From a promising leader to a bloody dictator, the story of Jean -Bidel Bocassa tells the story of the madness of the greatness and the tragic collapse of an entire country under his iron handle. Between colonial loyalty and frantic ambition, and between obscene extravagance and brutal repression, the fate of a man believes himself tragic in the history of modern Africa.
Installation and military march
Jean -Bidel Bocassa was born on February 22, 1921 in the Bubangi region, in French Equatorial Africa (currently in the Central African Republic). He lost his parents at an early age with tragic circumstances, which left a great impact on his personality.
He joined the French army in 1939, participated in the value of the Second World War, then served in China and Algeria and promoted the rank of captain. He remained emotionally faithful to the French army and maintained a relationship with General de Gaulle, who was called “sodar” because of his violent and reckless nature.
The blow against David Daco
After the independence of Central Africa in 1960, Bocassa joined the national army and became the chief of staff in 1964.
The day before the New Year, 1965, a military coup was directed against President David Dako, when he was known as the “coup d’etat of San Silverter”. It was then promoted to the idea that Dako was delivered voluntarily by the authority, but the documents indicate a closely planned coup in which a certain number of officers, who were then arranged to establish his individual rule.
Attempts at reform and the start of the deviation
Its first years saw certain aspects of development, through what was called “Bocassa operation” to rekindle the economy and encourage agriculture, but it quickly collapsed due to corruption and mismanagement.
Boukasa extended its control by the systematic elimination of its military and political competitors, notably Colonel Panza, who was executed in 1969 to manage a coup.
From a president to a multi-term emperor
In 1972, he settled as president, then led by his obsession with Napoleon Bonaparte, in December 1976, declared himself an emperor of the Central African Empire.
He was not satisfied with the title of the emperor; Rather, he called many titles, including “Emperor Bocassa I” and “Salahuddin Ahmed” after his Islam was declared for a short period, and he also said that he was “the thirteenth messenger of Christ”.
On December 4, 1977, a bumpy crowning ceremony took place in Bangui, which attended around 4 thousand guests attended, in the midst of a notable absence of African and world leaders. The ceremony, partially funded by France, cost more than $ 20 million and has made an international shock given the country’s poverty.
Massacres and violations
Under the weight of repression and luxury, the country attended one of its darkest periods, the most important of which was the massacre of a hundred students in 1979 after protesting against the supposition of the purchase of a school uniform from a company belonging to one of its women.
He also followed the accusations of eating human meat, but it was not proven that he was tried later.
The end of the Empire
His relationship with the French president Valerie Gisarcar Distar began to deteriorate after her correspondent to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, the traditional opponent of France in Africa.
With the climbing of massacres and mismanagement of government, France has decided to abandon it. On September 20, 1979, during his visit to Libya, the French forces overthrew it through the operation “Baracoda”, and David Daco was reduced as a front of French influence in the region.
Exile and trial
After being overturned, Bocassa used Côte d’Ivoire then in France, retaining enormous wealth which he collected during his reign, including the Hardrorkt Palace near Paris.
He suddenly returned to Bangui in 1986 to be arrested and tried for murder, betrayal and embezzlement. Although he was acquitted from the accusation of eating human meat, he was found guilty of the rest of the accusations and was sentenced to perpetuity imprisonment before being forgiven in 1993.
The end and the lesson
Bocassa spent his last days in almost complete isolation inside his palace in the capital Bangui, far from the spotlight, until his death on November third, 1996.
The Central African Republic to date is still under the weight of its bloody heritage of extreme poverty, repeated sectarian conflicts and the almost complete collapse of state institutions. As if the imperial curse was not yet raised.