Gabon: The War of the First Ladies

President Oligui Nguema’s polygamy has been causing a stir since the official appearance of his second wife, Anouchka Avome, in December 2023. Previously in the shadows, she is now front and center, gaining influence and sparking controversy in public opinion. While Oligui Nguema has enacted a law allowing high-ranking military officers to marry multiple women, public opinion denounces a reform tailored to resolve his personal situation. [With the kind permission of ‘La Cigale enchantée’, the newspaper where this article appeared on February 22]

As Oligui Nguema publicly embraces his polygamous status, Anouchka gains influence, participating in presidential tours and influencing appointments. The rivalry between the two wives divides public opinion between defenders of monogamy and proponents of polygamy.

Anouchka Avome, the second wife of the Gabonese president who emerged from the shadows in December 2023. © La Cigale enchantée

This scene alone captures the turning point in the presidency of Brigadier General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, four months after assuming power. On Thursday, December 21, 2023, at the Gymnase du Prytanée militaire, the Transition President appears as the patron of a foundation dedicated to orphan assistance. The event itself is a good thing for the former Chief Commander of the Republican Guard who is trying to polish his image tarnished by the epithet of a “military coup leader,” except that the event is quickly overshadowed by the beauty and elegance of the woman walking by his side.

Public opinion, which had hitherto suspected the Gabonese number 1 of having two households, discovers the face of Anouchka Avome, locally married to the General-President. Oligui Nguema’s second wife emerges from the shadows to officially launch the activities of the Dorcas foundation, of which she is the president. Alongside a husband who is not at all bothered by the scandal that this appearance may provoke, Anouchka Avome proceeds to distribute Christmas gifts to children from several orphanages in Libreville around a Christmas tree.

While officials at the top of the state refrain from openly discussing an open rivalry between the first lady and the president of the Dorcas foundation, everyone quickly understands that the organization by Zita Oligui Nguema of a similar event in the first district of Libreville was a response to this challenge.

As expected, this latent war has sparked a heated debate in public opinion between defenders of monogamy and proponents of polygamy. The majority of women, in particular, will criticize the fact that “the woman in the shadows” emerges from the anonymity conferred by the status of a second wife. Others see it as a provocative act that contrasts with the reserved and balanced character of Zita Oligui Nguema.

The private life of the Head of State is now the subject of intense controversy. Oligui Nguema gives the impression of fully embracing his polygamous status. Proof of this is the Executive’s adoption, in a Council of Ministers meeting on January 25, of a law that now allows senior officers and generals of the Defense and Security Forces to officially marry multiple women if they wish. Critics openly describe this as a tailor-made law by the President’s detractors, accusing him of using his position at the helm of the country to resolve his personal marital situation. Despite the new wave of criticism, Oligui Nguema does not back down.

Rumors even suggest that Anouchka Avome is behind some appointments in the state apparatus. Last week, leading a horde of her collaborators and security personnel, the second wife showed support for orphans, while delivering a solidarity message in front of cameras that became viral on social media: “They (the orphaned children – ed.) have the right to dream and to achieve their dreams as well. They are not different from other children. They just have a different story and a different destiny. (…) the destiny we have at the beginning of life should not be the one we should have at the end of our lives.”

A First Lady Too Reserved and Poorly Surrounded?

Facing a co-wife who no longer hesitates to assert herself without fear of being openly criticized, Zita Oligui Nguema gives the impression of accommodating her, even capitulating to adversity. While she plays her role as a homemaker alongside her husband, on the social front, the first lady is hardly visible. Her influence in political circles, even in the province of Ngounié, where she is from, is equally insignificant. While her co-wife has been very active in organizing the presidential tour in Woleu-Ntem, Zita Oligui Nguema struggles to get the preparations for her husband’s tour in the fourth province of the country off the ground.

In Nzébi country, she is blamed for her timidity and lack of openness. She is also not helped by collaborators who, evidently, lack experience and, above all, a spirit of unity. “Politics is not done alone. It is not done by being closed off,” laments a political leader from Ngounié Sud. Many of her relatives do not hesitate to criticize the attitude of a first lady who gives more importance to men and women of the church than to her own family members. The war between the two groups is raging. The “good word” preachers are accused of trying to recruit the first lady and alienate her from her own family.

Orca Boudiandza Mouele

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