The Fall of Sylvia and Noureddine Bongo - Queen and Heir to Gabon

The former wife of African President Ali Bongo is under house arrest while their son is being prosecuted for massive embezzlement of public funds and forging the president's signature. Within the Bongo Ondimba family, there is a clear contrast in living conditions. Ali Bongo Ondimba is favored by the military in the August 30 coup d'état. He's sort of a "former president", free to move around. His wife, Sylvia, is under forced confinement. Their son, Noureddine, is in prison.

"Both of them received a lightning strike "

A former acquaintance at the presidential palace on the coast, where the Bongo family had lived since 1967: first the father, Omar, until his death in 2008, then son Ali until the coup d'état.

Sylvia Bongo Ondimba is under house arrest in one of the president's protocol houses, usually used for foreign dignitaries, located in the posh La Sabliere neighborhood of Libreville. Several sources confirm this, but there is no official confirmation. Since no charges have yet been filed, she cannot receive any visits, not even from her lawyers.

"She is being held in secret outside any legal circle, we have no access to her, it's a hostage-taking," said lawyer Francois Zimereh. This human rights specialist filed a complaint on Sept.

The procedure was initiated in Paris because of Sylvia Bongo Ondimba's dual nationality - French and Gabonese. Born in Paris on March 11, 1963, Sylvia Valentin came to Gabon with her family in 1974. Her father became one of the most influential French businessmen in the country, heading the Ogarvey insurance group. After completing her management studies in France, she began her real estate career in Gabon. She met Ali Bongo Ondimba in 1988, married him two years later and took the name Nejma after converting to Islam.

The conditions of their son Nouredine Bongo Valentin are not at all comparable. "He was arrested at his home by the military guard, in the middle of the night, three hours before the coup was announced on television," a well-placed source from Libreville tells us. He was immediately taken to the headquarters of the Directorate General of Counterintelligence and Military Security (DGCISM). The building, known to Gabonians as "B2," is the former political police station from the time of his grandfather, former autocrat Omar Bongo.