This video does not show the Finance Minister of Gabon caught with suitcases of money after the military coup - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 5, 2023
A video is being shared on social media claiming that it shows the Finance Minister of Gabon caught with bags of money while attempting to escape from the country. Following the recent military coup in Gabon, this video is going viral on social media. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: A recent video showing the Finance Minister of Gabon apprehended with bags of money after the military coup in Gabon.
Fact: The video shared in the post shows Guy Nzouba-Ndama, the Former President of Gabonese National Assembly and the leader of the Les Democrates (LD) party, being apprehended with suitcases of money in Gabon after his return from Congo Brazzaville in September 2022. Guy Nzouba-Ndama was a prominent opposition party leader in Gabon and was not part of Ali Bongo’s government which was recently overthrown by the military officers led by General Brice Oligui Nguema. Hence, the claim made in the post is Misleading.
On reverse image search of the screenshots of the video, a video showing similar visuals was found published by a YouTube channel on 20 September 2022. The YouTube channel published the video stating that the visuals show Former Gabonese National Assembly President Guy Nzouba-Ndama being apprehended with suitcases of money near the border between Gabon and Congo Brazzaville.
When we searched for further sources using relevant keywords, a photo showing the same visuals was found in an article published on 17 September 2022. As per the article, Guy Nzouba-Ndama, the Former President of the Gabonese National Assembly and the leader of the Les Democrates (LD) Party, was caught with around 2 million dollars (1.18 billion FR CFA) in suitcases near the border area of ​​Haut-Ogooué in Gabon. Guy Nzouba-Ndama was reportedly caught with this money while he was returning from his trip to Gabon’s neighbouring country Congo Brazzaville.
A few other news articles that reported the arrest of Guy Nzouba-Ndama in September 2022 can be seen here and here. Guy Nzouba-Ndama is one of the prominent opposition party leaders in Gabon and is not part of Ali Bongo’s government which was recently overthrown by the military officers led by General Brice Oligui Nguema.
To sum it up, this video does not show the Finance Minister of Gabon apprehended with suitcases of money after the recent military coup.