Franco-Gabonese wife of former president Ali Bongo Ondimba of Gabon, Sylvia Bongo Ondimba Valentin, has been arrested on Thursday October 12, according to her attorney.
She had been under house arrest since a military coup at the end of August for allegedly embezzling state fund.
Her French attorney, François Zimeray, responded when asked by AFP about his client’s detention late on Wednesday night, “I can confirm this.”
He condemned a “arbitrary” and “illegal” process. The central prison in Libreville reportedly issued a committal order for Mrs. Bongo late on Wednesday night after a protracted re-hearing by an examining magistrate, according to Gabonese media reports.
On September 28, Mrs. Bongo was officially charged with “money laundering and forgery” and placed under house arrest in Libreville, a situation that had persisted since the aftermath of the August 30 coup that ousted her husband.
The military forces responsible for overthrowing her husband, citing allegations of election manipulation within his inner circle, publicly expressed suspicions regarding the former First Lady.
They believed she had exercised significant influence over her husband, who had been dealing with the repercussions of a severe stroke in 2018.
Furthermore, they accused her, along with their son Noureddin Bongo Valentin, of effectively leading the country since that time and engaging in extensive misappropriation of public funds.
Noureddin Bongo had also been incarcerated since the inception of the coup, facing charges of “corruption” and “embezzlement of public funds.”