Appointed to the government in September 2023, Laurence Ndong is today one of the central figures of the new regime led by Brice Oligui Nguema. Portrait of an ambitious woman.
It was under the name Laurence Mbango that the woman who would become Laurence Ndong was born on October 19, 1971 in Douala, Cameroon. Laurence Mbango was born “to a Cameroonian mother but without a registered father”, as mentioned by the Gabonese online newspaper Infos 241, which published his birth certificate.
Meanwhile settled in Gabon, Laurence Mbango changed her name at almost 4 years old when she was recognized by her father. She then became Laurence Mengue-Me-Nzoghe on October 13, 1975.
Teacher and devout Christian
After scientific studies at the Masuku University of Science and Technology near Franceville, Laurence Mengue-Me-Nzoghe – who in the meantime became Laurence Ndong following her marriage at the age of 21 – became a secondary school teacher of Life Sciences and the Earth after graduating from the École Nationale Supérieure de Libreville.
A fervent Christian, young Laurence Ndong is already close to political circles since she rubbed shoulders with a very powerful woman in Gabon in the early 1990s, Victoire Lasseni Duboze, whom she readily recognizes as her godmother.
In 2002, she left Gabon to join her husband in France, an engineer by training and executive in a multinational. She then resumed her studies and in 2008 became a doctor from the University of Paris René Descartes in Educational Sciences. His thesis is entitled “The place of science teaching concepts in the training of high school and college teachers of Life and Earth Sciences in France and Gabon”. Laurence Ndong is also a pastor, she leads a church in the Paris region.
Fervent support of Ali Bongo
In France, Laurence Ndong continues to be interested in politics. In 2009, after the death of Omar Bongo and the presidential election that followed, Laurence Ndong joined the campaign team of Bruno Ben Moubamba, then an opponent from civil society.
Laurence Ndong became a fervent supporter of Ali Bongo, who came to power in September 2009 against a backdrop of bloody electoral repression, particularly in the town of Port-Gentil. This does not seem to bother Laurence Ndong, who declared during a visit to France by Ali Bongo: “He was elected on a program (…) President Ali is in the right place and the man he needs. it’s necessary “. Very active in the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), the ruling party, she will however be pushed towards the exit…
Fervent support from Jean Ping
Taking advantage of the promotion of her book Gabon, why J’accuse (where she is presented by her preface nothing more or less like the new Émile Zola!) in 2016, Laurence Ndong presents herself as the spokesperson for Jean Ping, without having received a mandate from the latter’s team who, however, let it happen. With the same fervor as she once defended him, Laurence Ndong then attacks Ali Bongo, calling him all kinds of names and of course a horrible bloodthirsty dictator. Which he always was.
The very bloody post-electoral repression of 2016 led by the army, the most tragic episode of which was undoubtedly the assault on Jean Ping’s headquarters by the Republican Guard, caused a stir among thousands of Gabonese people. Having become one of the media figures of the protest, but not being devoid of ambition, Laurence Ndong is outraged by the second post-electoral repression of Ali Bongo, while the first – significantly bloodier – did not. absolutely not bothered.
Support from Albert Ondo Ossa then Brice Oligui Nguema
Member of the NGO “Tournons”, a citizen movement made up of more than 200 civil society organizations which campaigns for democratic change and good governance in Africa, Laurence Ndong, invited to the Sochi Summit by Vladimir Putin, supports of the 2023 presidential election in Gabon Albert Ondo Ossa, before joining Brice Oligui Nguema a few days later…
Appointed Minister of Communication and government spokesperson in September 2023, Laurence Ndong defends the new regime with the fervor that she has made her trademark. Brice Oligui Nguema candidate for President at the end of the transition period? “Why would it bother if the election is free and transparent.” The duration of the transition? “We’re not going to rush.” The change in the conditions for granting school scholarships that Brice Oligui Nguema had nevertheless announced “without conditions”? “The CTRI [nom de la junte militaire qui a pris le pouvoir] was not obliged to reinstate the scholarships”…
Words that contradict the positions she had on these issues, but who cares!
La Master class
Questioned about the revelations made by Jeune Afrique on the extraction of Sylvia and Nourredine Bongo from the central prison of Libreville for a villa, Laurence Ndong declared with the confidence that characterizes her: “Be careful, everything that circulates on the internet does not is not often the truth. I have often seen people who cheat, it’s fraud. They are going to take the entire graphic charter of Jeune Afrique and they are going to publish as if it were Jeune Afrique, when it is not Jeune Afrique. So be careful when you look, look closely at the URL links and you will notice that sometimes it looks like this and it’s not that at all. »
“Under other skies, some would have given up their aprons”
On January 22, 2024, Laurence Ndong’s husband was appointed by the Council of Ministers Deputy Director General (DGA) of the Digital Heritage and Infrastructure Company (SPIN). The affair caused a lot of noise, particularly on the web, where there were outrageous cries. Questioned on the subject, Télésphore Obame Ngomo, member and child of the Gabonese Nomenklatura, press man and influential media boss who is also a Special Advisor very close to the new master of Gabon, responds bluntly: “Under other skies, some would have returned their aprons with dignity, because indeed it seems a little too crude. It is up to Madam Minister to draw all the conclusions from this situation.”
Laurence Ndong did not resign, moreover this is not possible given his character and his career. Laurence Ndong loves power, whether he wears fatigues or not, and ultimately has only one side: his own.
