In a video posted online, the ousted president of Gabon, Ali Bongo Ondimba, made a plea for the world to speak out for his freedom after the military placed him “under house arrest” following a coup.
The 50-second video shows the 64-year-old leader making an urgent appeal while composedly seated on a chair.
“I am Ali Bongo Ondimba, president of Gabon, and I am sending a message to all friends we have all over the world – to make noise because the people here have arrested me,” he said in the video posted online whose source could not be verified.
Bongo further said: “My family, my son is somewhere and my wife is in another place. Right now I’m in the residence, and nothing is happening. I don’t know what is going on. So I am calling you to make noise. Thank you,” the detained leader said.
Some military officers seized power in Gabon on Wednesday, saying they denounce “irresponsible, unpredictable governance resulting in a continuous deterioration of social cohesion, which risks leading the country into chaos.”
The military junta known as the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions (CTRI) read out a statement on national television claiming that Bongo is being held “under house arrest, surrounded by his family and doctors.”
The coup follows the nation’s election on Saturday, official results showed Bongo gaining a third term in power.
However, amid reports of shooting in the nation’s capital Libreville on Wednesday, the military declared the annulment of the results and the dissolution of the country’s institutions.
Gabon is the latest country in Africa to experience a military takeover after members of Niger’s military seized power in the West African country late last month.
