The wife of Gabon’s deposed president Ali Bongo Ondimba, under house arrest since the coup in the central African country in late August, has been jailed, her lawyer said on Thursday.
Sylvia Bongo Ondimba Valentin, suspected of allegedly embezzling public funds, was jailed late on Wednesday, her lawyer Francois Zimeray told AFP, condemning the “arbitrary… illegal procedure”.
Bongo’s wife was charged on September 28 with money laundering, forgery, and falsification of records.
She has been under house arrest in the capital, Libreville, since the August 30 coup brought the curtain down on 55 years of Bongo dynasty rule.
They accuse Sylvia Bongo and her son, Nourredin Bongo Valentin, of manipulating the former president, who has not fully recovered from a serious stroke in 2018.
They say the two have effectively run the oil-rich country for the past five years and have misused public money.
She has been under house arrest in Libreville since the day following the military coup that ousted her husband as president.
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