The Gabonese junta headed by interim president General Brice Oligui Nguema has taken over the B737-700(BBJ) owned by Sylvia Bongo, the wife of ex-president Ali Bongo, Mondafrique has reported.
The former ruling family reportedly hoped the transfer of Sylvia Bongo's private aircraft to the junta would improve her conditions while under detention. The former first lady has been imprisoned since the 2023 coup d'état that deposed her husband.
P4-BBJ (msn 30070) remains parked at Basel/Mulhouse/Freiburg, CH, to which it flew from Libreville Leon M'Ba in January 2023, seven months before the coup. The 25.5-year-old Boeing was owned (as of June 2024) by a Panamanian special purpose vehicle, Verhill Corporate Ltd. It was registered in Aruba in 2012.
According to the Aruban registry, current as of June 2024, the aircraft was privately operated by local company Melpet Aviation NV, doing business as Jet Magic Aruba. The company does not appear to have an Air Operator's Certificate (AOC). It is unclear if it is linked to Malta's JetMagic (JMK, Malta International), which did not respond to ch-aviation's request for comment.
