Libreville

Yet large numbers of posters and billboards for Oligui Nguema dominate Libreville's streets, with very few of his rivals' adverts visible.

And other than a harsh post-election crackdown in the capital, Libreville, in 2016, the country has enjoyed a mostly calm recent history that contrasts with the conflicts and instability that have afflicted many regional neighbours.

“The only match we were going to play in Gabon, in Libreville, was the final,” says Bwalya, by then the President of Zambia's football association.

A week after the military takeover, the deposed president was released from house arrest and is free to leave the country, but he has remained in the capital, Libreville.

Most people I spoke to on the streets of the capital, Libreville, appear to have confidence in the general-turned interim president.