Paris-Brazzaville: Danyele Palazzo Gauthier, advocate and money-woman of Pascaline Bongo Ondimba

President Denis Sassou Nguesso’s morale was affected heavily because; Edith was not only his official first born, but also the most intelligent amongst his 29 children. Furthermore, she was the only one besides his elder brother Maurice Nguesso who was loved by ordinary Congolese. Her lost was synonymous to the lost of clutches to a cripple.  If Edith Lucie Bongo Ondimba were still alive today, some monumental strategic errors being committed by President Denis Sassou Nguesso and which might cause him his prestige and even presidency won’t have been committed. It explains why her death also sparked in President Denis Sassou Nguesso the desire to leave the political scene. Denis Sassou Nguesso was convinced to continue by the likes of Isidore Mvouba and Jean Jacques Bouya coupled with the medical assistance from Professor Claude Maylin.  So I was told by Ouamba Sassou Nguesso, one of the 29 children of the Congolese leader. As for Omar Bongo Ondimba, formerly Albert Bernard Bongo, he was the second president of Gabon after the death of Leon Mba.

President Bongo Ondimba had his names changed from Albert Bernard Bongo to Omar Bongo, when he became a Muslim, but the mother of Pascaline Bongo Ondimba told me that, he reconverted back to Christianity in his last days. As Omar Bongo Ondimba bowed out of stage, his daughter Pascaline Bongo Ondimba gave the administration of some of her father’s wealth and investments in France to her friend by name Danielle Palazzo Gauthier. 

Mrs. Gauthier is a lawyer. She is also the niece of Roland Dumas who was not only France’s foreign minister under late President Francois Mitterrand from 1984-1986 and from 1988-1993, he was also the head of France’s constitutional Court from 1995-1999. Besides those posts that Roland Dumas held, he was also a friend to late President Omar Bongo Ondimba. France’s political elite have always held special relationship with elite of French-speaking African countries in chief, those who are governing. It also partly explains the reason why France has lost its credibility in most of her former colonies in Africa. Mrs. Danielle Palazzo Gauthier has her own chambers located at the prestigious Champ Elysee.  And according to an online Gabonese newspaper known as Dworaczek-Bendome, Mrs. Danielle Palazzo Gauthier also spelled as Danyele Palazzo Gauthier was born on the 27^th of January 1952. She is a graduate of the Universite des Sciences Sociale de Toulouse and the Institute d’Etude Judiciaire de Toulouse and she is also honorary Consul of Gabon in Bordeaux.  Mrs. Danielle Palazzo Gauthier who runs a controversial Gabonese or should I say, Bongo Ondimba funded company called Delta Synegie , headquartered in Luxemburg, which is  the parent company of most of their investments in Europe, is also the vice chair of the Albertine Amissa Bongo Ondimba Foundation.  Albertine Amissa Bongo Ondimba was one of the daughters of late President Omar Bongo Ondimba. She was born in 1964 and died in 1993. It is in her memory, a foundation was created and also an annual cycling race code named: Tour du Gabon Amissa Bongo Ondimba. 

Mrs. Danielle Palazzo Gauthier is a specialist in Urban, Construction, trade, succession and international laws. It is also reported that, she went or attended the Paris-Dauphine University along with Pascaline Bongo Ondimba. It is also reported that, it was while they were students that, they knew and befriended each other. And it was Mrs. Danielle Palazzo Gauthier who brought in a group of whites, namely: Charles Villeneuve and Bernard Volker to run 3 A Telesud. It was a clear takeover and also a fundamental change from how Jean Philippe Kabore and Louis Magloire Keumayou were running 3 A Telesud. Bernard Volker is a former or retired journalist with the privately owned French TV called TF1. Mr Volker is also known to have presented the news in 1968 in full military fatigue. May 1968 was a volatile period in France and it was punctuated by demonstrations and massive general strikes as well as occupation of universities and factories across France. And according to the online dictionary Wikipedia, at the height of the civil unrest, there was fear of a revolution, in particular when General Charles De Gaulle, for a moment left Paris. It was during this period that, Bernard Volker was ordered to present the news in full military gears. What is not known is whether he was forced to or whether it was simply that, he was a Gaullist zealot.  It is something or a period that, the truth will never been known because I think Bernard Volker will not like to talk about.

