Pegasus revelations expose surveillance of Gabonese officials, raising questions about Gabon-Morocco relations
via Gabon Review4 min read
Revelations from Forbidden Stories, supported by Reporters Without Borders and Amnesty International, indicate that Moroccan secret services used the Pegasus spyware to monitor several Gabonese citizens, including Jean Ping, Dieudonn茅 Minlama Mintogo, Brice Laccruche-Alihanga, and Noureddin Bongo Valentin. This comes despite decades of close ties between Gabon and Morocco, where Morocco provided security for the Gabonese presidency and trained the Republican Guard under Omar Bongo and Ali Bongo. The Pegasus software, developed by Israeli company NSO Group, offers extensive access to mobile phone content, transforming the device into a surveillance tool. The monitoring of Gabonese officials by a country presented as a privileged partner raises questions about the nature of their cooperation and potential interference in Gabon's sovereignty. The article suggests that the 2018 incident in Riyadh, where former President Ali Bongo was transferred to Rabat against some advice, could be re-examined in light of these revelations, although no direct link is established. The incident highlights the vulnerability of institutions to surveillance technologies and underscores the principle that states prioritize permanent interests over permanent friendships, urging Gabon to strengthen its institutional protection and reconsider the basis of its international cooperation.
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