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Gabon’s opposition party, the Together For Gabon (EPG), has revealed that opposition leader and government critic, Alain-Claude Bilie-By-Nze, was arrested by Gabonese authorities at his home on Wednesday.
EPG said he was arrested under conditions they described as arbitrary, brutal and contrary to the fundamental principles of the rule of law. It condemned the arrest as a “serious political manoeuvre” aimed at “silencing a major critical voice”.
The opposition party linked Bilie-By-Nze’s arrest to an event held in 2008 for which the opposition leader was at the time head of the organising committee
Bilie-By-Nze was a former prime minister and presidential candidate in Gabon’s 2025 elections. He recently opposed a suspension of social media, which the Gabonese government introduced in February 2026.
He also criticised the adoption by decree of a reform of the nationality laws.
The measures were introduced after President Brice Oligui Nguema, who won an election last year with more than 94% of the vote, faced agitation, including a teachers’ strike.
The Gabonese government has a history of a restrictive approach toward dissent and opposition. Under former president Ali Bongo Ondimba and his father before him, whose family had ruled for over 50 years, Gabon was formally a multiparty democratic country, but in practice, opposition figures faced pressure, including arrests and legal hurdles.
Protests in Gabon were sometimes restricted or forcefully dispersed, especially during election periods. Media space was also limited, with journalists and outlets occasionally facing intimidation for critical reporting.
