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The Gabon coup: End of a family dynasty?

The Bongo clan has faced corruption allegations for more than 50 years, so what will the recent military coup change?

The Gabon Coup: End of a Family Dynasty?

By Danylo Hawaleshka

History Illustrated is a weekly series of insightful perspectives that puts news events and current affairs into historical context using graphics generated with artificial intelligence.

The Gabon Coup: End of a Family Dynasty? — A military coup in Gabon, and the subsequent house arrest of President Ali Bongo, appear to have ended more than 50 years of family rule in the Central African nation. Or has it?

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The Gabon Coup: End of a Family Dynasty? — It began with a recent presidential election, won by Bongo, which would have kept him in office for a third term. But the military had other ideas.

The Gabon Coup: End of a Family Dynasty? — The opposition had condemned the recent vote as rigged, and the military seemed to agree, seizing power only an hour after the results were announced and then naming Gen. Brice Oligui Nguema the new leader.

The Gabon Coup: End of a Family Dynasty? — The Bongo dynasty began in 1967, when Ali Bongo’s father, Omar, took office, eventually becoming one of the richest men in the world thanks to Gabon’s oil wealth.

The Gabon Coup: End of a Family Dynasty? — Omar Bongo ruled until his death in 2009, after which his son Ali took over, having won an election despite accusations of fraud.

The Gabon Coup: End of a Family Dynasty? — Today, one-third of the population in Gabon, a former French colony, lives below the poverty line of $5.50 per day, while Ali Bongo stands accused of cronyism and corruption.

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The Gabon Coup: End of a Family Dynasty? — The Gabon coup was the latest of several in West and Central Africa. The degree to which anti-French sentiment played a role is hard to say, but French firms dominate the oil industry, and at least 400 French soldiers are based there.

The Gabon Coup: End of a Family Dynasty? — Even before Gabon, French President Emmanuel Macron had lamented the many recent takeovers in the region. And as for the Gabon coup ending a family dynasty, well, the new leader is Ali Bongo’s cousin.

The Gabon Coup: End of a Family Dynasty? — A corruption report in 2020 said General Nguema had bought three properties in the U.S. for over $1 million — in cash. When a reporter asked him about it, the general basically told him to mind his own business.