Wife of Ali Bongo, deposed Gabonese president sent to jail

The wife of Gabon’s deposed president Ali Bongo Ondimba, Sylvia Bongo Ondimba Valentin, has been jailed, her lawyer disclosed on Thursday.

Sylvia who has been under house arrest since the coup in the central African country in late August, was jailed late on Wednesday, her lawyer Francois Zimeray told AFP, denouncing the “arbitrary… illegal procedure”.

Bongo’s wife was charged on September 28 with money laundering, forgery and falsification of records.

She has been under house arrest in Libreville since the day following the military coup that ousted her husband as president, AFP reported.

The military accuses the former head of state and his entourage of falsifying the election results and has openly alleged that his wife has been manipulating him since he suffered a serious stroke in 2018.