In 1979, the reign of Equatorial Guinean dictator Francisco Macias Nguema came to an end after a coup.



In 1979, the reign of Equatorial Guinean dictator Francisco Macias Nguema came to an end after a coup. Nguema, characterized by insanity and a strong addiction to cannabis and hallucinogens, was responsible for the deaths of up to 80,000 people, a third of his country's population. He was executed months later.

Due to his dictatorship's severe human rights abuses and economic mismanagement, tens of thousands of people fled the country to avoid persecution. This led to Equatorial Guinea being internationally nicknamed the "Dachau of Africa".

His rule also led to significant brain drain as intellectuals and educated classes were particular targets for his persecution. In 1979, he was overthrown in a coup d'état by his nephew Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo and was subsequently tried and executed.

Nguema’s rule was marked by grotesque, almost absurd government corruption. His government did not even have an accounting system for government funds. This lack of financial oversight allowed Nguema to keep much of the national treasury in suitcases under his bed. This level of corruption, combined with his brutal regime, led to significant brain drain as intellectuals and educated classes were particular targets for his persecution.


Nguema was not only a dictator but also a man of superstition. He was the son of a witch doctor who allegedly killed his younger brother. This background might have influenced his rule and his belief system. As a boy of 9, Nguema saw his father punched to death by a local administrator when he tried to use his title of chief to negotiate for better wages for his people. 



In an attempt to erase colonial influence, Nguema banned the word “intellectual” from public use and ordered the people of the country to change their first and surnames from Spanish to traditional African names. This was part of his larger effort to Africanize Equatorial Guinea, which also included changing his own name from the Spanish-influenced Francisco Macías Nguema to the Africanized Masie Nguema Biyogo Ñegue Ndong.
He was executed upside down with high voltage 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A U.S. marine gives a cigarette to an injured Japanese soldier, buried in the sand at the battle of Iwo Jima in 1945.

Image
A U.S. marine gives a cigarette to an injured Japanese soldier, buried in the sand at the battle of Iwo Jima in 1945. Equipped with a grenade, the soldier lay in ambush for 36 hours. Marines spotted him concealed in the dark sand and managed to dislodge the grenade out of his reach. Although he surrendered, the cautious Marines suspected potential booby traps and approached carefully. At his request, he was given a cigarette, and thereafter, they cautiously removed him from the shell hole. The 3rd and 4th Marine Divisions broke up the remaining organized resistance on March 16, 1945, the same day this photo was taken. Occasionally individual enemy soldiers armed with demolition charges and grenades raced out against tanks or groups of Marines but were shot down before they could do any great damage to personnel or equipment. Isolated pockets, totaling some 3,000 enemy soldiers, remained around the island. US V Amphibious Corps Command declared Iwo Jima secure at 1800...
Read more

American soldiers execute SS camp guards who have been lined up against a wall during the liberation of Dachau concentration camp.

Image
Following the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp, American troops felt an urge to personally punish the camp's guards. What exactly transpired still isn't known. Dachau concentration camp, located in the state of Bavaria, Germany, was the first concentration camp established by the Nazi regime. On April 29, 1945, Dachau was liberated by the U.S seventh Army’s 45th Infantry Division. Corpses of prisoners in the Dachau death trains. 1945. But it wasn’t just liberated. Reports indicated that, appalled by what they saw, members of the U.S army were driven to take revenge. They allegedly murdered the SS officers and guards who were responsible for the Holocaust horrors that took place at Dachau. The troops arrived at the Dachau concentration camp in the afternoon. They were on their way to Munich which was just over ten miles from Dachau. Though the troops passed through Dachau, it wasn’t initially a part of the attack zones they were headed for. ...
Read more

This photograph captures one of the last moments of this woman’s life.

Image
Cheng Benhua was a resistance fighter who gave her life defending her home country of China against the Japanese Imperial Army.  She has become a symbol of bravery in the face of death and unspeakable abuse.  Not long before striking this defiant pose, Cheng Benhua was repeatedly abused by her Japanese captors.  Despite the awareness that she would soon be killed, she still managed to put on a devious smile that made it seem like she was taunting the soldiers around her. Cheng Benhua's unwavering courage in the face of death has become an iconic representation of fearless resistance. A photograph, taken by a Japanese photographer shortly before she was fatally wounded in 1938, captures her unyielding spirit.  Not long before striking this defiant pose, Cheng Benhua was repeatedly abused and raped by her Japanese captors.  Despite enduring severe mistreatment at the hands of her captors, she appears to smile as she fa...
Read more