The Gabonese military junta have charged Noureddin Bongo Valentin, the eldest son of ousted President Ali Bongo, with treason and corruption, and have placed him in custody, state prosecutors have confirmed.
Valentin was, on Wednesday, charged alongside several allies of the deposed Bongo, including former presidential spokesman, Jessye Ella Ekogha, as well as four others close to the former leader.
The 30-year-old Valentin was co-ordinator of presidential affairs in 2019 and remained in the post for 21 months, before the coup.
Also charged were the ex-President’s Chief of Staff, Ian Ghislain Ngoulou, two other presidential advisers, and the two top officials in the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG).
The six are accused of treason, embezzlement, corruption and falsifying the president’s signature, among other allegations.
Top Libreville prosecutor, Andre-Patrick Roponat, who spoke with newsmen after the brief court session, said the accused “have been charged and placed in provisional detention.”
The arraignment of Valentin, who was one of the most powerful men in Bongo’s government, came after his initial arrest alongside his mother, Sylvia Bongo, on August 30, a few days after the military overthrew the president in a coup.
Bongo, 64, who had ruled the oil-rich central African country since 2009, was ousted by the military leaders a few hours after the country’s electoral commission had proclaimed him the winner in a presidential election which many said was marred by massive rigging and irregularities.