Gabon: Transition Committee grants deposed leader Ali Bongo permission to travel abroad

The Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions (CTRI) in Gabon Wednesday September 6 set free ousted leader Ali Bongo placed under house arrest since August 30.

The permission came following a meeting between Bongo and Central Africa Republic (CAR) President, envoy of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) Faustin Archange Touadera.

Touadera met with Brice Oligui Nguema, who has been sworn in as “President of the Transition” Tuesday September 5 on behalf of the regional bloc in a bid to defuse the political crisis that birthed in Gabon after the CTRI ousted Bongo and seized power following presidential elections.

The country’s independent electoral commission declared Bongo winner of the elections but the CTRI claimed the polls were rigged and the results cooked.

The CAR leader pleaded the release of Bongo who has been under medical treatment since he suffered from a stroke in 2018 during a trip to Saudi Arabia.

The permission is meant to allow him to continue his treatment aboard, mainly in Morocco where he was whisked to for treatment following the stroke that impaired him.