[ad_1]
Bongo Ondimba had spent several months in Morocco recovering from an illness. By MIKE HUTCHINGS (POOL / AFP / File)
President Ali Bongo Ondimba went home to Gabon on Saturday after several months spent in Morocco recovering from an illness.
He returned to Libreville Saturday afternoon, accompanied by his wife Sylvia, to be greeted by Prime Minister Julien Nkoghe Bekale and senior members of the government.
Several thousand people also went to the airport to greet the president after the ruling Democratic Party announced his return and asked for a warm welcome. They were gathered by a strong police presence.
Bongo, walking slowly with the help of a stick, raised one arm then the other to greet them, noted an AFP reporter.
Since he had a stroke on October 24, while traveling to Saudi Arabia, Bongo had only been back in Gabon for two brief visits.
His prolonged absence fueled concerns over the power vacuum, apparently prompting a brief coup attempt by renegade soldiers on Jan. 7.
Bongo took office after the 2009 elections that followed the death of his father, former president Omar Bongo, who took office in 1967.
[ad_2]
Source link
