Bongo, the former president of Gabon, travels to Angola with his family

Angola’s presidency announced on Friday that Ali Bongo, the former president of Gabon, had traveled to Angola with his wife and son, who had been released nearly two years after being imprisoned after a coup.

The family was accepted “for humanitarian reasons,” according to Luis Fernando, a spokesman for the presidency. “They will then decide what they want to do, in other words, which country they want to go and live in as exiles,” he said.

The presidency shared images purporting to show Bongo landing at Luanda airport on Thursday night, 700 miles (1,100 km) down Africa’s western coast from Gabon’s capital. It stated that following diplomatic representations from Angola, the family had been released.

Shortly after the August 2023 coup, Sylvia Bongo, 62, and her 33-year-old son Noureddin were arrested on charges of embezzlement and money laundering.

On May 9, they were placed under house arrest, according to two people with knowledge of the situation. According to one of the sources, they had most recently been detained in basement cells of the Libreville presidential palace.

Following the coup, Ali Bongo, aged 66, was first kept under house imprisonment, but authorities eventually declared that he was free to travel as he pleased. That was false, according to his followers.

Francois Zimeray, a family lawyer, attested to their release.

“At last, Sylvia and Noureddin Bongo will be able to go on, recover, and start over. We want to express our gratitude to everyone who contributed to this result in whatever manner,” he stated.

“This release is the fruit of long judicial and diplomatic efforts.”

Last month, representatives of the African Union demanded that Bongo’s wife and son be freed.

Although coup leader Brice Oligui Nguema, who is currently president, has denied it, their supporters have claimed they were tortured while in detention.

A request for comment was not immediately answered by Paul-Marie Gondjout, Gabon’s minister of communications.

Nguema won an election with almost 95% of the vote and was inaugurated in as president this month for a seven-year tenure.

Since 2009, Bongo has been in charge of Gabon, succeeding his father, who passed away after serving for more than 40 years.