Sylvia Bongo, the former First Lady of Gabon, has stated that she will never return to the country, citing acts of torture that she and her son allegedly endured during their arrest following the ousting of her husband Ali Bongo's regime.
In an interview with France 24 from her exile in London, Sylvia Bongo recounted the circumstances surrounding the fall of her husband's regime and their subsequent detention. She accused the new Gabonese authorities of torture and described her detention as arbitrary.
Sylvia Bongo claimed that she and her son were tortured during their detention. "They tied my feet and hands and threw cold water on me. They brought me my son who was in a dreadful state. They were hitting him, and I had my hands tied. They put tape on me so I wouldn't scream. They hit him and strangled him with a stick. Then, they started strangling me. And then they said to me, 'If you don't want us to hit you, if you don't want us to hit your son, sign.' And then I signed everything they wanted," she stated. These allegations have not been independently verified.
She also responded to accusations that she was running the country after her husband's stroke in 2018. "In 14 years, I had to go to my husband's office three times. I'm telling you frankly, I don't understand anything about politics, especially not Gabonese politics. I never interfered. Let them bring me a decree, a document signed by my hand, or a document where I imitated my husband's signature," she declared.
Sylvia Bongo and her son, Noureddin Bongo Valentin, had previously filed a complaint in France in May 2024, alleging that they had suffered repeated and violent acts of torture by General Oligui's close allies during their detention. They also claim that the new authorities have pressured the courts to find them guilty. In November 2025, Sylvia Bongo's trial for corruption opened in her absence, as the former First Lady is in exile. Her son has called the trial a "legal farce".
The Gabonese government has denied the allegations of torture, calling them "slanderous" and claiming they damage Gabon's image.
On August 30, 2023, a military coup ended the Bongo family's 55-year rule in Gabon. General Brice Oligui Nguema, Ali Bongo's cousin, seized power and was inaugurated as transitional president. Ali Bongo, who had been in power since 2009 after succeeding his father Omar Bongo, had been declared the winner of the presidential election shortly before the coup, a result contested by the opposition and the military.
Sylvia Bongo concluded by stating that she would never return to Gabon. The political situation in Gabon remains tense, with ongoing questions about the transition to civilian rule and the accusations of torture made by the former First Lady and her family.
