Gabon’s President Ali Bongo, out of the country since falling ill in October, suffered a stroke, his vice president has said.
The 59-year-old leader left the hospital in Morocco earlier this month and is recovering at a private residence in the capital Rabat after weeks of silence about his condition.
Vice President Pierre Claver Maganga Moussavou said Bongo had suffered a cerebrovascular accident or CVA, commonly known as a stroke.
A lack of official news after Bongo fell ill at an economic forum in Saudi Arabia on October 24 sparked speculation the Gabonese leader was incapacitated or even dead.
The vice president was part of a delegation of high-ranking officials who visited Bongo on Tuesday in Morocco, where he flew at the end of November after a stay in hospital in Riyadh.
A presidential spokesman had initially talked briefly of severe fatigue when referring to Bongo’s illness.