Hervé Mombo Kinga, the pro-democracy activist and celebrated blogger who spent 17 months in jail for insulting the Gabonese president, Ali Bongo Ondimba, was not impressed when he saw the pictures of the leader limping up the stairs of France’s presidential palace.
Kinga, who died last week at 47 after contracting Covid, was infuriated by the episode – widely shared in the west African country of Gabon, despite the embarrassment it caused the president, whose family has held power for more than five decades.
Using a walking stick and supported by an aide, Bongo lost his balance at the top of the Élysée stairs. He was caught by the French president, Emmanuel Macron.
In a six-minute video on social media, Kinga fumed at Macron for what he saw as the French leader’s endorsement of Bongo, whose disputed re-election in 2016 by a slim margin was marked by violence.
“Emmanuel Macron, we are effectively at war,” said Kinga, angry about the mending of relations between his homeland and its former colonial ruler.
Kinga was a vociferous critic of the Bongo regime, posting videos under the pseudonym “Matricule 001” or resistance soldier 001.
Kinga’s health had deteriorated after the harsh conditions of his detention, according to his lawyer, Anges Kevin Nzigou. He was hospitalised in January and contracted Covid, which “became more severe, particularly because of his state of health”, Nzigou says. Kinga had just become a father for the second time.
“Mr Kinga was an unwavering defender of human rights in Gabon and led his fight without hatred or resentment, despite the obstacles he faced. It is this [that] made him an emblematic figure in the fight for freedoms in Gabon,” Nzigou says.
Kinga had been left penniless after the authorities destroyed his business, a cybercafe in the capital Libreville, and could not afford healthcare. A crowdfunding campaign was launched to help, but the intervention came too late.
Céline Assaf Boustani, president of the Human Rights Foundation (HRF), says: “Armed with just a camera, Hervé dedicated his life to exposing the harsh reality of life under the Bongo regime in Gabon.
“Hervé was insightful and courageous, and his death is a tremendous loss to the Gabonese people struggling against poverty and government repression.”
Gabonese opposition leader Jean Ping was among those who paid tribute online. He hailed “the courageous fight he led for Gabon”. Others called Kinga a “freedom fighter” whose death was a “big loss” for young people.
“Sick, weakened, continually persecuted, he refused to leave Gabon. A righteous man died today,” said one tweet.
“Your death saddens us. But the seed you sowed in us has become a hope that nourishes and inspires us every day,” read another.
Kinga started making videos in 2015, “criticising repression, injustices, poor public services and deleterious living conditions for ordinary Gabonese citizens under dictator Ali Bongo’s regime”, says the HRF.
He supported Jean Ping in 2016. Dozens of people lost their lives in the post-election violence. Omar Bongo, the current president’s father, governed from 1967 until his death in 2009, when his son took over after a contested election.
Kinga was among more than a dozen activists arrested in demonstrations in August 2017, a year after the election. He was held for 17 months, partially in solitary confinement, and charged with “insulting the head of state” and “participating in propaganda that disturbs the public order”.
“He was kept with very limited light and air coming from a small opening in the ceiling, making it impossible to ascertain whether it was day or night. Through this opening, rather than through the door, Kinga received his minimal food ration. Although detainees are usually allowed three meals per day, Kinga was only given food once per day,” according to a 2019 HRF petition submitted to the UN, appealing Kinga’s imprisonment.
“This food ration was thrown over the wall to him, as if he were an animal. He was unable to shower and lacked access to any toilet facilities; instead, he was forced to relieve himself in a plastic bag in his cell. Kinga was not provided [with] a mattress and was relegated to sleeping on the floor, although he could not properly lie down in the painfully small cell.”
Released in February 2019, Kinga was particularly critical of the government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In his last video posted, Kinga said: “If you think about it, we are armed: we have words, resistance, boycotting, and disobedience. I will be the first to encourage this type of fight.”
