Gabon: the former under-17 coach, accused of sexual assault, was arrested

Former Gabonese football coach of the Under-17 national team, accused of alleged sexual assault of hundreds of children, has been arrested by police, a judicial source familiar with the matter told AFP on Monday. . Patrick Assoumou Eyi was arrested “Monday in Ntoum”, about 40 km from the capital Libreville and “It is currently in the hands of the police after the filing of a complaint for act of pedophilia”, this same source explained.

On Friday, Sports Minister Franck Nguema said that Patrick Assoumou Eyi “Allegedly abused hundreds of young boys in the course of his duties”. The case was revealed on Thursday by the British daily The Guardian, after more than two years of investigation by journalists Romain Molina and Ed Aarons.

Gabonese president evokes an “unacceptable” affair

Well known in Gabonese football circles under the sobriquet of « Capello », Patrick Assoumou Eyi was the coach of the national under-17 team until 2017 and has since been technical director of the Estuary Football League, the province of the capital Libreville. Mr. Assoumou Eyi “Was placed in police custody for a period of 48 hours, renewable once for the same period”, specified the judicial source, evoking “Criminal facts”.

On Friday, Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba raised a case “Very serious and unacceptable” and had given for instruction “To seize the Minister of Justice for the opening of a judicial investigation in the community of national football for sexual abuses having been committed against children, boys and girls”, but also “To extend the survey to all national sports federations” for “Eradicate potential sexual predators”.

The Gabonese Football Federation (Fégafoot) on Friday suspended Mr. Eyi from his functions on a provisional basis and seized the Ethics Commission of the National Football League to conduct an investigation, assured AFP Pablo Moussodji Ngoma, the Fégafoot media officer.