Gabon: Military junta leader sworn in as interim President

The constitutional court of Gabon has sworn in General Brice Nguema as the interim president.

Brice Nguema is the head of the military junta in Gabon.

The military coup launched by Nguema last week that toppled President Ali Bongo Ondimba appears to have ended the Bongo family’s lengthy reign of political power in Gabon.

Omar Bongo, who presided over the country with an iron fist for more than forty years before passing away in 2009.

He was succeeded by his son, Bongo, 64.

The victor of a contentious presidential election that was hampered by vote delays and internet outages was announced to be Bongo, who had been in power for almost 14 years, prior to last week coup in the capital.

The Bongo administration prevented international media from covering the election.

The junta which also annulled the election results and closed the borders of the country, put the ousted leader under house arrest, leading to widespread condemnation of the coup.

Also, there were celebrations all around the country, with thousands of people showing there support with the armed forces.

The former bodyguard for Omar Bongo, Brice Nguema, was quickly chosen to serve as interim leader.

Nguema, the interim president, took oath of office in front of a military parade and cheersf from the public.

He authorised the reopening of Gabon’s borders prior to taking the oath of office and met with political leaders to discuss change and a potential transitional period.

Nguema has stated that the nation won’t rush into a new election in order to avoid making the same mistakes as in the past.

The last three years have witnessed nine coups from former french colonies including Gabon.