After 55 years of Bongo rule, Gabon jails ex-first lady and son for graft: summary

What we know

• A court in Gabon has sentenced former First Lady Sylvia Bongo and her son Noureddin Bongo to 20 years in prison for embezzlement and corruption after a two-day trial.
• Both were tried in absentia and fined 100 million CFA francs ($177,000) each. Noureddin was additionally ordered to pay 1.2 trillion CFA francs ($2.1 billion) in damages to the state.
• The pair were accused of exploiting former President Ali Bongo’s health after his 2018 stroke to govern and profit personally. They denied all charges, calling the trial “a legal farce.”
• Their sentencing follows the August 2023 coup that ousted Ali Bongo, led by Brice Oligui Nguema, who has since become president after elections earlier this year.
• Sylvia and Noureddin were detained for 20 months after the coup and released in May 2025, allowed to relocate to London for medical reasons.
• The former president, Ali Bongo, is not facing prosecution and has been released from house arrest.
• A money laundering investigation into Sylvia Bongo is underway in Switzerland, though details have not been disclosed.
• Ten other former officials and allies of the Bongo family are still on trial for complicity in the embezzlement of public funds.
• Prosecutor Eddy Minang said witness testimonies exposed “a system of diverting public funds for private interests.”
• The Bongos, who hold French citizenship, claim they were tortured during detention and have filed a case in France. Authorities in Gabon deny the allegations.
• The Bongo family ruled Gabon for 55 years, with Omar Bongo leading for 42 years and Ali Bongo for 14 years until his removal in 2023. Despite being oil-rich, one-third of Gabon’s population lives below the poverty line, according to the UN.

What they said

“The former president, who has been receiving specialised treatment in South Africa, died today on Thursday, 5th June,” the Patriotic Front’s statement on Facebook said. Noureddin Bongo described the trial as a “rubber-stamping exercise,” adding that it had been “predetermined in [Oligui Nguema’s office] a long time ago.” He told AFP, “We know full well that if we go back, we will suffer things far worse than we have already suffered... We are not opposed to the idea of being held accountable for so-called acts we may have committed, but only if it is before an independent and genuine court of law.” Prosecutor Eddy Minang told the court that evidence from witnesses revealed “a system of diverting public funds for the benefit of private interests.”