Gabon’s former First Lady, Sylvia Bongo, and her son, Noureddin Bongo Valentin, have been sentenced in absentia to 20 years in prison following a two-day trial in Libreville.
The special criminal court found them guilty of embezzlement, concealment of public funds, money laundering, forgery, and criminal association. The ruling, handed down late Tuesday, also included an international arrest warrant and ordered the pair to pay millions in damages for what the court described as “crimes against the Gabonese state.”
Valentin dismissed the verdict as politically motivated, claiming it had long been “predetermined” under President Oligui Nguema and describing the trial as a “simple formality.”
During former President Ali Bongo’s 14-year rule, Sylvia Bongo and her son held immense influence. Witnesses testified that after Ali Bongo suffered a stroke in 2018, Valentin effectively managed operations from the presidential palace, consolidating control over state finances.
Prosecutors alleged the duo exploited the former president’s condition to manipulate state resources. Evidence presented included photos of two private jets allegedly purchased with laundered funds, as well as property holdings in London and Morocco.
“They reigned unchallenged, and tried to pass themselves off as victims of the system they shaped,” said Eddy Minang, prosecutor general at the Libreville Court of Appeal.
Following Ali Bongo’s ouster in a 2023 coup that ended the family’s 56-year hold on power, both Sylvia and Noureddin were detained for nearly 20 months before being allowed to leave Gabon.
Now residing in London and holding French citizenship, the Bongos declined to participate in the trial, AP reported.
