The video is of the arrest of Guy Nzouba-Ndama, a former president of Gabon’s National Assembly on his return from Congo in 2022.
Syndicated by Pesacheck
This Facebook post with a video, purportedly of Gabon’s Senate president attempting to flee the country with millions of money stashed in suitcases, is FALSE.
The post reads in part: “GABON COUP: Gabon Senate President Accosted In Attempt To Flee The Country With Millions Of CFA”.
A narrator in the background describing the purported arrest says in part: “Gabon is ready to restore their country.”
A Google reverse image search established that the video in question predates the coup in the oil-rich African country.
The video was featured in a French article dated 18 September 2022 with a headline translating t0; “Gabon: opponent Guy Nzouba-Ndama arrested with more than a billion CFA francs in his suitcases”.
According to the article, the former president of the Gabonese National Assembly was arrested on his return from the Republic of Congo “carrying three suitcases filled with CFA francs” whose “total sum would represent nearly two million euros.”
https://afrique.tv5monde.com/information/gabon-lopposant-guy-nzouba-ndama-arrete-avec-plus-dun-milliard-de-francs-cfa-dans-ses?source=post_page—–bf8f40b9c507——————————–
The arrest was reported by other Gabonese media outlets.
Contrary to the claim under investigation, the current president of the Gabonese Senate is Lucie Milebou-Aubusson– and there are no reports from credible sources of her trying to flee the country.
PesaCheck has looked into a Facebook post with a video, purportedly of the Gabonese Senate president attempting to flee the country with millions of CFA francs stashed in suitcases and finds it to be FALSE.
This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as potential misinformation on Facebook and other social media platforms.
By partnering with Facebook and similar social media platforms, third-party fact-checking organisations like PesaCheck are helping to sort fact from fiction. We do this by giving the public deeper insight and context to posts they see in their social media feeds.
Have you spotted what you think is fake or false information on Facebook? Here’s how you can report. And, here’s more information on PesaCheck’s methodology for fact-checking questionable content.
This fact-check was written by PesaCheck fact-checker Peris Gachahi and edited by PesaCheck senior copy editor Cédrick Irakoze and acting chief copy editor Francis Mwaniki.
The article was approved for publication by PesaCheck managing editor Doreen Wainainah.
