Bongo family 'released' and arrived in Luanda: Angola presidency

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Former Gabon leader Ali Bongo Ondimba and his family have been released from detention and arrived in Angola's capital, the Angolan presidency said Friday.

Bongo, whose family ruled Gabon for 55 years, was ousted in a coup in August 2023 and had been under house arrest in the capital Libreville since then.

A statement on the Angolan presidency's Facebook page announcing the arrival of the Bongo family in Luanda was accompanied by photographs showing the former leader being welcomed at an airport.

The "Bongo family has been released and has just arrived in Luanda," it said.

This followed contacts between Angola President Joao Lourenco and Gabon's new leader, Brice Oligui Nguema, it said, without giving details.

Nguema, a former junta leader, was elected president in April with nearly 95 percent of the vote.

Bongo's French-born wife Sylvia, 62, and son Noureddin, 33, were also in detention, accused of embezzling public funds.

Several Gabonese media reported recently that they had been moved from cells in an annex of the presidency to a residence in Libreville.

Nguema, a former junta leader, took power in a coup in August 2023 that ended the 55-year rule of the Bongo dynasty and was sworn in early May.