Libreville – Gabon’s police have arrested dozens of young protesters for breaching a curfew, in place since the military junta seized power in an August 2023 coup, sources told AFP.
The central African country’s military rulers have not lifted a strict overnight curfew imposed by the Bongo dynasty, which they ousted after 55 years in power.
National police said on Facebook it had made 348 arrests for “robberies” and “curfew violations” in a crackdown operation overnight from Saturday to Sunday.
Images of detained individuals who claimed they had their heads shaved by the authorities have since circulated on social media, causing uproar.
The COPIL Citizen movement expressed its “indignation” at what it called “unacceptable acts perpetrated by the defence and security forces”, and urged an independent investigation.
The ruling junta has previously shaved a teenager for posting a viral video deemed an “outrage” to coup leader General Brice Oligui Nguema.
Young people accused of having “sown fear” in Gabon’s economic capital Port Gentil and trade unionists at the utility firm SEEG have also received the same punishment.
The government briefly eased curfew measures but tightened them again in early October in the run-up to the vote on a new constitution.
That was approved in a referendum in late November, paving the way for a presidential vote slated for August 2025.
The toughened restrictions intended to guarantee a peaceful voting campaign have not been relaxed since.
“Prevention is better than cure… it is an exceptional period in our country,” Information Minister Laurence Ndong told the press the day after the vote, while declining to specify whether the curfew would be lifted.
“We have nothing to fear but this exceptional situation requires us to be more vigilant than before,” she added.
The new constitution sets out a vision of a powerful president with a two-term limit and without a prime minister, as well as a ban on dynastic handovers of power.
Following the coup, junta chief Nguema swiftly took over as head of state of the oil-rich central African nation, promising a return to civilian rule with elections.
But the 48-year-old has made no secret of his presidential ambitions.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Pixabay
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