Brice Oligui Nguema Explained

Brice Oligui
Honorific Prefix:Brigade General
Order:Transitional
Office:President of Gabon
Primeminister:Raymond Ndong Sima
Vicepresident:Joseph Owondault Berre[1]
Term Start:4 September 2023
Predecessor:Ali Bongo
Termstart1:30 August 2023
Alma Mater:Omar Bongo University
Meknes Royal Military Academy
Predecessor1:Position established
Office2:Commander-in-Chief of the Gabonese Republican Guard
Predecessor2:Grégoire Kouna
Successor2:Antoine Balekidra
Termstart2:2020
Allegiance: Gabon
Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions
Rank:Brigade general[2]
Office1:Chairman of the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions
Birth Date:3 March 1975[3]
Birth Place:Ngouoni, Haut-Ogooué Province, Gabon[4]
Spouse:Zita Nyangue Oligui

Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema (in French pronounced as /bʁis klɔ.tɛʁ ɔ.li.gi ŋgɛ.ma/, born 3 March 1975) is a Gabonese military officer serving as Transitional President of Gabon, chairman of the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions[5] and the Commander-in-Chief of the Gabonese Republican Guard.[6] [7] [8] He is believed to have played a key part in the 2023 Gabonese coup d'état overthrowing Ali Bongo.

Early life

The son of a Teke mother and Fang military officer,[9] [4] Oligui was born in Haut-Ogooué Province, Gabon, which was regarded as a stronghold of the ruling Bongo family.[10] Via his mother, he is a cousin of former President Ali Bongo.[11] Oligui was mostly raised by his mother and her family in Haut-Ogooué,[12] and studied at Omar Bongo University.[13]

Career

Oligui studied at Meknes Royal Military Academy in Morocco. He served as an aide-de-camp to President Omar Bongo until his death in 2009. He then served as a military attaché at the Gabonese embassies in Morocco and Senegal.[14]

In October 2018, he was recalled to Gabon where he replaced President Ali Bongo's half-brother Colonel Frédéric Bongo at the head of the intelligence service of the Republican Guard.[10] [15] He was then promoted to Brigadier general in April 2019.[10] In 2021 he restarted Operation Mamba, a campaign to arrest corrupt officials.[16]

He took over the head of the Gabonese Republican Guard in April 2020, replacing General Grégoire Kouna, a cousin of then President Ali Bongo.[17] He significantly increased the Special Interventions Section (SIS), a special unit placed under the direct authority of the President, increasing it from around thirty to more than 300 elements. He also composed a song which included the line "I would defend my president with honour and loyalty".

According to a 2020 Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) investigation, he owns several properties in the United States worth more than $1 million[18] and also helped expand the Bongos' overseas businesses. Asked about these dealings, he said they were a "private affair".[14]

Officials of Bongo's regime and others who had interacted with Oligui described him as "fairly intelligent man, easy to talk to", "discreet" and "a man of consensus" who is "very appreciated by his men".[10]

Presidency

See main article: 2023 Gabonese coup d'état.

Following the 2023 Gabonese coup d'état which overthrew President Ali Bongo, the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions named Oligui as the interim president of Gabon in an announcement aired on state television.[19] He was later seen on the shoulders of jubilant army personnel calling him the "President".[20]

In an interview with later in the day, he referred to Bongo as "retired", and said that the military had staged the coup due to discontent that had been growing in the country since Bongo's stroke in 2018, his decision to run for a third term, the disregarding of the country's constitution and the conduct of the election.[21] His appointment as interim president was later confirmed by other generals,[22] and he was formally sworn in as "transitional president" at the Presidential Palace on 4 September.[23] [24] In his inaugural address, he pledged to hold "free, transparent" elections but did not give an exact date as to when. He also announced the formation of a new government in the coming days and proposed new electoral legislation, a new penal code, a referendum on a new constitution, and the release of all political prisoners.[25]

