Marathon Pundit: Gabon leader dies after 42 years in power

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Gabon leader dies after 42 years in power

I didn't find out about this news until an hour ago. On Monday, Omar Bongo of Gabon, the world's longest serving head of state--excluding royalty--died in Barcelona at the age of 73. He was one of the wealthiest world leaders, even though most Gabonese live in poverty.

And to think for two days I've been going about my life as if nothing happened.

Seriously, check what AP has to say:

The government responded to Bongo's death at a hospital in Spain by closing Gabon's international airport and the nation's land and sea borders. Security forces took up positions in front of government buildings and electrical installations in Libreville, the capital.

It sounds like a lot of people want their money back.

More...

"A great figure for Africa? This guy was a scoundrel on the first order. If there was ever a poster boy for what you want to avoid in terms of leadership on the continent, he would have been No. 1," said former U.S. ambassador to Tanzania Charles Stith, now the director of Boston University's African Presidential Archives and Research Center.