Get Guardian on Google
An online influencer in Gabon has been detained after broadcasting images shot inside a hospital emergency department plunged into darkness by a long power cut, sources said Thursday.
Several activists reported on social media the arrest of Novelas Overmax after his last message in which he described himself as “wanted”.
The post appeared on Monday, a day after his video was shared on TikTok.
The influencer was “placed in custody” late on Wednesday and taken to the central prison in the capital Libreville, one of his friends Eric Otsetse wrote on Facebook.
Authorities have not confirmed or denied the account of events.
Gabon’s national assembly vice president Geoffroy Foumboula Likeba referred on Facebook to an effort to secure the release of “our brother” and said the case against the influencer was linked to a complaint by the hospital.
Sunday’s electricity shortage fed growing discontent among Gabonese angered at being regularly deprived of power through scheduled blackouts known as “load shedding”.
On Tuesday, people noisily banged pots and pans in protest and a demonstration planned for Saturday in the capital has been banned.
Transitional president General Brice Oligui Nguema has promised to improve the situation.
“We inherit a fragile system where infrastructure operates on a tight schedule but I remain determined to improve access to electricity for all Gabonese,” he said on X.
Oligui took over as leader of the oil-rich central African nation after an August 2023 coup, promising a return to civilian rule with elections.
A presidential vote is scheduled for April 12.
The ministers of health and energy have visited the hospital that featured in Novelas Overmax’s video, while an emergency meeting was called at the presidential palace on Wednesday.
The indebted SEEG national water and electricity company faces criticism for repeated malfunction of the electricity network, combined with two scandals linked to trafficking of false meters and misappropriation of revenue.