In October 2023, Oligui announced that he would give up his salary as president and rely instead on his wages as commander of the Republican Guard.[26]

Personal life

His brother-in-law Régis Onanga Ndiaye is his Minister for Foreign Affairs.[27]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Gabon: Joseph Owondault Berre nommé vice-président de la transition . ACP . fr-FR . 12 September 2023.
  2. Web site: 2023-08-31 . Putsch au Gabon : le général Oligui prêtera serment lundi, l'opposition réclame le pouvoir . 2023-08-31 . leparisien.fr . fr-FR . 31 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230831150322/https://www.leparisien.fr/international/putsch-au-gabon-le-general-oligui-pretera-serment-lundi-lopposition-reclame-le-pouvoir-31-08-2023-M5CR2F2235GALJCBRLYWDNVRPY.php . live .
  3. Web site: Au Gabon, Brice tout-puissant, tombeur des Bongo . 2023-10-30. Olivier . Mathieu . 2024-02-17 . JeuneAfrique.com . fr-FR.
  4. Web site: 2023-08-30 . Gabon coup: General Oligui leads the charge as Bongo clan rivalries reach boiling point . 2023-08-31 . Africa Intelligence . en . 31 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230831140512/https://www.africaintelligence.com/central-africa/2023/08/30/gabon-coup-general-oligui-leads-the-charge-as-bongo-clan-rivalries-reach-boiling-point,110037939-art . live .
  5. News: General Nguema appointed transitional president of Gabon following coup . 31 August 2023 . . 30 August 2023 . . 31 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230831133826/https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/general-nguema-appointed-transitional-president-of-gabon-following-coup/2979600 . live .
  6. Web site: 2023-08-30 . Qui est Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, le Général à la tête de la transition gabonaise ? . Cameroun Actuel . 2023-08-30 . fr . 30 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230830192404/https://camerounactuel.com/qui-est-brice-clotaire-oligui-nguema-le-general-a-la-tete-de-la-transition-gabonaise/ . live .
  7. Web site: Agbehonou . Kané . edem.fiadjoe . 2023-08-30 . Qui est Brice Oligui Nguema, le général à la tête du Coup d'État au Gabon ? . 2023-08-30 . AfrikBuzz . fr-FR . 30 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230830103934/https://afrikbuzz.com/qui-est-brice-oligui-nguema-le-general-a-la-tete-du-coup-detat-au-gabon/ . live .
  8. Web site: 2023-08-30 . Putsch au Gabon: qui est le général Brice Clotaire, formé à l'Académie de Meknès? . 2023-08-30 . H24info.ma . fr-FR . 30 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230830141357/https://www.h24info.ma/putsch-au-gabon-portrait-doligui-nguema-general-forme-a-lacademie-de-meknes/ . live .
  9. Web site: 2023-08-30 . Who is General Oligui Nguema, Gabon's new strongman? . 2023-08-31 . Africanews . en . 2 September 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230902084813/https://www.africanews.com/2023/08/31/who-is-general-oligui-nguema-gabons-new-strongman/ . live .
  10. Web site: 2023-08-30 . General Brice Oligui Nguema, the man named to lead Gabon after coup . 2023-08-31 . France 24 . en . 2 September 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230902233446/https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20230831-general-brice-oligui-nguema-named-gabon-s-new-leader-after-coup . live .
  11. News: Mednick . Sam . Goma . Yves Laurent . Gabon's military leader is sworn in as head of state after ousting the president last week . 28 January 2024 . . 4 September 2023 . en.
  12. Web site: Putsch au Gabon : qui est le Général Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, nouvel homme fort du pays ? . 2023-08-31 . Dakaractu . fr . 2 September 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230902233454/https://www.dakaractu.com/Putsch-au-Gabon-qui-est-le-General-Brice-Clotaire-Oligui-Nguema-nouvel-homme-fort-du-pays_a237499.html . live .
  13. Web site: 2023-09-04 . 21 facts to know about General Nguema, Gabon's new military leader . 2024-05-04 . PM News.
