Claim: Finance Minister of Gabon accosted while fleeing the country with a stash of money after coup d’état

Source: Viral video

Verdict: FALSE

Researched By: Sedem Kwasigah

A  video showing a group of men accosting an elderly man and forcing open 4 travelling bags in the bucket of his pickup truck, full of cash, is being widely circulated on X/Twitter (here, here and here).

The viral video is being portrayed online as showing the Finance Minister of Gabon fleeing the country after the military takeover with a stash of money.

One caption read: “Gabon finance minister stopped by citizens while trying to flee.”

The posts have gathered several interactions, including 125 reposts and 210 likes plus thousands of views.

 

Background

On August 30, 2023, a group of Gabonise military officers announced they had seized power following President Ali Bongo Ondimba’s re-election on national television.

The junta leaders subsequently annulled the results of the election and dissolved all government institutions.

 

Fact-check

Using the InVID video verification tool, GhanaFact found that the video was first published on September 17, 2022, on Facebook.

The original video shared on Facebook was captioned in French; “L’ex Président de l’Assemblée Nationale, Guy Nzouba-Ndama, a été arrêté avec des valises d’argent ce samedi 17 septembre 2022 sur la.”

The English translation is: “The former President of the National Assembly, Guy Nzouba-Ndama, was arrested with suitcases of money this Saturday, September 17, 2022, on the national road.”

Further research (here, here and here ) confirmed that the elderly man seen in the viral video was the former leader of the National Assembly of Gabon and the leader of the “Les Democrates” political party, Nzouba-Ndama.

He was arrested on September 17, 2022, shortly after returning from Congo with cash amounting to about 1.19 billion FR CFA or $2 million (here, here and here).

So, the now-viral video is not new and has no connection with the recent coup d’état in Gabon as being portrayed by social media users.

 

Verdict

Therefore, the claim is FALSE and MISLEADING