General Brice Oligui Nguemaof, the leader of last week’s coup in Gabon that ousted the government of Ali Bongo, was sworn in on Monday as the interim president of the country, MUK TV reports.
Recall that MUK TV reported how the Gabonese military sacked the country’s president, bringing to an end 56 years of the Bongo’s dynastical rule.
Nguema, head of the elite Republican Guard, led officers in a coup on Wednesday against President Ali Bongo Ondimba, scion of a family that had ruled since 1967.
The coup came five days after ailing Bongo, 64, was announced as the winner in last month’s presidential election, which the opposition and the military described as fraudulent.
“I swear before God and the Gabonese people to faithfully preserve the republican regime,” Nguema said on oath.
Dressed in the red ceremonial costume of the Republican Guard, Nguema also swore to “preserve the achievements of democracy”, at the ceremony held before judges of the Constitutional Court.
While many Gabonese are seemingly excited about the coup, the opposition in the country has been pressuring Nguema to hand over power to them.
Nguema, for his part, has not rolled out any plans or timetables for democratic transition despite pressure from the African Union (AU) and the West.
