Gabonese lawmaker Augustin Lobelle Yembi was arrested at Kigali International Airport on September 3 following an altercation with a supervisor of RwandAir, before being handed over to Gabonese authorities after diplomatic intervention between the two countries.
Yembi, an independent member of Gabon’s National Assembly elected in 2025, was reportedly in transit at the airport when the incident occurred. He was detained by Rwandan authorities and remained in custody pending proceedings over alleged physical assault against the airline supervisor.
According to the Gabonese National Assembly, the lawmaker was initially expected to face proceedings before Rwandan courts.
The case was subsequently taken up at the diplomatic level between Libreville and Kigali. On September 6, Rwandan authorities authorised Yembi to leave the country and he was handed over to Gabonese authorities.
Gabon’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marie-Édith Tassyla-Ye-Doumbeneny, said the decision was linked to the relations between the two countries and the ties between Gabonese President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema and Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
She said Rwanda had authorised Yembi to leave its territory because of the “excellence of the fraternal relations” between Gabon and Rwanda and the friendship between the two presidents.
The minister, however, said the diplomatic intervention did not end the matter.
Yembi is expected to face proceedings in Gabon after being placed at the disposal of the country’s justice authorities. The Gabonese National Assembly also said the relevant judicial authorities would determine the next steps in the case.
National Assembly Speaker Michel Régis Onanga Ndiaye confirmed the development during a meeting of the parliamentary bureau at the Palais Léon Mba in Libreville on September 7.
The Assembly said the intervention of the two heads of state provided a diplomatic solution that allowed Yembi to be removed from the Rwandan judicial process and returned to Gabon.
The incident has also attracted attention online after footage purportedly showing the altercation circulated on social media. However, reports about the video and the circumstances surrounding the confrontation have largely come from social media posts and should be treated separately from the official accounts of the arrest and diplomatic resolution.
Yembi now faces the possibility of legal proceedings in Gabon over the incident that began with his arrest at Kigali International Airport.
