On Thursday, the African Union immediately decided to suspend Gabon following the recent overthrow of President Ali Bongo Ondimba by military forces. The continental organization strongly denounced the military’s seizure of power in Gabon, as stated in a press release on X (formerly Twitter).
ACCORDING TO THE PRESS RELEASE, the AU’s Peace and Security Council has opted to promptly revoke Gabon’s participation in all AU activities, as well as its affiliated bodies and institutions. The meeting was led by the African Union’s Commissioner for Political Affairs, Bankole Adeoye of Nigeria, and the current rotating presidency holder of the council, Willy Nyamitwe of Burundi.
Moussa Faki Mahamat, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, strongly condemned what he referred to as an “attempted coup” in Gabon, a resource-rich country in Central Africa that had been under the rule of the Bongo family for over 55 years.
The rebel soldiers announced on Wednesday that they had successfully ended the existing regime in Gabon and had placed President Ali Bongo Ondimba, who had been in power for 14 years and had just been officially declared the winner of the recent presidential election held on Saturday, under house arrest.
Moussa Faki Mahamat also called upon the Gabonese military and security forces to ensure the physical safety of Ali Bongo Ondimba.
