Francisco Macías Nguema
Encyclopedia
Francisco Macías Nguema (1 January 1924 – 29 September 1979) was the first President of Equatorial Guinea
, from 1968 until his overthrow in 1979.
who reportedly killed his younger brother. He flunked the civil service exam three times. However, he eventually rose to the position of mayor of Mongomo
under the Spanish colonial government, and later served as a member of the territorial parliament. In 1964, he was named deputy prime minister of the autonomous transition government. He ran for president of the soon-to-be independent country against Prime Minister Bonifacio Ondó Edu
on a strongly nationalist platform in what has turned out to be the country's only honest election, in 1968. He defeated Ondó Edu in the runoff and was sworn in as president on 12 October. In an ominous sign of things to come, Ondó Edu briefly went into exile in Gabon, and was executed soon after his return on trumped-up charges of planning a coup.
with Constitutional Decree 1. On the same day, all existing parties were merged to form the United National Party (later the United National Workers' Party), with Macías Nguema as its leader. This party was declared to be the only party legally permitted. He completely repealed the 1968 Constitution on 29 July 1973, instituting a new Constitution that gave Macías Nguema and his party absolute power. The new constitution was approved in a referendum, with an implausible 99 percent approving.
Macías Nguema declared private education subversive, and banned it entirely with Decree 6 on 18 March 1975.
Three important pillars of his rule were the United National Workers' Party, the Juventud en Marcha con Macías militia/youth group, and the Esangui clan of Río Muni
. The country's instruments of repression (military, presidential bodyguard) were entirely controlled by Macías Nguema's relatives and clan members. The president's paranoid actions included banning use of the word "intellectual" and destroying boats (fishing was banned). He "Africanized" his name to Masie Nguema Biyogo Ñegue Ndong in 1976 after demanding that the rest of the Equatoguinean population do the same.
Macías Nguema was the centre of an extreme cult of personality
, perhaps fueled by his consumption of copious amounts of bhang
and iboga
, and assigned himself titles such as the "Unique Miracle" and "Grand Master of Education, Science, and Culture". The island of Fernando Pó
had its name 'Africanized' after him to Masie Ngueme Biyogo Island; upon his overthrow in 1979, its name was again changed to Bioko.
During Macías Nguema's regime, the country had neither a development plan nor an accounting system for government funds. After killing the governor of the Central Bank, he carried everything that remained in the national treasury to his house in a rural village. During Christmas of 1975 he ordered about 150 of his opponents killed. Soldiers executed them by shooting at the football stadium in Malabo
, while amplifiers were playing Mary Hopkin
's "Those Were the Days
".
and European Commission
. That summer, Macías Nguema executed several members of his own family, leading several members of his inner circle to fear that he was no longer acting rationally. On 3 August 1979 he was overthrown by Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo
, who was previously the military governor of Bioko
and Vice-Minister of the Armed Forces, as well as Macías Nguema's nephew (and the brother of one of the victims).
The deposed ruler and a contingent of loyal forces initially resisted the coup, but his forces eventually abandoned him, and he was captured in a forest on 18 August.
on 24 September to try Macías Nguema and several members of his regime. The charges for the ten defendant
s included genocide
, mass murder
, embezzlement
of public funds, violations of human rights, and treason
.
The state prosecutor requested that Macías Nguema receive the death penalty, five others receive thirty years in prison, and four others receive a year in prison. Macías Nguema's defense council countered that the other co-defendants were responsible for specific crimes, and asked for acquittal. Macías Nguema himself delivered a statement to the court outlining what he viewed as the extensive good deeds he had performed for the country. At noon on 29 September 1979, the Tribunal delivered its sentences, which were more severe than what the prosecution had requested. Macías Nguema and six of his co-defendants were sentenced to death and the confiscation of their property; Nguema being sentenced to death '101 times'. Two defendants were sentenced to fourteen years in prison, and two others to four years.
With no higher court available to hear appeals, the decision of the Special Military Tribunal was final. Macías Nguema and the six other defendants sentenced to death were executed by a Moroccan
firing squad at Black Beach Prison at 6 pm on the same day. During his execution, he was reportedly "calm and dignified".
Today, Macías Nguema is regarded as one of the most kleptocratic
, corrupt and dictatorial leaders in post-colonial African history. Depending on the source, he was responsible for the deaths of anywhere from 50,000 to 80,000 people. According to Penn State
professor Randall Fegley, one of the few non-African authorities on Equatorial Guinea, this was proportionally worse than the Nazis' rampage through Europe. He has been compared to Pol Pot
because of the violent, unpredictable, and anti-intellectual nature of both regimes.
Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea where the capital Malabo is situated.Annobón is the southernmost island of Equatorial Guinea and is situated just south of the equator. Bioko island is the northernmost point of Equatorial Guinea. Between the two islands and to the...
, from 1968 until his overthrow in 1979.
