The president of Gabon, Ali Bongo, has been in hospital for more than three weeks. Now the vice president’s powers have been extended to "ensure the continuity of the state" — a move criticized by the opposition.
Image: Reuters/Reuters TV
Advertisement
The Gabonese president has been receiving medical treatment at the King Faisal Hospital in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh since October 24. He's rumored to have had a stroke, but this remains unconfirmed. No date has been announced for the president's return to Gabon.
His spokesman, Ike Ngouoni, has stated that Ali Bongo was suffering from "severe fatigue" but is now "regaining his full physical capacity."
On Wednesday, the country's Constitutional Court, under its president, Marie-Madeleine Mborantsuo, established that the head of state was "temporararily unavailable" and amended the country's constitution with a paragraph addressing this eventuality.
The ruling was in response to an initiative by Gabon's vice president, Pierre-Claver Maganga Moussavou. He had called on the Constitutional Court to intervene to address the current power vacuum, referring to Articles 13 and 16 of the constitution. He wanted the court to determine who should chair the Council of Ministers so it could deal with urgent matters in the "temporary absence" of the president.
Opposition paying close attention to choice of words
The new section added to the constitution reads: "In the event of the temporary unavailability of the president, […] certain functions […] may by carried out either by the vice president or the prime minister accordingly, on special authorization of the Constitutional Court, which the prime minister or one-tenth of the representatives, members of government, will call upon when necessary."
The vice president of the Republic is now empowered to chair the Council of Ministers. The court explained that its decision was taken "to ensure the continuity of the state and of public services."
However, the opposition has condemned the move as an attempt to consolidate power in the hands of the Bongo clan.
Andre Adjo, a political scientist, explains: "The Constitutional Court has introduced provisions that did not exist before. And they've done so independently of whether the president's absence, or at least incapacity, is permanent or temporary."
The point, he says, is that the Gabonese constitution already includes measures that cover such an eventuality. It states that in the event of a "vacancy" resulting from the president's resignation, death or health-related limitations, new elections must be held within 45 days.
"But the court has taken the liberty of introducing a different scenario," says Adjo – that of "temporary unavailability." The new regulation provides no time limitation on government by a stand-in president.
Opposition leader Jean Ping is a strong rival to Ali BongoImage: DW/A. Kriesch
Five decades of government by one family
Another political scientist, Wilson-Andre Ndombet, believes that a military coup in Bongo's absence is unlikely. "The presidential guard is led by Gregoire Kouna, the cousin of the Gabonese president. There hasn't been a military coup in Gabon since the 1960s,” he says.
If Ali Bongo doesn't recover from his illness, this could be the end of his family's five-decade control of the presidency of Gabon — and its resources.
The current president's father, Omar Bongo, ruled the country from 1967 until his death in 2009 but it's highly unlikely that another member of the family would assume the presidency now, says Louis Kemayou, a political analyst from neighboring Cameroon.
"There's no member of the family who's in a position to replace Ali Bongo. The reason for this is, quite simply, that none of his children is in a sufficiently influential position to claim the presidency," Kemayou says.
Furthermore, the political opposition to the current president's ruling Democratic Party (PDG) won't let this happen, says Kemayou — in particular, the non-aligned politician Jean Ping, who narrowly lost to Ali Bongo in the 2016 election despite his long political career in Gabon, the United Nations and the African Union.
"The people won't accept it, either,” says Kemayou. "I think there's a good chance that the Bongo dynasty's leadership of Gabon will end with Ali Bongo."
Africa's most powerful women
Women in Africa are confronting patriarchy on the political and economic landscape and some are coming out on top. Here are nine of Africa's most powerful women.
Image: picture-alliance/NurPhoto/A. Ajayi
Africa's first woman president
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was the first elected woman leader of an African state. As president of Liberia from 2006 to 2018, she worked to fight unemployment, national debt, and Ebola. Johnson Sirleaf won the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize for her commitment to security and the rights of women. Today she chairs a UN High-Level Panel on Migration in Africa.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/EFE/EPA/J. Lizon
A big step for the women of Ethiopia
Sahle-Work Zewde is the president of Ethiopia since October 2018. The role is considered largely ceremonial as power lies with the prime minister and the Council of Ministers. Zewde's election is considered a great step forward in Ethiopia, where men dominate politics and business. Half of the Ethiopian cabinet is made up of women.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/E. Soteras
The supreme advocate of the Francophone world
Louise Mushikiwabo, the former foreign minister of Rwanda, becomes Secretary General of the International Organization of La Francophonie in 2019. Mushikiwabo was elected despite the fact that Rwanda replaced French with English as the main language for administration, business and education a decade ago. Her appointment is seen as a diplomatic triumph, supported by the French president.
Nigerian Amina Mohammed has been deputy secretary general of the United Nations since January 2017. She had worked with the UN on the Millennium Development Goals from 2002 to 2005, Mohammed later served as special advisor to the then UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and worked for a year as Nigeria's environment minister under President Muhammadu Buhari.
Image: picture-alliance/empics/B. Lawless
Debt fighter at the helm of government
In Namibia, Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila has led the government since March 2015, when she became the first woman to do so. She previously served as finance minister, pursuing the ambitious goal of reducing the national debt. The economist has been a member of Namibia's National Assembly since 1995.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/H. Titus
Oil princess in disrepute
Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of Angola's ex-president Jose dos Santos, is Africa's wealthiest woman. She amassed some of her wealth after her father made her director of the state-owned oil company in 2016. The new president of Angola dismissed her in one of his first official acts and initiated a corruption probe.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/epa/B. Fonseca
Power broker in the background
Jaynet Kabila, the twin sister of the Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila and daughter of the former president Laurent Kabila, is known for her secrecy and diligence. She is a lawmaker who owns a television, Internet and radio company. In 2015, the French magazine Jeune Afrique declared her to be the most influential person in government.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. D. Kannah
A cabinet minister making history
Kamissa Camara, the youngest and first female foreign minister in the history of Mali, is a newcomer to foreign policy. The 35-year-old was appointed to cabinet by re-elected President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and is now one of 11 women in a government comprised of 32 cabinet ministers.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/M. Cattani
An oil magnate and benefactor
Nigerian Folorunsho Alakija is worth $1.6 billion (€1.4 billion). The oil production in Nigeria country makes the owner of Famfa Oil the third richest person in the country. Forbes Magazine lists her among the richest people worldwide. The 67-year-old has a foundation that supports widows and orphans.
