Congo
Sassou tries to delay his clan's sumptuous weddings

Palace Intrigues
Mamadi Doumbouya, Denis Sassou-Nguesso, Alassane Ouattara, Nicolas Sarkozy

Intrigues big and small – every Thursday, Africa Intelligence takes a peek into the corridors of power in Africa and beyond.

GuineaMamadi Doumbouya's new watch

CongoSassou's daughter's big Parisian wedding

Ivory CoastAlassane Ouattara hosts Nicolas Sarkozy in Mougins

Congo
First ladies line up in Libreville for Edith Bongo's foundation

Two weeks after an initial ceremony in Congo, the Bongo and Sassou families are preparing to pay tribute to former Gabonese First Lady Edith Lucie Bongo Ondimba, this time in Libreville, with many guests from across the continent.

Congo
Édith Lucie Bongo Ondimba memorial brings Libreville and Brazzaville closer together

Every year since her death in 2009, Congo's President Denis Sassou-Nguesso has organised a ceremony to honour his late daughter, the former First Lady of Gabon. Several heads of state, including Gabon's Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema are expected to attend this year's event.

Congo, Gabon
Omar Denis Junior Bongo's Brazzaville dowry sparks hopes of Gabon detente

The grandson of Congolese president Sassou Nguesso has given his fiancée's family a dowry at a ceremony in Brazzaville in the presence Omar Bongo's eldest daughter Pascaline, heralding a further thaw in relations between the two countries.