- A court in the French city of Bordeaux ordered the President of Gabon, Omar Bongo Ondiba, to compensate the son of a French citizen, René Cardona, who was jailed in Gabon in 1996. The court found Mr Bongo guilty of official corruption.
The court portrayed Mr Cardona as an “accomplice of President Bongo and his family in arms and fishing equipment firm” when a judicial inquiry that led to his jailing in Libreville was launched.
Albert-Bernard Bongo was the former Vice President of Gabon under the country’s first leader, Leon Mba. After Mba’s death in 1967, the man who later became Omar El Hadj, took over the mantle of leadership. He is today Africa’s longest serving ruler.
The French tycoon was freed after his son had transferred CFA 300 million francs to the private account of President Bongo, which according to the French judge, must be paid back by the Gabonese leader.
Bongo, who was blamed for receiving the money without a just cause, was also ordered to pay interest on it.
The French prosecutor on Monday opened an inquiry into allegations of embezzlement of public funds by the Gabonese leader and President Denis Sassou Nguesso of Congo Brazzaville. The inquiry was launched after applications by three French associations have been advanced.
The inquiry followed allegations that the accused Presidents diverted public funds to buy luxurious hotels and apartments in the French capital Paris.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
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