A French judge has cleared the way for probes into how three African heads of state came to possess multiple bank accounts, properties and cars in France, newspapers in Francophone Africa report. The leaders are accused of misuse of public funds.
The three presidents are named as Omar Bongo of Gabon, Teodoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea and Denis Sassou Nguesso of Congo-Brazzaville.
Reports on the investigation, prompted by the anti-corruption group, Transparency International (France) and a Gabonese citizen, have been published by Le Potentiel of Kinshasa, L'Autre Quotidien of Cotonou and Fraternité Matin of Abidjan.
The papers reported that the judge cleared the way for an investigation in a ruling issued on Monday. But Bongo’s lawyers argue that Transparency International lacks the jurisdiction to launch the action. They have five days in which to appeal against the ruling. Bongo has also threatened to lay defamation charges against the group.
The charges are based on findings by auditors in 2007 that established a wide range of properties owned by the heads of state. An investigation showed that Bongo and his associates owned 39 apartments, hotels and houses, 70 bank accounts and nine cars in France.
Denis Sassou Nguesso, according to police, has 24 properties and 112 bank accounts in France. But in a recent interview, said all he owns is an apartment in Paris and a small house. About properties owned by his associates, he said: “Their lives are not mine. They live them the way they see fit.”
Le Potentiel reports that there are two schools of thought in Africa: the first believes the West should respect African leaders in office; the second believes in good governance. The latter group is encouraging the French court to continue with inquiries and believes a probe will serve as a lesson to African leaders who empty state treasuries for personal gain.
Report compiled and translated by Michael Tantoh. Read the original reports on AllAfrica’s French site here:
Gabon: Omar Bongo suspend ses activités
Congo-Brazzaville: Le parquet s'oppose à une enquête sur Bongo et Sassou Nguesso
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Africans cannot be said to steal THEIR OWN African wealth!
So the real thieves in Africa are the french and other European colonialist criminals, who continue to plunder Africans.
African wealth belong to Africans!
It no business of the french criminals which Africans own/control AFRICANS' WEALTH!
No matter how much of African wealth Africans are alleged to have 'stolen', the thieving french have stolen and continue to steal thousands of times more of African wealth.
The thieving Europeans make noise about Africa 'stealing' their own African wealth, in order to divert attention from the fact that the criminal Europeans continue to be the biggest and ONLY thieves in Africa.
Africans cannot be said to steal THEIR OWN African wealth!
So a president who steals money from his people is not committing a crime? He's perfectly justified in buying himself fancy clothes, cars and real estate while his people starve, if he is the president of an African nation? In most countries, using public money for private enrichment is a crime punishable by jail time for the self-centered president.
It is a shame to hear about our presidents, who have accumulated vast fortunes on the "backs" of our own people and then to have some twit online here....says it ok to steal because they are black Africans. I say to you a thief is a thief no matter who they are....and your racist attitude only makes the rest of us look bad. We Africans need to stand up first and say enough is enough. And additionally the last time I checked I wasn't aware of any european colonies still in existence in Africa. You my friend have your facts wrong....the only slave MASTERS left on the continent are the corrupt leaders of certain countries whom after many years still refuse to leave office. Let freedom ring....and democracy flourish, its time to move these men by any means necessary.
These presidents, in addition to being theives, are some of most notorious human right abusers in Africa. To take the monies tha should spent on their citizen and squander it France is crime agaist humanity.
It about time for France, Britain and other european countries to atone for their sins against African by stopping aiding and abetting the activities of these criminals.
These european countries could aid the peoples of Africa to bring these criminals to justice in their own African countries and not in France.
It is contemptous enough to have foreigners discipline our leaders for us but the mechanims for checks and balances in Africa are conveniently weak for thievery and plain brigandry.
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