Residents hold a Gabon national flag as they celebrate in Libreville on August 30, 2023, after a group of Gabonese military officers appeared on television announcing they were "putting an end to the current regime" and scrapping official election results that had handed another term to veteran President Ali Bongo Ondimba. Picture: AFP
The deposed president of Gabon, Ali Bongo, has appealed for help to the international community after he was detained by the military at the presidential palace following a coup.
Bongo is the second leader on the continent to be ousted by the military in just over a month. In Niger the military overthrew democratically elected Mohamed Bazoum on July 26 and he is still kept in the presidential palace.
The African Union has condemned the coup in Gabon and called on the army to return to the barracks.
AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat also urged Gabon to return to constitutional order.
In a video that was posted on social media, Bongo is pleading for help, saying he does not know what is going on in his country after he was detained by the military.
"I am Ali Bongo Ondimba, the president of Gabon. I want to send a message to all the friends that we have all over the world to tell them to make noise. The people here have arrested me and my family. My son is somewhere, my wife is in another place, and I am at the residence. Right now I am at the residence, and nothing is happening. I don’t know what’s going on. I am calling you to make noise, make noise. I am begging you," said Bongo.
The AU Commission chairperson, Moussa Faki, said they condemned the coup in Gabon.
Faki called on the army to respect the rule of law and the constitution.
He also said the army must guarantee the safety of Bongo and his family.
"The chairman of the commission encourages all political, civil, and military actors in Gabon to give priority to peaceful political avenues and a rapid return to democratic constitutional order in the country," said the AU Commission.
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Politics