Six months after his coup d'état, which overthrew President Ali Bongo Ondimba, General Brice Oligui Nguema enjoys immense popularity in Gabon, but the first criticisms are emerging on a governance considered authoritarian by its detractors and which is slow to realize its promises to “live better.”
The soldiers, who had proclaimed, without shedding a drop of blood, on August 30, 2023 “the end of the Bongo regime”, an hour after the announcement of his re-election deemed fraudulent by the army, had been acclaimed throughout the country. General Oligui, 48, was triumphant as transitional president, promising to return power to civilians through elections, later set at two years.
For more than fifty-five years, the Bongo family – the father, Omar, pillar of “Françafrique” from 1967 to 2009, then the son Ali – ruled without sharing this small central African state, rich in its oil, but under the yoke of an elite accused by its opponents of “massive corruption” and “bad governance”.
General Oligui “arrived at a time when the Gabonese could no longer take it,” comments François Ndong Obiang, a former opposition leader who is now vice-president of the Transitional National Assembly, all of whose deputies have were appointed by the new leader.
State coffers are struggling to fill
The country, which has 2.3 million inhabitants, half of whom are under 20 years old, "was in tatters in terms of infrastructure, education, health", and the general is, according to him, perceived as a “savior.” Gabon is one of the richest in Africa per capita, but one in three residents lives below the poverty line, on less than 2 euros per day, according to the World Bank.
To the Gabonese people who are still waiting for roads and schools in good condition, or who live without water or electricity sometimes in the heart of the capital, the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions (CTRI), made up of generals, promises to “straighten economically the country” and “fight against the high cost of living”. In particular through the payment of countless pension arrears, the construction of roads and hospitals, the return of school scholarships and many other promises for a “better life”.
But the state coffers are struggling to fill up. In mid-February, despite a “difficult budgetary situation”, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) nevertheless recognized the CTRI for “efforts aimed at strengthening the transparency and management of public finances”. The institution, however, warns of “the decline in oil production, the stagnation of per capita income” and “a high unemployment rate”.
The CTRI has placed generals at the head of the main town halls and many soldiers mingle with civilians within the governing bodies. But General Oligui is criticized for having massively left leaders of the old regime in office, notably from the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) of Omar and Ali Bongo.
A budding cult of personality
“The faces of this transition are known faces,” asserts Joanna Boussamba, spokesperson for the public governance observatory Copil Citoyen, who deplores a “message of impunity” and a minimal portion left to civil society. “The transition is inclusive, it must take everyone into account, even the CEO,” retorts the vice-president of the National Assembly.
But “barely eight people were arrested,” says Ms. Boussamba. She refers to the entourage of Ali Bongo, his wife Sylvia and their son Noureddin primarily, detained since August 30, accused in particular of massive embezzlement of public money and forgery of the signature of the former president. The overthrown head of state is for his part kept in his luxurious residence in Libreville.
The new power is also accused by the opposition of authoritarianism and General Oligui of an emerging cult of personality maintained by the tunnels of praise on state television. For example, the government has maintained for six months, without providing the slightest explanation, a strict curfew from midnight to 5 a.m., initially imposed by the Bongo regime on the evening of the presidential election of August 26, 2023.
For Anges lawyer Kevin Nzigou, maintaining the curfew is “liberticidal”. This human rights activist now calls himself an opponent of the “persistent CEO regime.” In December, employees of SEEG, which supplies water and electricity to Gabon, called a strike protesting the elimination of their 13th month.
After having publicly threatened the trade unionists, flattering a population exasperated by the power cuts, Mr. Oligui had seven of them arrested, including two women, and questioned for three days in the intelligence offices. They emerged with shaved heads and were publicly exposed in the newspapers. It was similar to “the first act of a dictatorship”, asserts Me Nzigou.
An “inclusive” national dialogue is due to open in April, a key step towards a new Constitution and elections, in which there is little doubt that General Oligui will run.
