In 1979, the Armed Forces of one of the countries carried out a lightning coup d'etat. By this time, there was not a single person in the state who would support the president. The dictator himself lived outside the city, where he slowly fell into insanity. Upon learning that the military were going to arrest him, he fled from the residence, taking with him the entire gold and foreign exchange reserves of the country. He burned most of the money, leaving himself only two heavy suitcases. With them he fled into the jungle. After two weeks he was arrested. The suitcases were empty. As it turned out, while wandering through the jungle, the president ate dollars. In fourteen days, he ate almost two million, leaving the country without a livelihood.
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Francisco Nguema Ndonge Macias came to power in 1968, and ruled his country for almost 11 years. This was enough to establish a brutal regime, trample an already weak economy and create a reputation for itself as an unprincipled and feeble-minded dictator. Before Nguema Ndonge came to the presidency, Equatorial Guinea (then still Spanish Guinea) was far from the most backward state in Africa. Competently organized management of plantations of cocoa beans allowed the population to live comfortably.
Francisco Nguema Ndonge Macias, came from the Mongomo region of Rio Muni, mainland Equatorial Guinea. He was a man of rather limited abilities, but he was able to make a career in the Spanish colonial administration thanks to the fact that he expressed personal loyalty to the colonial regime. Nguema, unsuccessfully tried three times to pass the exam, which gave the right to become a civil servant. Only for the fourth time, with the explicit help of Spanish officials, he achieved his goal.
It is known that Nguema's father, as well as his uncle, held minor positions in the administration of the city of Mongomo. Here, in 1924, the future president was born. Equatorial Guinea was called Spanish Guinea at that time, and the small population of this area was divided into two categories. The first category is those who support the colonial authorities and live happily ever after. Second category - those who show dissatisfaction and have big problems from it. Nguema's family, like himself, belonged to the first category. The parents even had the opportunity to educate the boy by sending him to a Catholic school at one of the local missions. Young Nguema showed neither zeal, nor desire, nor even interest in learning. He could be called a truant, but absenteeism suggests that the student, albeit not always, but still comes to class. Nguema flatly refused to attend school. As a result, until his death, he never learned to write, but read only in warehouses.
At 36, this narrow-minded and illiterate man was already the mayor of Mongomo. Another year passed and in 1961 Nguema became a member of the Assembly of Spanish Guinea. It was, in essence, a colonial parliament, which was in charge of the internal affairs of the region. Its members, however, were not elected, but appointed. It is known that the Spanish administration trusted Ngueme. By 1968, he was already the de facto head of the Assembly. Equatorial Guinea was declared independent in October. As the head of the Assembly, Nguema turned out to be, de facto, the head of the newly formed state. He was faced with the task of forming a transitional government and holding presidential elections. At the same time, Nguema could count on the help of his Spanish “friends”, who believed that they were holding an obedient puppet in their hands. In fact, it was a business approach: if you control the economy of a country, it means thatyou control her president too. In a word, Madrid, and not without reason, hoped that the Guinean Spaniards would retain in their property numerous plantations that formed the basis of the economy of the young state. But Nguemu himself did not care much about the development of the economy. But the Spanish financiers, who demanded that he fulfill his promises, prevented him from controlling the country.
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In February 1969, Nguema entered the warpath. He declared the Spaniards enemies of the state, accused them of trying to deprive the country of independence and called on the people to pay the "invaders" what they deserved for the years of "colonial terror".
Immediately after this, Spanish pogroms began in Equatorial Guinea. By March there were almost no Spaniards left in the country. Most of them fled, leaving their houses and property to their fate, others were less fortunate - they were killed. The coffee plantations were in the hands of the state, at the top of which there were also changes. All important government posts were given to the president's relatives. One large family was in power. Former members of the assembly and the transitional government were shot. Nguema soon proclaimed himself president for life. The Constitution, adopted only in 1973, endowed him with extremely broad powers, which, however, he had already used for almost five years.
Nguema broke off diplomatic relations with the United States and Spain and announced a course for rapprochement with the countries of the socialist camp. But it cannot be said that Equatorial Guinea began to live in accordance with the teachings of Marx-Engels-Lenin. There was a personality cult of Nguema in the country, which he did not share with anyone. He was declared father, leader, liberator, teacher, savior, and so on. All those who disagreed with the "general line" were exterminated. Moreover, the military and police, on whom the stake was made, did not even try to hide the terror. The enemies of the regime were shot in public. As a rule, they were simply dragged out of the house and killed right on the street. There was not only a trial, but even arrests. Meanwhile, the situation in the country has become almost disastrous. By the end of Nguema's reign, the population had dropped from 300,000 to 100, that is, by 66%. The economy fell into disrepair. Coffee plantations,abandoned by the Spaniards, did not develop, the country was saved from bankruptcy only by foreign loans.
