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A crafty old spendthrift nears his end, seeming to have the succession as well as the budget well under control

If President Omar Bongo Ondimba had a dollar for every time his demise was announced over the last 20 years, he would be even richer than he already is. The endgame in Gabon recalls the end of the single-party regimes of Côte d'Ivoire's President Félix Houphouët-Boigny and Togo's President Gnassingbé Eyadéma: Houphouët for the downward economic spiral, chaos and scapegoating of foreigners, Eyadéma for the son-in-waiting holding the keys to the armoury....

(This article contains approximately 866 words)

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Keywords:

Omar Bongo Ondimba, Côte d'Ivoire, Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Togo, Gnassingbé Eyadéma, Spain, Edith-Lucie, France, Albert, Saudi Arabia, Françoise Desset, Congo-Brazzaville, Denis Sassou-Nguesso, Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, Cardona, Nicolas Sarkozy, Chad, Idriss Déby Itno, Rose Francine Rogombé, Didjob Divungi Di Ndinge, Ali Ben Bongo Ondimba, Paul Abessole, Jean Eyéghé Ndong, Zacharie Myboto, Pierre Mamboundou, Pascaline, juges d'instruction, Parti Démocratique Gabonais, Union du Peuple Gabonais