Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09LIBREVILLE113
2009-03-23 14:30:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Libreville
Cable title:  

GABON: FIRST LADY COMMEMORATED AFTER DEATH

Tags:  PGOV PREL ZF XY GB 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO7317
PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO
DE RUEHLC #0113/01 0821430
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 231430Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY LIBREVILLE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1001
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 1001
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0416
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0997
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LIBREVILLE 000113 

SIPDIS

LONDON AND PARIS PLEASE PASS TO AFRICA WATCHERS
ADDIS PLEASE PASS TO AFRICAN UNION

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/23/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL ZF XY GB
SUBJECT: GABON: FIRST LADY COMMEMORATED AFTER DEATH

REF: LIBREVILLE 104

Classified By: Poloff Leslie Doumbia for reasons 1.4(b) and (d).

-------
SUMMARY
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LIBREVILLE 000113

SIPDIS

LONDON AND PARIS PLEASE PASS TO AFRICA WATCHERS
ADDIS PLEASE PASS TO AFRICAN UNION

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/23/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL ZF XY GB
SUBJECT: GABON: FIRST LADY COMMEMORATED AFTER DEATH

REF: LIBREVILLE 104

Classified By: Poloff Leslie Doumbia for reasons 1.4(b) and (d).

--------------
SUMMARY
--------------


1. (C) Ten African heads of state attended the funeral of
45-year old Edith Lucie Bongo Ondimba, wife of Gabonese
president El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba and daughter of
President Denis Sassou Nguesso of the Republic of Congo, in
Libreville on March 18. In addition to Bongo and Sassou
Nguesso, the presidents of Benin, Central African Republic,
Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, Sao Tome and
Principe, and Togo attending the ceremony. The vice
president of Ghana, prime ministers from Guinea (Conakry) and
Senegal, the wife of President Joseph Kabila of the
Democratic Republic of Congo, and several ministers from
other African countries also flew in for the event. Several
prominent African political leaders made noteworthy
appearances, including former prime minister of Cote d'Ivoire
and leader of the Rally of the Republicans (RDR) party
Alassane Dramane Ouattara. END SUMMARY.

--------------
Networking Opportunities
--------------


2. (C) While the heads of state sat silently through the
six-hour long homage portion of the ceremony, other guests,
such as African Union (AU) Commission President and former
Gabonese foreign minister Jean Ping, were busily networking.
Ping was seen huddling with Ali Trekki, Libya's Africa
specialist, as well as France's representatives,
secretary-general of the presidency Claude Gueant, and
minister for cooperation Alain Joyandet. Bongo's head rested
on his chest for much of the ceremony, but he walked with
little assistance. The visiting heads of state departed
Libreville quickly during a break in the day-long ceremony.

--------------
The First Lady Receives
Diana-like Reception in Libreville
--------------


3. (SBU) President Bongo, accompanied by the two teenaged
children from his marriage to Edith Lucie and other family
members, returned to Libreville March 18 from Rabat with the
remains of the former First Lady. No details have been
released on the cause of her death on March 14. King
Mohammed VI of Morocco, who provided privacy and secrecy
during Mrs. Bongo's almost two-year period of medical care in
Morocco, also provided the aircraft used by Bongo's family to
transport the body to Libreville and then to Brazzaville on
March 20. Thousands of Gabonese lined the roughly six-mile
route from the airport to the presidential palace to catch a
glimpse of the funeral cortege, and then waited patiently for
an opportunity to enter the palace itself to pay their final
respects. The palace remained open throughout the night and
the day of the funeral to accommodate the crowds. The formal
funeral ceremony was followed by an ecumenical service at the
palace, a rare occurrence in Gabon.


4. (U) Edith Lucie was well-liked in Gabon because of her
humanitarian activities. A trained pediatrician, she founded
a school for children with disabilities and worked with other
African first ladies on an initiative to combat HIV/AIDS.
She supported other health and education programs, as well as
her husband's efforts to resolve regional conflicts.

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Family Feuds
--------------


5. (C) Edith Lucie married President Bongo in 1990 at the age
of 25. An unpopular move by Bongo at the time, the word in
Libreville today is that Sassou Nguesso also opposed the
marriage of his oldest daughter to Bongo, as did the
traditional king of Bongo's Teke clan. The Teke and Sassou
Nguesso's Mbochi ethnic group straddle a common border and
their ongoing rivalry has played a role in the politics of
both Gabon and Congo. Many Gabonese are not pleased that the
First Lady will be buried in Congo in her ancestral village
of Edou rather than in Gabon. They question the official
Gabonese government explanation that the two families are
following Mbochi tradition. Many even speculate that her

LIBREVILLE 00000113 002 OF 002


remains were never even in Gabon, citing the fact that the
casket remained closed for the entire ceremony.

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COMMENT
--------------


6. (C) The ceremony for the First Lady bore the markings of a
state funeral. Bongo's seniority among African leaders and
their respect for him was borne out by the high-level turnout
for the funeral. The decision to bury the body in Congo,
with a second funeral there on March 22, bothered many
Gabonese, and may figure into future friction between the two
countries. END COMMENT.
REDDICK