On January 7th there was a coup held in the country of Gabon. President Ali Bongo took over after his father in 2009 as president. After reports of a stroke Ali Bongo went to Saudi Arabia to get treated and then Morocco where it was reported he was doing better. He has been in Rabat(Morocco’s Capital) ever since. During the president’s sickness, an armed rebel group in the city of Libreville took hostages. They claimed to be restoring democracy and had something called the “National Restoration Council”. A lot of residents lost internet, which they still don’t know if it was the rebels doing. The group had a name for themselves, the Patriotic Movement of Defence and Security Forces of Gabon. They took control of a state Radio and Tv station, which allowed them to contact the government and also the other residents of Gabon. Lieutenant Kelly Ondo Obiang, a military leader of this “organization”, went on air to send the message they had planned. They claimed that President Ali Bongo was lying about his health and wasn’t actually getting better. They explained how this was just an attempt to hold on to his power for a longer time. They then urged the people of Gabon to rebel with them, to go to the streets and help rise up against the feeble government they had. This whole thing didn’t last long though. Gabon’s Republican Guard took down this group in less than 20 hours. Two armed rebels died in the process. They caught everybody who was involved. The government then released a statement saying that everyone was caught and it is safe. They also mentioned that President Ali Bongo would be returning shortly to Gabon. This whole situation just shows how people are unsettled by the fact that the President hasn’t even been in the country for about two months and the people feel that he isn’t truly there for them.
