The government of Equatorial Guinea has dismissed its Director General of National Financial Investigation Agency (ANIA), Baltasar Ebang Engonga, after over 400 sex tapes involving him and wives of prominent men in the country surfaced online.
Baltasar was featured in a series of tapes making the rounds online having romantic affairs with his brother’s wife, the wife of the vice president, wife of the inspector general of police, amongst others.
The government said in a statement that, “According to Real Equatorial Guinea, 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 Mr. Engonga’s alleged misconduct in office and his family-related and social behavior as incompatible with public office.”
Reacting to the scandal, the First Lady of Equatorial Guinea, Mrs. Obiang, took to Facebook on Wednesday to call for immediate government action to protect the dignity of Equatoguinean women in the digital age.
She stated that while progress has been made in gender equality, proactive measures were necessary, not only to address such incidents but to prevent them.
“It is essential to create a safe and respectful environment for all women,” she said.
Similarly, Prime Minister Osa Nsue also acknowledged the damaging impact of the situation, particularly on the country’s public image and gender equality initiatives.
“The Government of Equatorial Guinea, aware of the impact of social media and the growing presence of private content on digital platforms, is contemplating strengthening laws related to privacy and personal data protection to prevent further violations of citizens’ rights,” Nsue said.
He added that the case had sparked a broader discussion on the boundaries of privacy in the digital age, urging for a comprehensive approach involving legislation, education, and social awareness to curb the spread of inappropriate online content.
The country’s Vice President, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue has ordered the country’s telecommunications ministry, regulator, and mobile providers to take action against the viral distribution of pornographic videos.
He expressed that families should not be allowed to suffer due to the circulation of Engonga’s videos.
The government also imposed restrictions on the sharing of multimedia files over mobile data on platforms like WhatsApp.
Local news outlet Ahora EG, however, reported that citizens were frustrated by the new limitations, as they were forced to rely on Wi-Fi connections to share media.
Baltasar’s videos were believed to have been released while he was detained at Malabo’s notorious Black Beach prison for embezzling public funds.
Equatorial Guinea’s chief prosecutor, Anatolio Nzang Nguema has assured that if medical tests confirmed that Engonga had a sexually transmitted disease, he would be prosecuted for endangering public health.
