Former Gabonese First Lady Sylvia Bongo and her son, Noureddin Bongo Valentin, have been sentenced in absentia to 20 years in prison by a special criminal court following a two-day trial in Libreville, reports Baltimore Chronicle with reference to the abc news. They were convicted of concealment and embezzlement of public funds, money laundering, criminal association, and forgery. The court also issued arrest warrants for both and ordered them to pay millions of dollars in damages for “crimes against the Gabonese state.”
Valentin described the verdict as long “predetermined” under the office of President Oligui Nguema and called the trial a “simple formality.” Sylvia Bongo and her son were influential figures during former President Ali Bongo’s 14-year rule. Ali Bongo was ousted in a 2023 coup following disputed elections that the military and opposition claimed were fraudulent. This coup ended the 56-year Bongo dynasty, as Ali Bongo’s father, Omar Bongo, had ruled the country for 42 years.
Prosecutors accused the pair of exploiting the former president’s health issues to seize control over state finances. Witnesses during the trial testified that Valentin, who served as coordinator of presidential affairs, was the main authority issuing orders in the presidential palace after his father suffered a stroke in October 2018. Following Ali Bongo’s removal, both Valentin and his mother were detained for 20 months before being allowed to leave the country.
The Bongos, who reside in London and hold French citizenship, refused to participate in the trial. During the proceedings, the prosecutor presented images of two private jets allegedly purchased with laundered funds, as well as property holdings including mansions in London and Morocco. “They ruled unchallenged and tried to present themselves as victims of the system they shaped,” said Eddy Minang, Attorney General at the Libreville Court of Appeal.
Earlier we wrote that Milan prosecutors investigate Italian “sniper safaris” targeting civilians in Sarajevo.
