A Gabon court on Wednesday sentenced the former first lady and son of the oil-rich country’s deposed leader, Ali Bongo, to 20 years in prison following a two-day graft trial. Sylvia Bongo, 62, and Noureddin Bongo, 33, both tried in absentia, were found guilty of embezzlement, among other charges.
The wife of Ali Bongo, whose family ruled the central African country with an iron fist for 55 years, had been accused of manipulating her husband to embezzle taxpayers’ money. She denied all charges. Her son and co-defendant, Noureddin, criticised the trial as a “legal farce” in an interview with AFP last week.
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