Rise to power
Macías Nguema was the son of a witch doctorWitch doctor
A witch doctor originally referred to a type of healer who treated ailments believed to be caused by witchcraft. It is currently used to refer to healers in some third world regions, who use traditional healing rather than contemporary medicine...
who reportedly killed his younger brother. He flunked the civil service exam three times. However, he eventually rose to the position of mayor of Mongomo
Mongomo
Mongomo is a city in Wele-Nzas Province in mainland Equatorial Guinea.From Mongomo originate the nation's first president Francisco Macías Nguema and of the current President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, hence the name the clan of Mongomo to define those belonging to his ruling clique.The area is...
under the Spanish colonial government, and later served as a member of the territorial parliament. In 1964, he was named deputy prime minister of the autonomous transition government. He ran for president of the soon-to-be independent country against Prime Minister Bonifacio Ondó Edu
Bonifacio Ondó Edu
Bonifacio Ondó Edu was the prime minister of Equatorial Guinea while it was still under Spanish colonial rule. He took office when the country gained autonomy in 1963 and handed power to newly elected president Francisco Macías Nguema on 12 October 1968 . He was imprisoned and executed by the new...
on a strongly nationalist platform in what has turned out to be the country's only honest election, in 1968. He defeated Ondó Edu in the runoff and was sworn in as president on 12 October. In an ominous sign of things to come, Ondó Edu briefly went into exile in Gabon, and was executed soon after his return on trumped-up charges of planning a coup.
Expansion of power
On 7 May 1971, Macías Nguema issued Decree 415, which repealed parts of the 1968 Constitution and granted him "all direct powers of Government and Institutions", including powers formerly held by the legislative and judiciary branches, as well as the cabinet of ministers. On 18 October 1971, Law 1 imposed the death penalty as punishment for threatening the President or the government. Insulting or offending the President or his cabinet was punishable by 30 years in prison. On 14 July 1972, he declared himself President for LifePresident for Life
President for Life is a title assumed by some dictators to remove their term limit, in the hope that their authority, legitimacy, and term will never be disputed....
with Constitutional Decree 1. On the same day, all existing parties were merged to form the United National Party (later the United National Workers' Party), with Macías Nguema as its leader. This party was declared to be the only party legally permitted. He completely repealed the 1968 Constitution on 29 July 1973, instituting a new Constitution that gave Macías Nguema and his party absolute power. The new constitution was approved in a referendum, with an implausible 99 percent approving.
Macías Nguema declared private education subversive, and banned it entirely with Decree 6 on 18 March 1975.
Regime
During his presidency, his country was nicknamed "the Dachau of Africa". More than a third of Equatorial Guinea's population fled to other countries to escape his brutal reign. He was known to order entire families and villages executed.Three important pillars of his rule were the United National Workers' Party, the Juventud en Marcha con Macías militia/youth group, and the Esangui clan of Río Muni
Río Muni
Río Muni is the Continental Region of Equatorial Guinea, and comprises the mainland geographical region, covering 26,017 km².-History:Río Muni was ceded by Portugal to Spain in 1778 in the Treaty of El Pardo...
. The country's instruments of repression (military, presidential bodyguard) were entirely controlled by Macías Nguema's relatives and clan members. The president's paranoid actions included banning use of the word "intellectual" and destroying boats (fishing was banned). He "Africanized" his name to Masie Nguema Biyogo Ñegue Ndong in 1976 after demanding that the rest of the Equatoguinean population do the same.
Macías Nguema was the centre of an extreme cult of personality
Cult of personality
A cult of personality arises when an individual uses mass media, propaganda, or other methods, to create an idealized and heroic public image, often through unquestioning flattery and praise. Cults of personality are usually associated with dictatorships...
, perhaps fueled by his consumption of copious amounts of bhang
Bhang
Bhang is a preparation from the leaves and flowers of the female cannabis plant, smoked or consumed as a beverage in the Indian subcontinent.- India:...
and iboga
Iboga
Tabernanthe iboga or Iboga is a perennial rainforest shrub and hallucinogen, native to western Central Africa. Iboga stimulates the central nervous system when taken in small doses and induces visions in larger doses. In parts of Africa where the plant grows the bark of the root is chewed for...
, and assigned himself titles such as the "Unique Miracle" and "Grand Master of Education, Science, and Culture". The island of Fernando Pó
Bioko
Bioko is an island 32 km off the west coast of Africa, specifically Cameroon, in the Gulf of Guinea. It is the northernmost part of Equatorial Guinea with a population of 124,000 and an area of . It is volcanic with its highest peak the Pico Basile at .-Geography:Bioko has a total area of...
had its name 'Africanized' after him to Masie Ngueme Biyogo Island; upon his overthrow in 1979, its name was again changed to Bioko.
