Johan Bounda, second master in the Gabonese navy and member of the marine rifles, was tortured to death by agents of the General Directorate of Counter-Interventions and Military Security (DGCISM), commonly known as “B2”, on December 20, 2024 . Mondafrique returns to a state affair.
On Saturday, December 21, 2024, relatives of Johan Bounda, a 38-year-old marine commando, were informed by a military source that his body was in the morgue of the Omar Bongo Army Instructions Hospital, located at PK9, in outskirts of Libreville. When they heard the news, those close to Chief Petty Officer Johan Bounda were first informed that he had been shot and killed during a robbery at his place of duty. However, when they went to the morgue of the military hospital, Johan Bounda's family discovered with shock and fear that his body bore the marks of atrocious abuse, including burns inflicted with an iron.
Tortured to death by military intelligence
Photos of Johan Bounda's tortured body leak on the internet and shock public opinion. Very quickly, the sequence of events is reconstructed. Johan Bounda, who was assigned to the protection of the Secretary General of the Ministry of Defense of Gabon, General Martin Ossima Ndong, took up his guard post on Friday December 20, 2024. This guard included around ten men belonging to different corps of the Gabonese armed forces.
An accusation of theft of jewelry from the home of General Martin Ossima Ndong led the entire guard, including second master Johan Bounda, to the General Directorate of Counter-Interventions and Military Security (DGCISM – B2). However, several testimonies indicate that the members of the guard did not have access to the interior of the general's residence, and there was no evidence to accuse them.
On site, members of the guard strongly contest these accusations, arguing that they never had access to the residence, which was also under electronic protection, which would easily allow their statements to be verified. Johan Bounda points out the absurdity of the situation to military intelligence agents, who then decide to mistreat him, then torture him. When he points out to them that the treatment he is undergoing is contrary to the laws in force in Gabon, both civil and military, his torturers decide to “show him” and “break him”. In the sinister logic of the General Directorate of Counter-Interventions and Military Security, “it is better a useful 'confession' obtained under torture than an embarrassing sincere confession.”
Johan Bounda did not survive the abuse inflicted by his executioners, who, panicked, decided to leave his body at the military hospital.
An affair of state
Born in Tchibanga, in the south of Gabon, in 1986, Johan Bounda joined the Gabonese national navy in 2011 before joining the marine commandos. During his career, he had participated in several missions, including two deployments in external operations in the Central African Republic, in 2012-2013 then in 2016, where he was decorated each time, notably for an act of courage. His death quickly became a “state affair”, although the army tried to cover it up by calling it an “incident”.
This affair places General Martin Ossima Ndong, 58, an aviator trained in France, former chief of general staff of the Gabonese armed forces, number 3 in the Gabonese junta and secretary general of the Ministry of Defense of Gabon, in a position delicate.
Major test for Brice Oligui Nguema
Although he has not yet taken precautionary measures by relieving the Secretary General of the Ministry of Defense and the head of the General Directorate of Counter-Interventions, Brice Oligui Nguema, from their duties, the Gabonese head of state, went to the family of Johan Bounda, to whom he promised to shed light on this matter. He also said: “It's daring, you can't torture someone for stealing jewelry.” Let us remember, however, that to date, 8 soldiers from the General Directorate of Counter-Interference and Military Security have been placed under arrest, a great first.
The tragic murder of Johan Bounda undoubtedly constitutes the first major test for Brice Oligui Nguema, who will have to choose between appeasing the troop to which second master Johan Bounda belonged and protecting an influential member of the military junta. This troop which brought him to power on August 30, 2023…
Gabon, eight trade unionists brutalized by military intelligence.
