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Article: GABON: WITCH HUNT VERSION 2.0? WOMEN IN THE LINE OF FOCUS

Gabon 2025
feminisme

GABON: WITCH HUNT VERSION 2.0? WOMEN IN THE LINE OF FOCUS

In the midst of a post-referendum purge, women are becoming the new targets of Oligui Nguema's regime in Gabon. An unprecedented situation in the country, and on the continent.

The Gabonese transition, supposed to be a step towards reconciliation and justice, seems to be turning into a battlefield where women have become the privileged targets. Behind the curtain of a supposed anti-corruption crusade, a very dark picture is emerging: arbitrary arrests, abusive detentions and treatment reserved for those who dare – or simply, have the misfortune of being associated with the “enemies” of the regime. Decoding a political drift that shocks Africa.

Women in the crosshairs: the Opiangah affair as a high point

Oligui Nguema's victory in the referendum with 92% of "Yes" to his constitutional reform that crowns him de facto president for the next 14 years has opened the way to a wave of arrests of personalities close to the fallen government. If the case of Hervé Patrick Opiangah - former ally turned sworn enemy - makes the headlines, it is the arrest of Lucie Opiangah, his wife, that illustrates the scale of this witch hunt. The message is clear: no one is safe, not even families.

And what about Maître Gey, a notary from Opiangah, now in the jails of the transition? We are witnessing a creeping criminalization of the legal professions, but above all an instrumentalization of women as means of pressure against their male relatives. These arrests are no longer a matter of justice, but rather a theater where victims are exhibited for their link, real or supposed, with targeted figures.

Sylvia Bongo: the symbol of a repressive drift

The arrest of Sylvia Bongo last year, alongside her son Noureddine Bongo, marked a turning point in the regime's repressive policies. Accused of everything from illicit enrichment to imaginary plots, Sylvia Bongo is languishing in detention without trial, a treatment worthy of the darkest hours of world authoritarian history. Reports speak of acts of torture inflicted by the presidential guard, reinforcing the image of a justice which, in Gabon, seems dictated by the arbitrariness and revenge.

This emblematic case is not limited to the former first lady. The mass arrests of women in cases that were sometimes fabricated reveal a desire to methodically dismantle networks linked to the former regime, without distinction between main actors and simple close associates. A brutal strategy that is shocking, especially since it targets a group historically respected on the continent.

Violence against women, a worrying precedent for Africa

Traditionally, in Africa, even the harshest dictatorships have been reluctant to target women in such a direct manner. This cultural respect now seems to be trampled underfoot in Gabon. The treatment of these women – often imprisoned without trial, sometimes tortured – is an insult not only to human dignity, but also to values ​​deeply rooted in African societies.

Behind this repression, a burning question arises: does Oligui Nguema realize the image he is projecting? While Gabon claims to be reinventing itself on the international scene, these practices on the contrary give the image of a regime losing control, ready to crush all opposition, including women, to impose itself.
The arrest of women also marks a symbolic turning point. They are no longer simply spectators of political conflicts; they are becoming their first victims. Instead of building an inclusive future, the regime seems to want to establish a climate of terror, a precedent that could inspire other authoritarian regimes.

Oligui Nguema, in wanting to establish his authority, could well trigger an unexpected revolt. Because if African history has a lesson to teach, it is that touching the women of a society is playing with its soul.

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