At the end of a hearing that lasted until the wee hours of Thursday, July 1, 2021, the Special Military Court sentenced Lieutenant Kelly Ondo to 15 years in prison, as well as two members of the Republican Guard. The three men are condemned for their role in the attempted coup in January 2019. The accused’s lawyers are already announcing appeals in cassation.
as reported from Libreville, Yves-Laurent Goma
For attacks on the state’s internal security, criminal association and theft, Lieutenant Kelly Ondo, chief of command of the Republican Guard, risked very much. In his requisitions, the prosecutor demanded life imprisonment and a fine of 100 million CFA francs.
However, the court did not comply with his requisitions and the three young officers were sentenced to 15 years in prison, fined 31 million CFA francs and expelled from the army. “We will appeal to the Supreme Court,” their lawyer explained immediately.
Another section of the Republican Guard, which was not convinced of Kelly Ondo’s project, was acquitted, as were the five gendarmes on duty at the Maison de la radio on the night of January 16, 2019, the date of the failed coup. At the end of the deliberation, the gendarmes and their wife kissed for a long time, they shed tears.
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