Former minister Jean Boniface Assélé suspected of shooting at a young man
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on GabonActu and AGP Gabon
Former minister and retired general Jean Boniface Assélé, 87, has been arrested and placed in detention, according to a family source cited by GabonActu. He is suspected of shooting a young man at point-blank range at Sibang stadium in Libreville on Friday 13 November; the victim is out of danger.
Jean Boniface Assélé, former minister and retired general aged 87, was arrested by the judicial police as part of the investigation opened after the shooting that wounded young Dylan. According to a family source, he has been placed in detention. Questioned since Saturday 14 November by judicial police officers, he was due to appear before the judicial authorities on Monday 16 November, alongside his son and the facilities' guard, who were also present at the time of the events.
The incident took place on Friday 13 November near the Augustin Monédan stadium in Sibang, in the 6th arrondissement of Libreville. The former minister, who owns the premises, is reported to have arrived on the scene, taken out his rifle and fired at very close range to disperse the young people playing football. According to several sources, Dylan was hit; his family reportedly filed a complaint. Taken to hospital by local residents, he underwent successful surgery and is out of danger. This private stadium was used as a training ground during the 2012 and AFCON 2017.
On Sunday, the former minister’s family expressed regret, which it described as an unfortunate incident, while specifying that this statement does not prejudge the action of the justice system. It says it has taken steps to arrange care for the young man. Public figures wished Dylan a speedy recovery, and political and civil society leaders called for the courts to establish the facts. Further details on the sequence of events and the legal proceedings could come from the public prosecutor.
Elected to the central committee of the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) in 1983, Jean Boniface Assélé, born in 1939, left the party at the end of 1992 to found the Circle of Liberal Reformers (CLR). He held several ministerial portfolios, including that of the Civil Service, and he is the brother-in-law of the late President Omar Bongo.
