In a black-black country, a black-black president sat on a golden-golden throne and did such wild things that we will tell about in this post.
Liberian elections
Liberia is one of the poorest countries in the world with the highest unemployment rate (85%). The history of this country began in the first half of the 19th century, when freed slaves founded a colony of "free colored people" on land they bought from local tribes for $ 50. Having robbed the natives, the former slaves began to make a living by selling their neighbors into slavery, who were considered second-class people. In the history of the country, there were bloody political coups, civil wars, dictators, and in 1927 the country held the most dishonest elections.
Charles D. B. King, a gentleman with a cane and bowler hat pictured, won this election as the 17th President of Liberia. 243 thousand Liberians voted for him, and only a paltry 9 thousand voted for his rival. Considering that only 15 thousand voters were registered in Liberia at that time, it turns out that 1560% of the electorate voted for King. In 1982, the Liberian elections were listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the elections with the highest level of fraud. The election carousels did not help King stay in power for a long time, three years after the election, he resigned due to the scandal associated with the use of slave labor by the political elite of Liberia, including President King.
Healer Jammeh
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Before becoming President of the Gambia, Yaya Jammeh managed to make a career as a professional military man. He received his military education in the United States, and by the age of 29 he became an honorary citizen of the state of Georgia. For some time, Jammeh served in the presidential guard and was responsible for the security of the presidential escort, that is, in fact, he was the presidential guard. In 1994, he led an uprising against the president, whom he recently guarded. By the way, Daud Kairaba Javara, overthrown by Jammeh and his comrades, ruled for a record 32 years (for comparison, Mugabe ruled for 30 years).
For two years, Jammeh ruled the country as part of the Interim Ruling Council, and in 1996 he became the youngest president in the world, at the time of his election he was 31 years old (this achievement of Jammeh is marked by the Guinness Book of Records). Unlike the Liberian president, Jammeh gained just over 50% in all elections, but he held on tightly to power. When Jammeh lost the elections in 2016, he refused to leave, claiming that only Allah could remove him from power. However, on January 20, 2017, Jammeh was forced to resign.
Yaya Jammeh was, to put it mildly, an eccentric ruler. For example, he considered himself a great healer who could heal by touch, a psychic and an alchemist who found a cure for AIDS. At the same time, other healers and sorcerers (he considered the Gambian old people to be sorcerers, apparently because longevity in the Gambian conditions cannot be called anything other than witchcraft) he severely punished. On his orders, a "witch hunt" was organized in the country, as a result of which hundreds of elderly Gambians accused of witchcraft were kidnapped and tortured. Jammeh was also remembered for the introduction of a four-day working week, the lifting of the moratorium on the death penalty and the fierce hatred of gays, whom he blamed for all the country's troubles.
Pioneer Emperor Bokassa
The third hero of our selection is also included in the Guinness Book of Records, but not for political achievements, but for the most expensive shoes. As befits an African ruler, Jean Bedel Bokassa became president of the Central African Republic in a military coup in 1966. After six years of presidency, remembered for the impoverishment of the population and the enrichment of the president, Bokassa decided to make the CAR an empire, and himself an emperor.
Bokassa considered himself a thoroughbred French (he was born in an African village, but bought a castle near Paris, being president) and adored Napoleon, so he decided to coronate following the example of his French idol. A golden throne, a gilded carriage pulled by eight snow-white horses, a sable mantle, a crown and a scepter covered with diamonds, the most expensive shoes in the world, incredible treats for guests - this ceremony cost a third of the country's annual income, plus financial assistance from France. The leaders of the leading world powers and the Pope were invited to the coronation of Bokassa I, but only the French Minister of Finance came. The coronation looked like a real feast during the plague; in the Central African Republic, during the luxurious life of Bokassa, medieval order and poverty reigned.
Bokassa became famous for the fact that, according to legend, of all dishes he respected human meat most of all and once treated guests to his political opponent. Bokassa visited the USSR in 1970, where the children at Artek made him a pioneer. In the Union, Bokassa fell in love with borscht and dumplings and took a Russian chef with him to the Central African Republic. The chef is said to have fled the African empire when he found chunks of human flesh in the refrigerator. The African emperor had 19 wives and 77 children. One wife was honored to become an empress.
The end of Bokasa's political career came in 1979, when he signed a decree on wearing a school uniform. This decree ordered all schoolchildren and students to wear uniforms, while the poor residents of the Central African Republic did not have money, not only for uniforms, but for everyday clothes, and children often went to school barefoot. The decree was issued with one purpose - to replenish Bokassa's pocket, since the form was sewn by a factory owned by the emperor. Unrest broke out in the capital, which were brutally suppressed by the emperor. More than a hundred protesters were stoned to death by Bokassa's orders. After that, France, which sponsored the Bokassa regime, could no longer turn a blind eye to his atrocities. The new coup d'etat left Bokassa at a broken trough, that is, at the Paris castle, where he went into exile. Seven years later, the ex-emperor returned to the Central African Republic,where he was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Black Fuhrer
The dictator of Uganda, Dada Ume Idi Amin, has a biography that is standard for an African autocrat president: a coup, self-proclamation as an eternal president, repression, executions, cannibalism. However, it is not without reason that such a seemingly ordinary tyrant earned the close attention of filmmakers and became the hero of many documentaries and feature films (the most famous of which is "The Last King of Scotland"), cartoons and humorous sketches (pictured below is Benny Hill as Amin).
Amin awarded himself with every imaginable and inconceivable award, he especially liked British medals and orders. With such a love for awards on his chest, the dictator quickly used all the free space on his chest, so an elongated tunic was sewn for him on special order so that he would not have to wear orders on trousers like North Korean generals.
Amin invented many titles for himself, in particular, he named himself King of Scotland, Conqueror of the British Empire and Master of all animals on earth and fish at sea. The king proclaimed Uganda "the geographical center of the planet."
If Bokassa adored Napoleon, then Amin idolized Hitler, for which he was nicknamed the Black Fuhrer. He even wanted to erect a monument to Hitler in Uganda, but under pressure from the friendly Uganda, the USSR did not dare to do this.
In the army, Amin received the nickname Dada, which translates into Russian as "sister". Allegedly, he often took his mistresses to his place, and explained to the command that another sister had come to him.
Idi Amin is often called the most eccentric ruler of the 20th century, and one of his most eccentric acts is the one-day war with the United States. In 1975, the eternal president of Uganda announced that he was going to war with the United States and would soon easily destroy Washington, New York, Chicago and other major American cities. The next day, Amin declared the end of the war, proclaimed himself the winner and delivered a victory speech.
Author: Rick Sanchez