BONGO AND FREEMASONRY IN GABON

C O N F I D E N T I A L LIBREVILLE 000036

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

KINSHASA ALSO FOR BRAZZAVILLE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/20/2116
TAGS: PGOV GB
SUBJECT: BONGO AND FREEMASONRY IN GABON

REF: LIBREVILLE 00035

Classified By: Ambassador Barrie Walkley for reasons 1.4 b and d

1.(U) As Gabon awaits the announcement of a new government
(expected later this week),there is speculation regarding
the number of Freemasons that will be included in the
cabinet. Although hard figures are difficult to obtain, it
is estimated that there about 800 Masons in Gabon (from a
population of 1.4 million) and it is widely believed in
Libreville that over 80 per cent of the current cabinet and
members of parliament are Masons (and that the majority of
influential businessmen, both Gabonese and French, are also
Masons).

2.(U) Freemasonry in Gabon dates to the founding of the first
lodge in 1902 and the influence established in business and
government realms by Freemasons during the colonial period
continued after independence (Gabon's first president -- Leon
Mba -- was, for example, a Mason). There are currently three
Masonic lodges in Gabon: one associated with the Grande Loge
National Francaise (GLNF),one associated with the Grand
Orient de France (GOF),and one -- the Grande Rite Symbolique
du Gabon (GRSG) -- which was founded by President Omar Bongo
and which is essentially a local fusion of the other two.


3. (U) Omar Bongo has never hidden the fact that he is a
Mason and Grand Master of his own lodge. Bongo sees no
contradiction between Freemasonry and Islam and has called
Freemasonry "a school of tolerance and respect for others."


4. (C) Bongo originally was initiated into the GOF and moved
to the GLNF before creating the Grand Rite Equatorial
(recently renamed the Grande Rite Symbolique du Gabon). He
never insisted that his colleagues follow his moves from
lodge to lodge; in fact, there appears to have been a
conscious decision to ensure wide representation among the
three lodges (probably as a means of maintaining Bongo's
influence and control). For example, Georges Rawiri (the
recently-deceased president of the Senate, close associate of
Bongo and the second-most powerful person in the country
after Bongo) was a member of the GOF, while Jean Pierre
Lemboumba (eminence grise at the Presidency) is a member of
the GLNF. Minister of Defense (and son of the President) Ali
Bongo is a member of two lodges, the GLNF and the GRSG.
Prominent opposition party members are also Masons -- UPG
leader Pierre Mamboundou and UGDD leader Zachary Myboto, for
example, are members of the GOF. Membership in particular
lodges is not associated with party affiliation.


5. (C) Two recent anecdotes testify to Masonic influence. A
US Embassy Warden in Port Gentil (whose husband is Gabonese)
says her husband was offered a cabinet minister position, on
condition that he become a Mason (he turned it down). An
American businessman pursuing opportunities in Gabon's
lumber sector attributes the success of his endeavors to his
being a Mason and using Masonic contacts in Gabon (his escort
to meetings was the MFA's chief legal advisor).


6. (C) COMMENT: The extended influence of Gabon's Masonic
lodges on government and business is difficult to assess.
However, President Bongo's own involvement as the leader of a
lodge -- together with the perception that Masonic
connections and influence are pervasive throughout business
and government -- have created among Gabonese the belief that
the best way to get ahead today is to become a Mason.





WALKLEY