They received them in a very unusual way. As a rule, the military simply took foreign diplomats hostage and demanded a ransom for them. The victims were mainly representatives of African countries. In 1976, with the aim of taking hostages, a military detachment stormed the well-fortified Nigerian embassy. In the same year, the National Bank of Equatorial Guinea was abolished. Its director was publicly executed for "embezzling public funds." At the same time, it was announced through central channels that only its president could honestly keep the country's money. From that day on, Equatorial Guinea's foreign exchange reserves moved home to Nguema. At first, the president kept seven suitcases with dollars and folders with securities under his bed. Earlier in 1974, Nguema declared a crusade against education. People who "graduated from universities"were declared enemies of the state. By order of the president, libraries and schools were closed, the publication of newspapers and the publication of books were prohibited.
Soon even the words "intellectual" and "education" were banned. Somewhat later, Nguema forbade the practice of Christianity. Catholic priests were asked to leave the country within a week. It is known that Nguema simply took the woman he liked as his wife, without asking permission or consent. Some of his mistresses lived with him on pain of killing their relatives. At least twice, Nguema issued a decree ordering the execution of all former lovers of his mistresses. By 1977, the president's lifestyle had changed. He left Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea, and moved to a villa outside the city. With him, he took several mistresses and the country's monetary fund. The President found him a new storage facility - he buried his suitcases in the ground among the bamboo that grew near the swamp. Soon, Nguema showed clear signs of insanity. It was not possible to establish the nature of the disease,for there is not a single doctor left in the country.
The Cameroonian doctor, who examined the president at the request of his family, was shot almost immediately after he left the patient. Meanwhile, the country ran out of everything, including food and energy. The population was starving, the power plants did not work. The sun was the only light source. After sunset, the country plunged into darkness. One could live like this for a long time, if not for one thing … By the time the population ran out of food and drink, the military ran out of money. Salaries were always paid to officers on time, but in January 1979, for some reason, they did not receive money. In June 1979, a special delegation arrived at the Nguema villa. 12 military men, who intended to find out why they were not paid, were shot.
In less than 11 years of his reign, the population of Equatorial Guinea fell by more than half. From the original 300 thousand, something about 140 remained. However, it was impossible to establish the exact size of the population. Demographers were shot, and the state bureau of statistics had not worked for more than five years. Its director was publicly dismembered with the wording "to learn to count." In Equatorial Guinea during the Ndong era, it was dangerous to be an official. The minister appointed today could be shot tomorrow. At the beginning of the dictator's rule, Foreign Minister Ndongo Miyone tried to mediate between the authorities and the local Spanish population, who were massively evicted from the country. Miyone was beaten to death with rifle butts. Education Minister Tatu Masale wanted to stop school closures. He was stabbed to death in front of the presidentand the severed head was put on public display. Agriculture Minister Itula Nzena-Moko was an active participant in the mass confiscation, an interesting process in which armed men wrestled plantations and lands from the Spanish. It was a policy of revenge against the former colonial authorities. Nzena-Moko did well at first. At first, this was until President Ndong suspected him of helping the Spaniards. After that, the minister disappeared. What happened to him is unknown. At first, this was until President Ndong suspected him of helping the Spaniards. After that, the minister disappeared. What happened to him is unknown. At first, this was until President Ndong suspected him of helping the Spaniards. After that, the minister disappeared. What happened to him is unknown.
Nguema Ndong generally had his own view of how the state should function. The government that existed under him was rapidly shrinking. The execution of the minister was sometimes not followed by a new appointment. His department simply ceased to exist. Another option is that the president himself was appointed to the post of minister. By the beginning of the 70s, he headed the armed forces, special services, the Ministry of People's Construction and, of course, his own cabinet. A little later, Ndong also became mayor of Malabo, the capital of the country, and also took 20 of 60 seats in parliament. In 1976, the director of the National Bank was executed. The vacant post was taken, of course, by the president himself. From that moment on, the treasury and foreign exchange reserves of Equatorial Guinea were transferred to him for storage. Suitcases with money were in his residence. Ndong hid some of them under the bed.
