In recent weeks, the media in Equatorial Guinea released intimate recordings of Balthasar Ebanga Engonga, one of the local officials. He had sex with various women, including in his office. The BBC writes that the disclosure of the tapes may become part of the political struggle for the future president of the country.
The BBC announced that the recordings had appeared online in early November. According to reports, they show, among others, a high-ranking official of the local Ministry of Finance, Baltasar Ebang Engonga, who had sexual relations with various women, including the wives of other prominent officials. Records must be recorded in government buildings.
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In another publication on this topic, the BBC writes that in the last two weeks, from 150 to more than 400 such records have been disclosed. According to this British television, some of the women recorded in this recording knew that they were being filmed.
The president's relative is the hero of the sex scandal
Engonga is the head of the country's National Financial Investigation Agency and his job included fighting financial crimes such as money laundering. Privately, he is a relative of the country's president, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who is currently the world's longest serving president and has been in office for 45 years. According to the BBC, Engonga is among those who can replace the long-time leader of this Central African country.
See also: Equatorial Guinea's president, in power for more than 40 years, calls early elections
Not just sex tapes. There are allegations of corruption in the background
The leak came after authorities searched Engonga's home and arrested him in connection with another case in which he was accused of corruption, the British channel said. He was arrested on October 25 on charges of embezzling large sums of public funds and depositing them in secret accounts in the Cayman Islands. His phones and computers were confiscated, and after a few days, intimate videos appeared on the Internet.
“Since the computer equipment was in the hands of the security forces, suspicions fell on someone who might have wanted to destroy Engonga's reputation before his trial (on corruption charges),” the British broadcaster wrote.
“Palace intrigues” as a way of promoting politics
The BBC writes that the emergence of sex tapes with Engonga on the Internet could be part of a debate at the highest levels of power, or even a fight over who will be the next president of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea. According to one theory, the release of the records was intended to discredit a man who was “at the center of a political storm.” “Politics in the country is really about palace intrigues and this is where the scandal involving Engonga fits,” it said.
The BBC writes that one of the first messages to appear online about the sex scandal was “a monumental scandal that shook the regime”.
Presidential Palace in Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea Xinhua/Han Xu/PAP/Abaka
“What we are witnessing is the end of an era, the end of the current president, but the question remains who will replace him. So we see the internal struggle continuing,” said Equatorial Guinean activist Nsang Cristia Esimi Cruz. . , quoted by the BBC.
Doubts about who could be behind the disclosure of the records – as the British website continues to write – have fallen on the first vice president of Equatorial Guinea Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mangue, the son of the current president. “The vice president and his mother are said to have killed anyone who threatens his path to the presidency, including Gabriel Obiang Lima (President Obiang's other son from another woman), who served as oil minister for 10 years and was later promoted to a secondary position. state passed”, we read.
First Vice President of Equatorial Guinea Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mangue SARA YENESEL/EPA/PAP
Sex in public offices
On November 5, the country's vice president, Nguema Obiang Mangu, announced that any official caught having sex on the job would be suspended, saying the situation was a “gross violation of the code of conduct” in recent days.
He also said he had ordered new measures to prevent officials from engaging in inappropriate behavior in the workplace. These included the installation of cameras in all offices and increased security to combat “misbehavior and illegal activities”.
The vice president's statement confirmed that the authorities take these decisions in connection with “news that has spread on social networks and degrades the image of the country.” It was added that the people who were present in the recordings will be arrested, although their names were not mentioned. On the other hand, the persons who were responsible for the protection of the buildings, where the materials were built, will be reprimanded for not fulfilling their duties.
Google Maps Equatorial Guinea
The president has been in power for 45 years
President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo is a former military officer who became president of Equatorial Guinea in a coup in 1979. According to the World Bank, in Equatorial Guinea, the vast majority of its 1.7 million people live below the poverty line.
Obiang's administration has been heavily criticized for alleged human rights abuses, including the use of torture against prisoners. The BBC writes that despite holding regular elections, there is no real opposition in the country, as activists remain in prison or in exile, and those who aspire to high office are closely monitored by the services. .
Main photo source: Xinhua/Han Xu/PAP/Abaka
