Gabon’s junta appoints new prime minister

Gabon’s new Prime Minister Raymond Ndong Sima. Pic/AP

Gabon's ousted President Ali Bongo Ondimba, who has been under house arrest since he was deposed last week, is free and can travel abroad for medical treatment, the country's junta said as it appointed a new prime minister.

Raymond Ndong Sima, an economist, was named "prime minister of the transition", according to a statement read on state television by Col. Ulrich Manfoumbi, spokesman for the transition committee.

Sima, 68, served as prime minister under the deposed president from 2012 to 2014 and is believed to have aspired to run in the elections. However, he did not become a candidate for the opposition in the Central African nation's recent presidential election.

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