�����Ǵdz�é

And when he stood for re-election in 2016, in a tight race against former foreign minister Jean Ping, he only clinched a narrow victory when official results from Haut �����Ǵdz�é region, the Bongo family's political fiefdom, came in, recording an unbelievably huge number of votes for him.

A claimed 99.9% turnout in Bongo’s stronghold, the province of Haut �����Ǵdz�é, was roundly condemned.

The constitutional court revised the figures for Haut �����Ǵdz�é, saying there had been a 98% turnout, and that Bongo had won 83.2% to Ping’s 4.6%.

A high-ranking official in the Bongo camp, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that such a high turnout was normal in Gabon and dismissed the idea that anyone in the Haut �����Ǵdz�é province could have been sick or giving birth on the day of the election.

O’Brian spent nine days working as a volunteer at the hospital on the banks of the Ogooue River in Gabon during the summer of 1958.