Gabon Coup Leader, General Nguema ‘Linked’ With Embezzlement, Drug Dealings

The commander of the Republican Guard of Gabon, General Brice Clothaire Oligui Nguema, who led the coup to oust the democratically elected President Ali Bongo, has been linked with embezzlement and drug dealings.

The internet went agog on Wednesday morning after the military junta in Gabon announced take over of power from Bongo, another coup in Africa after Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum‘s ousting.

Naija News reported that dozens of military officers in Gabon were aired on the country’s national television today as they cancelled the just concluded general elections in Gabon, which produced President Bongo.

They alleged irregularities during the election, hence the need for them to take over ‘in the interest of the Gabon people’.

Reports emerging after the successful coup, however, claimed that General Oligui Nguema, who is one of the most influential personalities in the Gabonese army, has several properties in the United States of America worth more than $1 million according to a 2020 Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) survey.

According to The New Tribune (a French Media Outlet), General Nguema, in 2018, bought in cash, a property in Silver Spring, Maryland, for $447,000 in cash in 2018.

Embezzlement And Links to Drug Circles

The publication noted that General Nguema is famous for his status as a multibillionaire, his involvement in embezzlement and his links to the drug circles of South American-Ivorian cartels.

Reeling out more about the Coup leader’s profile, the publication said Nguema worked as a military attaché at the Embassy of Gabon in Morocco and Senegal for ten years prior to his current position.

The source further speculated that Nguema had lived during this period as an exile.

In addition, he was appointed head of the Republican Guard a year after Ali Bongo’s stroke in October 2018.

Nguema, however, was said to have been involved in controversial cases before his recent contribution to the ousting of President Bongo whose family has been on the seat of power for many years.