Blood stains, shuttered glass left over after raid on Jean Ping's campaign headquarters

The headquarters of Gabon’s opposition presidential candidate Jean Ping is a strew of broken glass and smashed furniture as a result of a raid on the office last Wednesday by security forces.

The raid was said to have happened late Wednesday evening after the declaration of Ali Bongo as winner of the poll.

An AFP journalist who together with other journalists toured the office on Friday reported that there were bullet marks on the building as well as blood stains and documents tossed all over the floor.

“That’s the bullet that should have killed me. Luckily I ducked,” said Fulbert Mayombo Mbenbjangoye, an opposition politician who took the journalists round the ravaged headquarters.

Alexis, a Ping supporter who was at the headquarters on the night of the raid narrated what happened.

“They fired. They killed two people in front of me. After that they threw bombs that exploded, after which they entered. When they entered they fired at all the cars and took refuge inside and then closed the door. They began firing from inside. We climbed upstairs and they continued the siege till 6 in the morning,” he said.

Jean Ping on Thursday said two people had been killed at his headquarters. One of the deceased Mayombo said was a 25-year-old male.

“He was a lad of around 35 whom they shot through the window,” he told reporters adding that “his body was left here for about 14 hours”.

Security has been heightened in Gabon following violence which broke out on Wednesday shortly after incumbent president Ali Bongo was declared winner of last weekend’s poll.

Jean Ping who has rejected the result, has meanwhile declared himself winner of the poll. He told a press conference: “The whole world knows today who is the president of the Gabonese Republic. I Jean Ping,” adding that “As elected president, I am naturally very concerned about the situation in our country” which he said was “moving towards generalised chaos”.

Some Gabonese in the diaspora have also embarked on protest marches denouncing the victory of Ali Bonog and demanding he leaves office.