Top Officials Arrested in Gabon’s ‘Operation Mamba’
President of Gabon Ali Bongo Ondimba speaks at a press conference. (Flickr)
Authorities in Gabon arrested eight top-level government officials for theft and money-laundering on November 30. These arrests form part of Operation Mamba, an anti-corruption campaign launched by President Ali Bongo Ondimba in 2017. This string of arrests has brought the president’s own ability to govern into question.
The eight new arrests came after accusations that top officials have overseen the disappearance of millions from state coffers. There have now been almost two dozen arrests since the start of Operation Mamba. Those recently arrested include former-Minister of Energy Tony Ondo Mba and former-Minister of Oil Noel Mboumba. The Union, a pro-government newspaper, reported that more than 85 billion CFA francs ($142 million) have “evaporated” from the state-owned Gabon Oil Company (GOC) over the course of the past two years. Gabon is a major exporter of oil, so the industry has been the site of much of the country’s corruption.
One particularly high-profile political figure among those arrested and an important link among the others arrested is Brice Laccruche Alihanga, Bongo’s former cabinet director. Laccruche gained significant influence as he became Bongo’s spokesperson after Bongo suffered a stroke in October 2018. Lawyer Anges Kevin Nzigou emphasized Laccruche’s central role in this recent round of corruption, saying, “The common point in all these arrests is Laccruche Alihanga. You perfectly know this yourselves. The starting point for all these arrests is Laccruche Alihanga's dismissal.” Patrichi Tanasa, former-director of GOC, and Ike Ngouoni, presidential communications head, were both close to Laccruche and have also been arrested recently.
Although Operation Mamba was launched by the president in 2017 to fight massive corruption in the country, some are calling the campaign’s legitimacy into question. Several lawyers defending those recently arrested insisted that the process was charged with a “political vendetta.” In response, Prime Minister Julien Nkoghe Bekale tweeted, “The fight against impunity has no agenda or timetable. It is permanent.”
He also tweeted, “Once again, the wave of arrests in progress is neither a witch hunt nor a settling of accounts.”
In the background of Operation Mamba, the opposition continues to question Bongo’s legitimacy and ability to rule. Bongo’s stroke near the end of 2018 forced him to go abroad for months to receive treatment. During that time, rebel soldiers attempted a coup to overthrow Bongo, which the state military quickly quashed. Furthermore, Bongo’s victory in the 2016 elections are widely believed to have been rigged, given that turnout in his home province was 99.3 percent, with 95 percent of them voting for Bongo.
Bongo’s rule over Gabon began in 2009 after he won an election that took place following the death of his father, Omar Bongo, who was president beginning in 1967. Gabonese and French authorities investigated Omar Bongo, and many top officials surrounding Ali Bongo, for corruption and money-laundering. In addition to questioning Bongo’s health and authority, his public support has declined due to falling oil revenues and widespread poverty, both fueled in part by rising corruption.
According to Transparency International, Gabon scored 31 out of 100 for the country’s perceived level of public sector corruption on a scale of 0 (“highly corrupt”) to 100 (“very clean”). While corruption in Gabon is not a new phenomenon, economic experts warn that further corruption will lead to less foreign investment and increased economic stagnation.
Regardless of conflicting opinions surrounding the arrests, the Gabonese government appears to be intent on going forward with a trial in a serious attempt to curb corruption in the country. Bongo’s new spokesperson, Jessye Ella Ekogha, recently said, “Whatever your position, if there are suspicions against you, you do not have impunity. Now it's up to the judiciary to do its work and to decide.”