Gabon: former prime minister’s lawyers challenge detention over old financial dispute

Alain Claude Bilie By Nze’s attorneys maintain that their client has been held for over three months in connection with an aged private dispute. In a recent statement, they argue that this disagreement, involving approximately 7,600 euros and originating in 2008, is being used as the basis for his arrest. According to his political party, Ensemble pour le Gabon, the former head of government faces accusations of fraud and breach of trust. Bilie By Nze served as Prime Minister prior to General Brice Oligui Nguema’s assumption of power following the August 2023 coup d’état. He subsequently contested the presidential election won by General Nguema, though he was unable to overturn the results.

Concerns raised over detention conditions and legal process

The opposition leader’s legal representatives report that he is confined to a five-square-meter cell, devoid of natural light, within a correctional facility in Libreville. They also highlighted a 100-day period of solitary confinement, which they describe as “political and arbitrary.” Furthermore, the defense team asserts that they have been consistently denied access to the case file. They claim the investigating judge indicated no longer possessing the relevant documents. A request filed by the lawyers to nullify the proceedings was rejected by the Libreville Court of Appeal on June 2nd. “A man is being detained based on a file that his defense has never been authorized to see,” stated lawyer Arthur Vercken in the communiqué issued by the defense team. The August 2023 coup brought an end to over five decades of rule by the Bongo family. Brice Oligui Nguema was subsequently elected president in a poll presented by the new authorities as a step towards restoring civilian governance. Alain Claude Bilie By Nze’s incarceration unfolds within a political environment characterized by the restructuring of institutions post-transition.