Oueddei Kichidemi
Encyclopedia
Oueddei Kichidemi was the father of the former Chadian President
Goukouni Oueddei
and was the tribal leader, or derde
, of the Toubou
Teda
of the Tibesti during the Chadian Civil War
.
The derde exercises judicial rather than executive power, arbitrating conflict and levying sanctions based on a code of compensations. During the period of French
rule in Chad
, his authority had been respected; but when Chad became independent in 1960 and last French forces left the Tibesti in 1965, the Teda found themselves under the control of Chadian authorities that looked down on the Toubou as backward.
Provocations and abuses by the new authorities grew so unbearable that at the end of 1966 Kichidemi went in exile with a thousand of followers to the oasis
of Kufra
, in Libya
, after that the President François Tombalbaye
had stripped him of his judicial powers and refused to appoint his son Goukouni
secretary of the Bardaï
tribunal. Tombalbaye had also offended the derde by supporting a rival, Chaimi Sougoumi, for a seat from Tibesti in the National Assembly
. What followed was an uprising of the Toubou, in which four of Kichidemi's five sons were killed, in what is considered the starting of the civil war
in the north.
In exile Kichidemi became, with the support of Toubou students at the Islamic University of Bayda, a symbol of opposition to the Tombalbaye Regime
. This role enhanced the position of the derde among the Toubou. After 1967 the derde hoped to rally the Toubou to the insurgent group FROLINAT
. Moral authority became military authority shortly thereafter when his only surviving son, Goukouni, became in 1969 leader of the Second Liberation Army of FROLINAT.
On April 13, 1975 Tombalbaye was killed in a coup
. The new government attempted to reach out to the rebels, and among those who answered was Kichidemi, who returned from his Libyan exile in August; but his son, Goukouni, refused to respond to his entreaties or those of the government and remained in opposition. Kichidemi died a few years after, in December 1977.
Heads of state of Chad
-List of Heads of State of Chad:-Affiliations:-External links:**...
Goukouni Oueddei
Goukouni Oueddei
Goukouni Oueddei is a Chadian political figure. He was Head of State of Chad from 1979 to 1982. He is currently in exile.-Biography:...
and was the tribal leader, or derde
Derde
The derde is the title held by the highest religious and political authority among the Toubou Teda of the Tibesti, in north-western Chad...
, of the Toubou
Toubou
The Tubu are an ethnic group that live mainly in northern Chad, but also in Libya, Niger and Sudan....
Teda
Teda
The Teda are a Toubou people who live mostly in northern Chad, but is present also in Libya, Niger and Nigeria. They speak Tedaga, a Nilo-Saharan language, and are very close ethnically and culturally with the Daza. They likely number more than 50,000, and are Muslims....
of the Tibesti during the Chadian Civil War
Chadian Civil War
The Transitional Government of National Unity was the coalition government of armed groups that nominally ruled Chad from 1979 to 1982, during the most chaotic phase of the long-running civil war that began in 1965. The GUNT replaced the fragile alliance led by Félix Malloum and Hissène Habré,...
.
The derde exercises judicial rather than executive power, arbitrating conflict and levying sanctions based on a code of compensations. During the period of French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
rule in Chad
Chad
Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
, his authority had been respected; but when Chad became independent in 1960 and last French forces left the Tibesti in 1965, the Teda found themselves under the control of Chadian authorities that looked down on the Toubou as backward.
Provocations and abuses by the new authorities grew so unbearable that at the end of 1966 Kichidemi went in exile with a thousand of followers to the oasis
Oasis
In geography, an oasis or cienega is an isolated area of vegetation in a desert, typically surrounding a spring or similar water source...
of Kufra
Kufra
Kufra is a basin and oasis group in Al Kufrah District, southeastern Cyrenaica in Libya. Kufra is historically important above all because at the end of nineteenth century it became the center and holy place of the Senussi order...
, in Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
, after that the President François Tombalbaye
François Tombalbaye
François Tombalbaye, also called Ngarta Tombalbaye , was a teacher and a trade union activist who served as the first president of Chad. He was born in the southern region of the country in the Moyen-Chari Prefecture near the city of Koumara and was of the Sara ethnic group, the prominent ethnicity...
had stripped him of his judicial powers and refused to appoint his son Goukouni
Goukouni Oueddei
Goukouni Oueddei is a Chadian political figure. He was Head of State of Chad from 1979 to 1982. He is currently in exile.-Biography:...
secretary of the Bardaï
Bardai, Chad
Bardaï is a small town and oasis in the extreme north of Chad. It is the main town of the Tibesti Region, which was formed in 2008 from the Tibesti Department of the former Bourkou-Ennedi-Tibesti region....
tribunal. Tombalbaye had also offended the derde by supporting a rival, Chaimi Sougoumi, for a seat from Tibesti in the National Assembly
National Assembly of Chad
The National Assembly is the parliament of Chad. It has 155 members, elected for a four year term in 25 single-member constituencies and 34 multi-member constituencies.-See also:*List of Presidents of the National Assembly of Chad...
. What followed was an uprising of the Toubou, in which four of Kichidemi's five sons were killed, in what is considered the starting of the civil war
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
in the north.
In exile Kichidemi became, with the support of Toubou students at the Islamic University of Bayda, a symbol of opposition to the Tombalbaye Regime
The Tombalbaye Regime
President François Tombalbaye faced a task of considerable magnitude when Chad became a sovereign state in 1960. His challenge was to build a nation out of a vast and diverse territory that had poor communications, few known resources, a tiny market, and a collection of impoverished people with...
. This role enhanced the position of the derde among the Toubou. After 1967 the derde hoped to rally the Toubou to the insurgent group FROLINAT
FROLINAT
-Origins:The organization was born as the result of a political union between the leftist Chadian National Union , led by Ibrahim Abatcha, and the General Union of the Children of Chad which was led by Ahmed Hassan Musa. Musa was close to the Muslim Brotherhood and was an Islamist...
. Moral authority became military authority shortly thereafter when his only surviving son, Goukouni, became in 1969 leader of the Second Liberation Army of FROLINAT.
On April 13, 1975 Tombalbaye was killed in a coup
Chadian coup of 1975
The Chadian coup of 1975 was in considerable part generated by the growing distrust of the President of Chad, François Tombalbaye, for the army. This distrust came in part from the Chadian Armed Forces incapacity to deal with the rebellion that was inflaming the Muslim north from when the rebel...
. The new government attempted to reach out to the rebels, and among those who answered was Kichidemi, who returned from his Libyan exile in August; but his son, Goukouni, refused to respond to his entreaties or those of the government and remained in opposition. Kichidemi died a few years after, in December 1977.