Gabon VP to chair cabinet amid President Ali Bongo’s illness
Gabon’s top court on Wednesday ruled that the country’s vice president will take charge of the cabinet in the absence of President Ali Bongo Ondimba, who has been hospitalized in Saudi Arabia.
President Ali Bongo was admitted into a Saudi hospital last month after he reportedly suffered a stroke while on a trip there.
The constitutional court’s decision is the first step to fill the vacuum left after Ali Bongo was hospitalized on October 24.
The president has not been seen in public since, and his state of health is unknown.
The government said he suffered a bout of fatigue and is recovering, but Reuters news agency reported that he had a stroke, quoting unnamed sources.