By Obinna Uballa
A Gabonese court has sentenced former First Lady Sylvia Bongo and her son, Noureddin Bongo Valentin, to 20 years in prison after finding them guilty of large-scale embezzlement of public funds and other corruption-related offences.
The verdict, delivered on Wednesday after a two-day trial in Libreville, comes more than a year after the fall of the Bongo dynasty, which ruled the oil-rich Central African nation for 55 years. Both Sylvia, 62, and Noureddin, 33, were tried in absentia and have denied all charges.
Prosecutors accused the duo of manipulating former president Ali Bongo, Sylvia’s husband and Noureddin’s father, to divert state resources for personal gain, especially after the ex-leader suffered a debilitating stroke in 2018.
The court’s ruling marks one of the highest-profile corruption convictions since General Brice Oligui Nguema seized power in an August 2023 coup that toppled Ali Bongo shortly after a disputed election.
Noureddin, speaking to AFP from exile in London, denounced the trial as a “political conviction” and a “legal farce”, claiming that witnesses were coerced by the ruling military junta. “This verdict was based on testimonies obtained under duress. The justice system is simply taking orders from the executive branch,” he said.
Sylvia and Noureddin, who both hold French citizenship, were detained for nearly 20 months following the coup before being released in May and allowed to travel to London on medical grounds. They allege that they were “repeatedly and violently tortured” while in custody, a claim the new authorities have denied.
Prosecutor Eddy Minang told the court that testimony from co-accused and witnesses revealed “a system of diverting public funds for private benefit,” implicating several top officials from the Bongo era. Ten other former aides and associates of the family remain on trial for complicity in the scheme.
Ali Bongo, who ruled Gabon for 14 years after succeeding his father, Omar Bongo, in 2009, is not facing prosecution. The elder Bongo had led the country for nearly 42 years before his death.
General Oligui, who was officially sworn in as president in April, has denied the torture allegations and promised fair trials for all accused members of the former ruling family.
