The government of Equatorial Guinea has dismissed Baltasar Ebang Engonga from his role as Director-General of the National Financial Investigation Agency (ANIF) following a sex scandal involving the wives of notable people in the country.
In a formal statement, the government said, “The dismissal of Mr Engonga, the son of Baltasar Engonga Edjo (current president of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC), was formalised in Decree No. 118/2024, dated November 4.
The decree cited Engonga’s alleged misconduct and inappropriate behaviour as untenable for a public official, particularly given his familial connections.
Reacting to the scandal, the country’s First Lady, Mrs. Constancia Mangue de Obiang, in a post on Facebook, urged the country to put in immediate measures to uphold the dignity of women in the digital space by creating “a safe and respectful environment for all women”
Also, Prime Minister Osa Nsue regretted the scandal’s detrimental effect on the country’s reputation and ongoing gender equality initiatives.
He said, “the government recognizes the consequences of social media and the proliferation of private content, and we are considering enhancing laws related to privacy and personal data protection.”
The Prime Minister called for comprehensive approach that combines legislation, education, and public awareness to stem the dissemination of inappropriate online content.
Earlier, Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue instructed the telecommunications ministry to restrict the sharing of the multimedia files using mobile data on WhatsApp and other platforms, to avoid the spread of the explicit videos.
He also proposed installation of surveillance cameras in all government offices across the country to avoid a recurrence.
The leak of the tapes reportedly occurred while Engonga was incarcerated at Malabo’s Black Beach prison for embezzling public funds.
In light of the ongoing investigation, Chief Prosecutor Anatolio Nzang Nguema warned that if medical tests identified Engonga as having a sexually transmitted disease, legal action would follow for endangering public health.