According to reports from RFI, Sylvia Bongo and her son Nourredin, the wife and son of former Gabonese president Ali Bongo, have been released from prison. After spending 19 months incarcerated, they were transferred on Friday, May 9, to the family's La Sablière residence, where they are now under house arrest, alongside Ali Bongo himself.
Judicial proceedings against the Bongo family are still ongoing. They face accusations of embezzlement of state funds and money laundering. Authorities say that Sylvia and Nourredin could be summoned to testify in court whenever necessary.
Sources quoted by RFI indicate that their release came as a result of a certain agreement, although specific details about the content and signatories of this deal remain undisclosed. So far, the Gabonese government has not commented on the situation.
The family's legal team has actively campaigned for their release, citing reports of "torture and isolation" during their imprisonment. The African Union also became involved, passing a resolution on April 30 urging the authorities to free the former first family. In 2024, Ali Bongo himself staged a 45-day hunger strike to protest his conditions, drawing further attention to the case.
Following the military coup in August 2023, Ali Bongo Ondimba was put under house arrest. While his two younger sons, Jalil and Bilal, were eventually allowed to leave Gabon, Sylvia and Nourredin had remained in detention until now.
On August 30, 2023, a group of high-ranking Gabonese military officers seized power, overturning the results of the August 26 presidential election in which Ali Bongo Ondimba had been declared winner. General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema was appointed as the transitional head of state and subsequently confirmed as President following the April 2025 elections.
The release of Sylvia and Nourredin Bongo marks a new chapter in Gabon's ongoing political landscape, reflecting both ongoing international pressure and the country's complex efforts at reconciliation and reform after last year's tumultuous power shift.