Bernard Volker is also known to have worked in both the United States and in Germany as correspondent for TF1. He is fluent in both English and German. But the coming of Bernard Volker at the head of a television station that was made up in majority of Africans from north and sub Saharan Africa and the Caribbean was not well received by the staff. It staff said that, the inferiority complex of the Gabonese have forced them to hand over the management of the first pan African television station to French whites whose only interest  was to make money. In fact the coming of Bernard Volker at the helms of 3 A Telesud that became known only as Telesud, also marked the end of its ambitions and originality. Bernard Volker made a lot of promises. He promised to transform or change everything. He promised regular and timely payment of salaries. The payment of salaries regularly and on time was the only piece of good news that came along with the takeover of Telesud by white men. For before they came, staff stayed for between two-three months without pay. 

Paris-Brazzaville (Part 3: Pascaline Bongo Ondimba)

As Constant Nemale left 3 A Telesud, Pascaline Bongo Ondimba brought on stage Mr. Jean Philippe Kabore of Ivorian nationality. Mrs. Pascaline Bongo Ondimba is the daughter of former Gabonese President Omar Bongo Ondimba. She was former minister of foreign affairs of Gabon from 1991- 1994 and from 1994 to 2009; she also served as directress of cabinet or chief of staff of her late father. Mrs. Pascaline Bongo Ondimba was born on the 10^th of April 1956 in Brazzaville to a Congolese mother by name Louis Mouyabi Moukala.  Although she has lost political influence since her younger brother Ali Bongo Ondimba came to power in 2009, she commands enormous economic power in Gabon and as proven, she has remain the chairwoman of the board of directors of several companies in Gabon, Morocco, France and in the United States, that was created or funded by her late father. Mr. Jean Philippe Kabore is the eldest son of Mrs. Henriette Diabate. Mrs. Henriette Diabate, who is currently the Grand chancellor of Ivory Coast, is one of the most loyal supporters of the current Ivorian President Mr. Alassane Dramane Ouattara.

Before the current position of Ivory Coast’s Grand chancellor, Mrs. Henriette Rose Dagri Diabate was minister of culture from 1990-1993 and briefly in 2000. She was reappointed as minister of Justice from 2003-2005.  Mr. Jean Philippe Kabore, who had no experience in journalism, is the one who hired Louis Magloire Keumayou as the first journalist within the new phase of what was then called 3 A Telesud. Mr. Keumayou is a French-speaking Cameroonian journalist and president of the Association of pan African journalists abbreviated in French as APA. It is a Paris based organization that groups journalists of African ancestry, who are working and living in France. And Mr. Louis Magloire Keumayou was born on the 10^th of June 1973. He has worked respectively for Radio Vatican and also for the French service of the BBC called BBC Afrique. Mr. Keumayou currently works for another pan African Television station called Vox Africa. He is a practicing Roman Catholic and married to a French woman of Caribbean ancestry with whom they have two children.

Louis Magloire Keumayou is the one who created the news service of 3 A Telesud. He was the one who asked me to join him in the creation of the news service of Telesud. And he was also the one who encouraged me to start the first programme that was broadcast or produced by the news service which was called La Grande Interview.

La Grande Interview, which became the flagship interviewing programme of Telesud was molded along to the flagship BBC Interviewing programme called Hardtalk presented by Tim Sebastian and currently presented by Stephen Sakur.  The name of the programme La Grande Interview, that I was the host, was chosen by a certain Vincent Douine and it was created to replace another very popular interviewing programme called JMK SHOW presented by Jean Marie Kasamba.   Mr Kasamba had also left Telesud for his native country, the DRC to work with President Joseph Kabila Kabange. In the DRC, Jean Marie Kasamba with the help of President Joseph Kabila created a television station called Tele 50. This television station based in Kinshasa was initially created to celebrate the 50^th independence anniversary of Africa’s largest country in term of area.