During Macías Nguema's regime, the country had neither a development plan nor an accounting system for government funds. After killing the governor of the Central Bank, he carried everything that remained in the national treasury to his house in a rural village. During Christmas of 1975 he ordered about 150 of his opponents killed. Soldiers executed them by shooting at the football stadium in Malabo
Malabo
Malabo is the capital of Equatorial Guinea, located on the northern coast of Bioko Island on the rim of a sunken volcano....
, while amplifiers were playing Mary Hopkin
Mary Hopkin
Mary Hopkin , credited on some recordings as Mary Visconti, is a Welsh folk singer best known for her 1968 UK number one single "Those Were The Days". She was one of the first musicians to sign to The Beatles' Apple label....
's "Those Were the Days
Those Were the Days (song)
"Those Were the Days" is a song credited to Gene Raskin, who put English lyrics to the Russian song "Dorogoi dlinnoyu" , written by Boris Fomin with words by the poet Konstantin Podrevskii. It deals with reminiscence upon youth and romantic idealism...
".
Coup
By 1979, Macías Nguema's brutality had led to condemnations from the United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
and European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
. That summer, Macías Nguema executed several members of his own family, leading several members of his inner circle to fear that he was no longer acting rationally. On 3 August 1979 he was overthrown by Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo is an Equatoguinean politician who has been President of Equatorial Guinea since 1979. He ousted his uncle, Francisco Macías Nguema, in an August 1979 military coup and has overseen Equatorial Guinea's emergence as an important oil producer, beginning in the 1990s...
, who was previously the military governor of Bioko
Bioko
Bioko is an island 32 km off the west coast of Africa, specifically Cameroon, in the Gulf of Guinea. It is the northernmost part of Equatorial Guinea with a population of 124,000 and an area of . It is volcanic with its highest peak the Pico Basile at .-Geography:Bioko has a total area of...
and Vice-Minister of the Armed Forces, as well as Macías Nguema's nephew (and the brother of one of the victims).
The deposed ruler and a contingent of loyal forces initially resisted the coup, but his forces eventually abandoned him, and he was captured in a forest on 18 August.
Trial and execution
The Supreme Military Council opened Case 1/979 on 18 August 1979, and began interviewing witnesses and collecting evidence against the Macías Nguema regime. The Council subsequently convened a military tribunalMilitary tribunal
A military tribunal is a kind of military court designed to try members of enemy forces during wartime, operating outside the scope of conventional criminal and civil proceedings. The judges are military officers and fulfill the role of jurors...
on 24 September to try Macías Nguema and several members of his regime. The charges for the ten defendant
Defendant
A defendant or defender is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally charged or accused of violating a criminal statute...
s included genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
, mass murder
Mass murder
Mass murder is the act of murdering a large number of people , typically at the same time or over a relatively short period of time. According to the FBI, mass murder is defined as four or more murders occurring during a particular event with no cooling-off period between the murders...
, embezzlement
Embezzlement
Embezzlement is the act of dishonestly appropriating or secreting assets by one or more individuals to whom such assets have been entrusted....
of public funds, violations of human rights, and treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
.
The state prosecutor requested that Macías Nguema receive the death penalty, five others receive thirty years in prison, and four others receive a year in prison. Macías Nguema's defense council countered that the other co-defendants were responsible for specific crimes, and asked for acquittal. Macías Nguema himself delivered a statement to the court outlining what he viewed as the extensive good deeds he had performed for the country. At noon on 29 September 1979, the Tribunal delivered its sentences, which were more severe than what the prosecution had requested. Macías Nguema and six of his co-defendants were sentenced to death and the confiscation of their property; Nguema being sentenced to death '101 times'. Two defendants were sentenced to fourteen years in prison, and two others to four years.
With no higher court available to hear appeals, the decision of the Special Military Tribunal was final. Macías Nguema and the six other defendants sentenced to death were executed by a Moroccan
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
firing squad at Black Beach Prison at 6 pm on the same day. During his execution, he was reportedly "calm and dignified".
Today, Macías Nguema is regarded as one of the most kleptocratic
Kleptocracy
Kleptocracy, alternatively cleptocracy or kleptarchy, is a form of political and government corruption where the government exists to increase the personal wealth and political power of its officials and the ruling class at the expense of the wider population, often without pretense of honest...
, corrupt and dictatorial leaders in post-colonial African history. Depending on the source, he was responsible for the deaths of anywhere from 50,000 to 80,000 people. According to Penn State
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
professor Randall Fegley, one of the few non-African authorities on Equatorial Guinea, this was proportionally worse than the Nazis' rampage through Europe. He has been compared to Pol Pot
Pol Pot
Saloth Sar , better known as Pol Pot, , was a Cambodian Maoist revolutionary who led the Khmer Rouge from 1963 until his death in 1998. From 1976 to 1979, he served as the Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea....
because of the violent, unpredictable, and anti-intellectual nature of both regimes.