Meanwhile, a local news website, Gaboneco, reported in mid-March that Mr Mba Obame would not contest the lifting of his parliamentary immunity from prosecution, which the public prosecutor has reportedly requested. It is likely that the former Union nationale leader will face charges imminently for having tried to establish a rebel government. Mr Mba Obame may have accepted his fate in the-probably correct-belief that any prosecution would only serve to raise his profile and win him sympathy by allowing him to portray himself as a political prisoner.