Gabon’s ousted President Ali Bongo Ondimba, who has been under house arrest since he was deposed last week, is free and can embark on a medical trip, the country’s new military leaders have said.
Mr Ondimba is “free to move given his state of health”, Colonel Ulrich Manfoumbi, spokesman for the transition committee, said on state television.
“He can, if he wishes, go abroad to carry out his medical checks.”
The condition of the 64-year-old ousted president, who suffered a stroke in late 2018 that kept him from his duties for months, was not immediately clear.
Local television Gabon24 broadcast a meeting late on Wednesday between Mr Ondimba and Abdou Barry, head of the UN Office for Central Africa.
“I found him in good health,” Mr Barry said afterwards.
Mr Ondimba was toppled from power on August 30 amid a resurgence of coups in parts of Africa and shortly after he was declared the winner of a disputed election that would have extended his family’s 55-year reign. He succeeded his father in 2009.
Meanwhile, Gabon’s newly sworn-in military leader, General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, met regional and local authorities this week, promising better infrastructure and a peaceful transition to citizens in the oil-rich central African nation.
In the capital, Libreville, he met Central African Republic President Faustin Archange Touadera, who was appointed an envoy of the regional Economic Community of Central African States (Eccas), and with Mr Barry.
“Our discussions focused on the current situation of our nation as well as the promising prospects of the transition,” General Nguema wrote of his meeting with Mr Barry on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Concerns remain about the military takeovers and the delayed return of democracies in parts of Africa where soldiers have promised a lengthy transition process.
General Nguema has also promised to return power to the people by organising free, transparent and credible elections but has given no date for a transition.
At his meeting this week with senior Gabonese government officials, he pledged to deliver “real development” to people whose oil wealth has been widely seen to be concentrated in the hands of a few.
Nearly 40% of Gabonese ages 15 to 24 were out of work in 2020, according to the World Bank.
“We want simple things for the Gabonese people,” General Nguema said in a broadcast on Gabon24 television, promising national healthcare and improved education and environmental policy.
“But to achieve this, you must first have an effective administration.”