The constitution gave Ndong the broadest powers. His decrees automatically received the force of laws. He could, by his decree, remove and put under arrest not only ministers, but even school teachers. Arrest is a separate topic. In Equatorial Guinea, it was indefinite. No court sanction was required if there is an order from the president. However, everything was quite complicated with the courts. There were exactly one such in the country - the Supreme People's Court, whose chairman, of course, was Ndong. Regional and city-level institutions were provided for by the Constitution, but in reality they did not work. Everything was decided at the word of the dictator and nothing else. Ndong personally set prices for food, and could change them every day.
The main feature of his reign was prohibitions. The president closed all theaters and libraries, abolished education and banned glasses. Besides him, only Pol Pot came up with a ban on glasses. In 1975, the use of printing houses was banned. There was almost no press in the country. Two government newspapers were running until Ndong closed them too. By the end of Ndong's reign, there were no more than ten people with higher education in the country. When it seemed that there was nothing to prohibit, the President banned excessive consumption of electricity. This was Ndong's rare non-linear decree.
In the mid-70s, few power plants in Equatorial Guinea faced a shortage of manpower and resources. The director of one such enterprise had the imprudence to ask the head of state for help. The directors were drowned, the power plants were closed, the country plunged into darkness. There was no more electric lighting in Malabo, the only light sources were the sun and the moon. Autonomous generators worked in the presidential palace and country residence.
Every Catholic church had a portrait of the president. There might not be an altar, a crucifix or a picture of Jesus, but a portrait of Ndong was required. This even applied to closed churches. Priests were required to speak about him in their sermons and pray for him. Some slogans that must be pronounced were: "There is no god but Nguema Ndong Masias." "God created Equatorial Guinea thanks to Macias." This continued until 1975, when the president decided that his people no longer needed religion.
Christianity was banned, and the priests were ordered to leave the country within five days. Malabo Cathedral became an armory. The Holy See was outraged by this. Pope Paul VI demanded an explanation. President Ndong threatened to bomb the Vatican. Nguema Ndong had a special foreign policy. He maneuvered between the USSR and the USA, but did not maintain contacts with them. Diplomatic relations were established with two countries - Sao Tome and Principe and the DPRK. From time to time, Ndong went on overseas trips. Before his departure, prisoners were shot to intimidate those who might be plotting a coup.
In 1976, Ndong became friends with the equally insane CAR dictator Bokassa, who had just then declared himself Emperor. There was also a visit by the president to France, which took place either in the same 1976 or in 1977. True, in Paris they did not know that the ruler of Equatorial Guinea would come to them. The Ndong plane was miraculously not shot down by the French Air Force. After landing in Marseilles, the president flew back.
Otherwise, the world community remembered Ndong only when his soldiers took foreigners hostage and demanded a ransom for them. Thus, the dictator replenished the treasury. However, by the end of his reign, there were not a single foreigner in Equatorial Guinea.
By 1977, it became clear that the president was suffering from dementia and falling into insanity. Ndong did not leave his country residence for months and did not even communicate with his family. The bodyguard noticed that he was talking to himself. Hallucinations began a little later. The ministers he had killed appeared to Ndong. There was no one to treat the president; he had long ago finished with medicine. The armed forces and the police remained the corner of stability. Their employees were regularly paid their salaries. As long as the security forces received money, everything was fine. It doesn't matter that Ndong became dangerous even to his loved ones and mutilated one of his wives. The real end of the presidency came in June 1979, when he turned gunmen against him. 11 National Guard officers arrived at his residence to find out why they have not been paid their salaries for six months. Ndong did as usual. The complainants were immediately shot. And then the nephew of President Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who commanded the National Guard, made a coup.
Theodore Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, current President of Equatorial Guinea.
Ndonga was not even protected by his own guards. This is how the president ended up in the jungle with the same dollars that were later eaten. A trial took place shortly after the arrest.
At the trial, which took place a few days later, Ngueme was charged with destroying the country's financial system, as well as 80 thousand murders. Surprisingly, the process on such a complex case lasted only a few days. On September 28, Nguema was found guilty of killing 500 people, and on the 29th he was shot. The sentence was carried out by Moroccan soldiers. The soldiers of the army of Equatorial Guinea refused to shoot at Nguema, because they believed that the president was an incredibly powerful sorcerer with immortality.
The country was headed by the same nephew of the crazy dictator Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. Now 73, he still rules Equatorial Guinea.