The Latest Breaking News from Omar Bongo

Sub-Saharan Africa has suffered an alarming spate of military takeovers since 2020

The coup may have ended the reign of Ali Bongo’s immediate family, but it’s still about the elite preserving itself.

A high-ranked military official, Gabon coup leader General Brice Oligui Nguema served the ruling Bongo family for decades and was in charge of the elite security unit, the presidential guard.

General Brice Oligui Nguema, who was named Gabon's new leader in the hours following a military takeover on Wednesday, served the central African country's long-time former president Omar Bongo before turning on his son, ousted leader Ali Bongo.

Mutinous soldiers in Gabon proclaimed their republican guard chief as the country’s leader Wednesday after placing the just-reelected President Ali Bongo Ondimba under house arrest, alleging betrayal and massive embezzlement during his long-time rule over the oil-rich Central African nation.

People seen celebrating in Libreville amid resentment against upstaged 55-year-long dynastic rule

The new leader was erstwhile head of the presidential guard and reportedly a relative of deposed President Ali Bongo.

A coup attempt is underway in Gabon. In the early hours of Wednesday morning, a group of soldiers declared the “end to the regime” of President Ali Bongo, whose election for a third term as president had just been announced. He succeeded his father, Omar Bongo, in 2009 who had…

The ouster of Gabon’s President Ali Bongo early Wednesday came shortly after the country’s election commission announced the official results of the August 26 presidential election, handing the incumbent another disputed victory. But this time, it provided the spark for a military takeover to end more than half a century…

Nguema heads the Gabonese Presidency’s Republican Guard, the country’s most powerful security unit.

Gabon is one of the largest producers of oil in Africa, yet much of its 2 million population live in poverty