Through a decree dated August 30, 2023, President Paul Biya carried out appointments within the central administrative unit of the Ministry of Defense.
While on August 30, 2023, military insurgents who “put an end to the regime in place” in Gabon on Wednesday, ousting the outgoing president Ali Bongo Ondimba, the Cameroonian president signed and published, on the same Wednesday, August 30, a decree appointing officials within the military. The appointments concern positions within structures under the authority of the Delegate Minister at the Presidency in charge of Defense, the central secretariat, and the general staff headquarters.
Among the assigned positions are those of General Army Controllers and General Inspectors. By appointing competent and experienced officials, the nonagenarian president aims to strengthen the country’s defense capabilities and address current security challenges.
As President Ali Bongo, who has been in power for 14 years, was poised to be reelected for a third term, military personnel took to the airwaves and declared the “end of the regime in place.” General Brice Oligui Nguema, head of the presidential guard and leader of the coup plotters, was chosen to be the “president of the transition.”
Ali Bongo was placed under house arrest with his family and physicians. A series of arrests also targeted one of his sons and six other high-ranking officials of the regime.
