Ousted Gabon President Ali Bongo’s cousin, General Brice Oligui Nguema, will be sworn in as the country’s transition president on Monday.

Colonel Ulrich Manfoumbi Manfoumbi, the spokesman for the new regime, disclosed this on state TV, France 24 reported.

Mr Nguema was named transition leader by Gabon Junta shortly after Mr Bongo’s government was toppled on Wednesday.

Trained at the Royal Military Academy of Meknes in Morocco, Mr Nguema served as aide-de-camp to a commander in former President Omar Bongo’s Republican Guard until 2009. 

Mr Bongo, after taking over the reins of power, sent Mr Nguema on a diplomatic mission to Morocco and Senegal. In 2019, he replaced the president’s step-brother as head of Gabon’s Republican Guard, an elite force protecting Mr Bongo, his family and other high-profile figures.

Following the ouster of Mr Bongo on Wednesday, Gabonese thronged the streets in celebration. However, international communities’ condemnation and criticisms have followed the country’s military takeover. 

From detention, Mr Bongo cried out for help, asking friends and international communities to “make noise,” raising the alarm about development in his country.

Mr Bongo’s ouster ended his family’s 53-year control of power in Gabon. He took over power in 2009 after his father, Omar Bongo, who firmly held on to power as president for over 40 years, died. 

Though Mr Bongo suffered a stroke in 2018, sparking calls for him to step down, he held on to power, conducted another election and was declared winner on Saturday.