Ali Bongo's son Valentin charged with high treason, graft

The son of Gabon's deposed president Ali Bongo Ondimba and several of his allies have been charged with high treason and corruption and placed in custody, the state prosecutor told AFP on Wednesday.

"Bongo's eldest son Noureddin Bongo Valentin and former presidential spokesman Jessye Ella Ekogha, as well as four others close to the deposed leader, have been charged and placed in provisional detention," said Libreville prosecutor Andre-Patrick Roponat.

Bongo, 64, who had ruled the oil-rich country since 2009, was ousted by military leaders on August 30, moments after being proclaimed the winner in a presidential election.

The result was branded a fraud by the opposition and the military coup leaders, who have also accused his regime of widespread corruption and bad governance.

Read: Ali Bongo and the danger of overstaying in power

On the same day as the coup, soldiers arrested one of Bongo's sons, five senior cabinet officials and his wife Sylvia Bongo Valentin.

National TV showed rolling images of those arrested in front of suitcases filled with cash allegedly seized from their homes.