Baltasar Ebang Engonga, the nephew of Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, has been sentenced to eight years in prison for embezzlement. The verdict, which follows a sensational sex tape scandal, marks a stunning fall from grace for a man once considered a potential heir to the presidency. The case has cast a harsh light on the inner workings of power in Africa's longest-serving dictatorship.
Engonga, nicknamed "Bello" because of his good looks, was the former head of the National Financial Investigation Agency, a position that put him at the heart of the country's financial system. He was found guilty of diverting public money for personal use, with a court ruling that he, along with five other officials, had embezzled amounts ranging from $9,000 to $220,000. The money was allegedly claimed as an allowance for travel, a flimsy cover for the illicit transactions. As a result, in addition to his prison sentence, Engonga was fined $220,000.
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Engonga’s downfall began with his arrest last October on accusations of depositing a huge sum of embezzled money into secret accounts in the Cayman Islands. But what truly captivated the public and ignited political speculation was the simultaneous leak of dozens of intimate videos featuring him with various women, many of them wives and relatives of people close to the center of power. The leaks occurred while his phones and computers were in the hands of the security forces, leading to widespread suspicion that the videos were deliberately leaked to destroy his reputation and any hope he had of becoming the next president.
The scandal and subsequent sentencing are widely seen as a calculated move to sideline Engonga in the political succession game. His uncle, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, has been in power since 1979 and has appointed his son, Teodoro Obiang Mangue, as his vice-president. Engonga’s arrest and public humiliation are viewed as a clear message that his political ambitions are not to be tolerated.
The case of "Bello" serves as a powerful reminder of the complex and often brutal nature of political power in Equatorial Guinea. A man once tasked with investigating crimes like money laundering found himself accused of corruption and thrown into the infamous Black Beach prison. The public humiliation of the sex tape leaks, which were never officially verified, adds a layer of intrigue and suggests a ruthless internal power struggle.