  14. Web site: 2023-08-30 . Who is Brice Oligui Nguema, alleged coup leader in Gabon? . 2023-08-30 . Aljazeera . en . 2 September 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230902233449/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/30/who-is-brice-oligui-nguema-alleged-coup-leader-in-gabon . live .
  15. Web site: Mondafrique . La redaction de . 2023-08-30 . Coup d'état Gabon, notre portrait du général Brice Oligui Nguema, patron de la Garde Républicaine . 2023-08-30 . Mondafrique . fr-FR . 2 September 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230902233502/https://mondafrique.com/politique/le-general-clothaire-oligui-nguema-lhomme-fort-du-pouvoir-gabonais/ . live .
  16. Web site: 2019-11-20 . GABON : Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema resurrects Operation Mamba – 20/11/2019 – West Africa Newsletter . 2023-08-30 . Africa Intelligence . en . 2 September 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230902233454/https://www.africaintelligence.com/central-africa/2019/11/20/brice-clotaire-oligui-nguema-resurrects-operation-mamba,108382684-art . live .
  17. Web site: 2023-08-30 . JUST-IN: Col. Brice Nguema Is New Gabonese Leader, Replaces Ali Bongo . 2023-08-30 . en-US . 30 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230830140139/https://leadership.ng/just-in-col-brice-nguema-is-new-gabonese-leader-replaces-ali-bongo/ . live .
  18. Web site: Zalan . Emmanuel Freudenthal, Roshanak Taghavi, and Kira . Gabon's First Family Stashed Cash in DC Property . 2023-08-30 . OCCRP . en . 30 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230830172809/https://www.occrp.org/en/investigations/gabons-first-family-stashed-cash-in-dc-property . live .
  19. Web site: 2023-08-30 . Qui est Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, le Général à la tête de la transition gabonaise ? . 2023-08-30 . fr-FR . 30 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230830192404/https://camerounactuel.com/qui-est-brice-clotaire-oligui-nguema-le-general-a-la-tete-de-la-transition-gabonaise/ . live .
  20. News: 30 August 2023 . Gabon military officers claim to have seized power after election . en . CNN . 30 August 2023 . 30 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230830064634/https://edition.cnn.com/2023/08/30/africa/gabon-military-officers-say-power-seized-election-intl-hnk/index.html . live .
  21. Web site: 2023-08-30 . Gabon's coup-leading general says President Bongo has been 'retired' . 2023-08-30 . Le Monde . en . 30 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230830123104/https://www.lemonde.fr/en/le-monde-africa/article/2023/08/30/gabon-s-coup-leading-general-says-bongo-is-retired_6115749_124.html . live .
  22. Web site: 31 August 2023 . Gabon coup leaders name General Brice Oligui Nguema as new leader . 31 August 2023 . BBC . en . 31 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230831010153/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-66666585 . live .
  23. Web site: 4 September 2023 . Gabon coup leader Brice Nguema sworn in as president . 4 September 2023 . BBC . en . 4 September 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230904220628/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-66705693 . live .
  24. News: Gabon coup leader takes presidential oath and promises 'free' elections . 2023-09-05 . The Guardian . 4 September 2023 . 5 September 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230905155513/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/04/gabon-coup-general-brice-oligui-nguema-interim-president-elections . live . Agence France-Presse .
  25. News: Naadi . Thomas . 4 September 2023 . Gabon coup leader Brice Nguema vows free elections – but no date . 5 September 2023 . BBC . en . 4 September 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230904220628/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-66705693 . live .
  26. News: 19 October 2023 . Gabon junta leader turns down presidential salary . 19 October 2023 . Africanews . en .
  27. Web site: 2023-09-13 . Gabon : General Oligui Nguema's government looks to balance old and new . 2023-09-14 . Africa Intelligence . en.

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