British conservation knowledgeable feared to be lacking in central African nation amid stunning navy takeover
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A British conservation knowledgeable was final night time feared to have been caught up in a coup in Gabon.
Lee White, 58, posted pictures from the capital of the African nation hours earlier than the navy mentioned it had seized energy. He was a senior minister within the cupboard of deposed president Ali Bongo and had campaigned for him in latest elections.
The military seized energy early yesterday, inside minutes of Mr Bongo being declared winner within the election. He was positioned beneath home arrest and the navy mentioned it had arrested one in all his sons for treason.
Troopers mentioned others within the president’s circle had been arrested for ‘excessive betrayal of state establishments, huge embezzlement of public funds and worldwide monetary embezzlement’.
It was not clear if these detained included ministers from the president’s cupboard however a spokesman mentioned the navy had stepped in as a result of ‘unpredictable, irresponsible governance’ had risked main the nation into chaos.
Lee White, 58, posted pictures from the capital of the African nation hours earlier than the navy mentioned it had seized energy
Professor White, who was awarded a CBE in 2010 for companies to conservation, tweeted on Tuesday that he was in Libreville and ready for the election outcomes to be introduced.
‘All is calm however the authorities has minimize web as a precaution following some provocative statements by opposition politicians,’ he mentioned.
Professor White, a married father-of-three, was minister of forests, oceans, setting and local weather change in Mr Bongo’s regime. His spouse Kate, a biology and environmental science professor at Stirling College in Scotland, has additionally labored in Gabon for a few years, however it isn’t identified if she was within the nation on the time of the coup.
Mr Bongo’s household has dominated Gabon since 1967 and he attended King Charles’s coronation in Could. In September 2021 the then Prince of Wales hosted him at Kew for a go to specializing in biodiversity.
Professor White, initially from Manchester, was appointed setting minister in 2019 after working in Gabon for 30 years.
The military seized energy early yesterday, inside minutes of Mr Bongo being declared winner within the election
He had led a marketing campaign for the nation to create 13 nationwide parks, protecting 11 per cent of the rainforest nation, to guard its wildlife and forests, and helped crack down on unlawful poaching and logging.
Talking after his appointment, he conceded that his actions had made him some enemies, saying: ‘We handled loads of corruption and it’s honest to say that not all people likes me.’ He described himself as ‘incorruptible’.
The official election outcomes declared Mr Bongo the winner with 64 per cent of the vote. The opposition denounced the outcome as fraudulent and inside minutes of the announcement gunfire was heard within the centre of Libreville.
Uniformed officers then appeared on state tv and introduced that they had seized energy.
Flights in another country – which was admitted to the Commonwealth because the fifty fifth member final yr – had been cancelled and all operations at its most important port had been halted, with authorities refusing to let vessels go away.
Gabon is an oil-rich nation and a member of OPEC, however its inhabitants faces poverty, excessive unemployment and rising costs.
Ali Bongo’s household has dominated Gabon since 1967 and he attended King Charles’s coronation in Could
Mr Bongo got here to energy in 2009 after the demise of his father Omar, who dominated for 41 years.
A video was launched final night time displaying the president in his dwelling interesting for assist from the worldwide neighborhood.
He mentioned: ‘The folks right here have arrested me and my household… I do not know what is going on on.
‘I [want] to ship a message to all the chums we’ve everywhere in the world to inform them to make noise.’
The Overseas Workplace and Stirling College declined to touch upon whether or not they had heard from Professor White for the reason that coup.
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