Alain Claude Bilie By Nze’s attorneys stress that his detention arises from a private conflict that predates his political career by over a decade. In an official statement, they reveal that the dispute, involving roughly 7,600 euros and originating in 2008, has been weaponized to justify his arrest. His party, Ensemble pour le Gabon, reports that he faces accusations of fraud and breach of trust. Before the August 2023 coup led by General Brice Oligui Nguema, Bilie By Nze served as Prime Minister. He later contested the presidential election that followed, though the outcome remained unchanged.

Concerns over detention conditions and legal irregularities

The defense team describes his cell in Libreville’s central prison as a cramped, windowless space measuring just five square meters. They also highlight a three-month period of solitary confinement they describe as punitive and unjustified. Crucially, the lawyers claim they have been denied access to the case file, with the investigating judge reportedly stating the documents are no longer in their possession. On June 2, the Court of Appeal in Libreville dismissed a motion to dismiss the case. “A man is jailed without his lawyers ever seeing the evidence against him,” declared Arthur Vercken, one of his attorneys, in a statement. The August 2023 coup ended more than half a century of Bongo family rule, after which Brice Oligui Nguema was elected president in a vote framed as a step toward civilian governance. Bilie By Nze’s detention unfolds amid ongoing institutional restructuring following this political shift.