Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Gabon actu
Published on 2024-03-03 10:58:40
Alain Mouangouadi and Thierry Nkoulou from left to right © DR
The Vice President of Dynamique unitaire (DU), in charge of unionization and General Delegate of the National Convention of Educational System Unions (CONASYSED), Alain Mouangouadi and the advisor to the president of Dynamique unitaire, Thierry Nkoulou who were reported missing since Friday afternoon, reappeared this Sunday morning, according to Gabonactu.com
“They have released us,” said a smiling Alain Mouangouadi, speaking on the phone to a Gabonactu.com reporter, without knowing the identity of the people who kidnapped and held them captive.
Alain Mouangouadi claims he was quickly blindfolded upon his kidnapping. He was taken to a private residence where he did not suffer any physical harm. His captors accused him of being against the Transition President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguéma and hindering his work.
“They said they work thanks to him, so they do not tolerate his actions being sabotaged,” recounted Mouangouadi speaking of his captors.
“I wanted to eat fruits and they brought them to me,” he admitted, noting that he didn’t know exactly where he was and where his colleague Thierry Nkoulou was located.
“After comparing testimonies, it seems that we were in the same place but in different rooms,” said Mouangouadi, who claimed to have spent the night in an air-conditioned room.
The unionists participated in a meeting on Friday granted to Dynamique unitaire by the Minister of Public Service in the middle of the day.
After the meeting, Alain Mouangouadi hurried home aboard a Rav4 vehicle lent to him by a colleague. At 6:15 PM, he called his colleague to return the vehicle. It was his last proof of life.
The unionist’s phones remained open until Saturday morning without anyone answering the numerous calls from his colleagues and his wife.
Dynamique Unitaire quickly raised the alarm and decided on Saturday during a general meeting to organize a sit-in in front of the Ministry of National Education until the liberation of their comrades.
Alain Mouangouadi and Thierry Nkoulou were organizing the general meeting that finally took place on Saturday without them. Teachers gathered during this assembly to demand the payment of their salary arrears and the regularization of their administrative situations: promotions, reclassifications, and recruitment for pre-salary teachers.
Carl Nsitou
Read the original article(French) on Gabon Actu
