Baltasar Engonga is fired as finance chief of Equatorial Guinea due to a sexual scandal.

The government of Equatorial Guinea has removed Baltasar Ebang Engonga from his position as Director General of the National Financial Investigation Agency (ANIF) after more than 400 sex tapes featuring him with the wives of influential figures in the country appeared online.

Reports indicated that Engonga was involved in affairs with several prominent women, including his brother’s wife, the vice president’s wife, and the wife of the inspector general of police. His dismissal was formalized under Decree No. 118/2024 on November 4, citing misconduct and behavior deemed inappropriate for public office. Engonga is the son of Baltasar Engonga Edjo, president of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC).

First Lady Mrs. Obiang expressed concern over the scandal on Facebook, urging immediate government intervention to uphold the dignity of Equatoguinean women in the digital era. She highlighted the need for proactive measures to ensure a respectful and secure environment for women.

Prime Minister Osa Nsue also acknowledged the damage to the nation’s reputation and its gender equality efforts. He mentioned that the government is considering stricter privacy and data protection laws to prevent future issues and ensure citizens’ rights are respected. This situation has sparked a broader conversation about privacy boundaries in the digital age, with calls for legislative, educational, and social measures to curb the spread of inappropriate content online.

Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue ordered the telecommunications ministry and mobile service providers to take steps against the spread of the explicit videos, emphasizing that families should not be subjected to distress from such incidents. The government subsequently restricted multimedia file sharing via mobile data on platforms like WhatsApp, leading to public frustration as people turned to Wi-Fi for sharing media.

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The videos were reportedly released while Engonga was detained at Malabo’s Black Beach prison for allegedly embezzling public funds. Chief Prosecutor Anatolio Nzang Nguema noted that if medical tests revealed Engonga had a sexually transmitted disease, further legal action would be taken for endangering public health.