding his personal wealth. According to the American Organization Against Corruption, “Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting ProjectBetween 2015 and 2018, he bought three homes in the suburbs of the US capital, Washington, for more than one million dollars.
And according to the site Mond Afrique French, Nguema was assigned to help Ali Bongo’s son, Noureddine Bongo Valentin, prepare to succeed his father. But Nghima had another opinion.
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2023-08-31 14:36:37
