Raponda has moved rapidly to install women in 11 of the 33 ministerial posts – but the big jobs remain with regime stalwarts mostly unchanged and mostly longstanding close colleagues of President Ali Bongo Ondimba: such as Interior Minister Lambert Noël Matha and Oil Minister Vincent de Paul Massassa (AC Vol 60 No 25 The son also rises)...

Raponda has moved rapidly to install women in 11 of the 33 ministerial posts – but the big jobs remain with regime stalwarts mostly unchanged and mostly longstanding close colleagues of President Ali Bongo Ondimba: such as Interior Minister Lambert Noël Matha and Oil Minister Vincent de Paul Massassa (AC Vol 60 No 25 The son also rises)...

The choice of Raponda is shrewd: she is close to Ali Bongo's mother Patience Dabany and the ruling family's inner coterie who have long dominated the management of power – but she is also a credible younger generation technocrat...

President Ali Bongo Ondimba is trying to reassert his authority after months of recuperation following a stroke in November 2018...

President Ali Bongo Ondimba is trying to reassert his authority after months of recuperation following a stroke in November 2018...

With the installation of his son Noureddin Bongo-Valentin as the 'general coordinator of presidential affairs' recuperating stroke victim President Ali Bongo Ondimba – or those acting for him – has reasserted the Bongo clan's hold on power...

With the installation of his son Noureddin Bongo-Valentin as the 'general coordinator of presidential affairs' recuperating stroke victim President Ali Bongo Ondimba – or those acting for him – has reasserted the Bongo clan's hold on power...

Ali's returnA handful of mutinous soldiers seized national television stations for a few hours on 7 January 2019 prompting the slowly recovering Ali Bongo to return fleetingly but symbolically to Libreville from treatment in Morocco to attend the swearing-in of a new government...

The role of gatekeeper and trusted advisor may be a training ground for a presidential run when Ali Bongo completes his term in 2023 opposition groups say...

Politics was to the fore during his first trip abroad this year: M6 was in his residence at Ekwata beach Libreville during the 7 January failed coup against President Ali Bongo Ondimba while a Moroccan frigate stood offshore...

Politics was to the fore during his first trip abroad this year: M6 was in his residence at Ekwata beach Libreville during the 7 January failed coup against President Ali Bongo Ondimba while a Moroccan frigate stood offshore...

The public relations firm handling the conference is offering interviews with Khama and President Ali Bongo Ondimba of Gabon but not with Masisi...

The public relations firm handling the conference is offering interviews with Khama and President Ali Bongo Ondimba of Gabon but not with Masisi...

But France would have to use its leverage in Central Africa on all three key regional presidents Déby President Ali Bongo Ondimba of Gabon and Sassou-Nguesso...

But France would have to use its leverage in Central Africa on all three key regional presidents Déby President Ali Bongo Ondimba of Gabon and Sassou-Nguesso...

Trovoada spends most of his time in Gabon as a guest of his old friend President Ali Bongo Ondimba who introduced him to President Paul Kagame...

Trovoada spends most of his time in Gabon as a guest of his old friend President Ali Bongo Ondimba who introduced him to President Paul Kagame...

M6 has dazzled his hosts with his energetic regional diplomacy and lightning tours of the continent dropping in on old friends such as President Denis Sassou-Nguesso of Congo-Brazzaville and old schoolmate President Ali Bongo Ondimba of Gabon but the lustre threatens to wear thin...

M6 has dazzled his hosts with his energetic regional diplomacy and lightning tours of the continent dropping in on old friends such as President Denis Sassou-Nguesso of Congo-Brazzaville and old schoolmate President Ali Bongo Ondimba of Gabon but the lustre threatens to wear thin...

For several years now French activists have brought lawsuits against not only the Obiangs but also the Congo-B's Sassou-Nguesso family and that of President Ali Bongo Ondimba of Gabon for receiving stolen property...

For several years now French activists have brought lawsuits against not only the Obiangs but also the Congo-B's Sassou-Nguesso family and that of President Ali Bongo Ondimba of Gabon for receiving stolen property...