Shot 12 Times in His Own Palace - The Brutal Execution of Marien Ngouabi
The first African president to be Assassinated during peacetime. The life and tragic death of the man who defied France in a quest for Congolese autonomy
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Hello Alkebulanians,
I took some time away from this series to handle the planning and launch of my new funding initiative the IIIH planning and launch.
That’s happened and if any IIIH members are reading this, thank you.
You are now part of something truly special as we move towards true creative autonomy.
Anyone who wants to know more about this initiative and get considered for Q2, you can watch the video in the post below which also contains the application link.
With my commitment to making as much of my educational content accessible to as many people as possible, each new installment of this series is free to read for ONE WEEK, then goes into the paid archive. This is only for this series.
I post extensive premium content such as this article every two weeks and they would typically be for premium members only from the time of publication.
If you want to read the full Assassination Series or read this article on your own time, consider becoming a PAID or FOUNDING subscriber.
This helps me continue to do this work and provide you with valuable information and context for African history and current affairs.
Now on to The Assassination of Africa’s Greatest Leaders – WEEK 10 of 15
I will be telling you about the tragic end of Marien Ngouabi who has the unenviable position of being the first African president to be assassinated in peacetime.
We will look at his early life, rise to power, philosophy, defiance of French neo colonialism and his untimely demise.
This Assassination series has garnered morbid fascination but it is an important part of African modern history. Only through knowing how we were sabotaged can we avoid the same mistakes in the present.
Get your hot tea and settle in because this story is wild.
PAY ATTENTION
“Our people will never be free until we decide who eats from our soil.”
Marien Ngouabi
Twelve bullets.
One president.
Killed inside the palace he ruled.
It was March 18, 1977.
The usual precursor to unrest was absent.
Congo-Brazzaville wasn’t at war. No uprising. No coup. No rebellion in the streets.
But inside the walls of power, a silent conspiracy was unfolding.
Marien Ngouabi, was a soldier. A socialist. A pan-Africanist.
He was also a threat to everything France had built to keep Africa under control after independence.
The Soldier Who Rose From the North
Ngouabi was born in 1938 in the northern town of Ombellé. He came from the Mbochi ethnic minority. This background was important as it separated him from the southern political elites who traditionally held power.
A recurring theme during this series has been the awakening these leaders experienced when being educated in the nations that colonised them.
Ngouabi trained in France at military academies but when he returned home to Congo, it wasn’t to serve French interests, it was to dismantle them.
In 1968, he led a coup that overthrew President Alphonse Massamba-Débat. A year later, he declared the Republic of Congo a Marxist-Leninist state. This was the first of its kind in Africa. That declaration sent shockwaves through the continent.
Quickly I will define this for you. A Marxist-Leninist state would be one where there is a single party socialist system. It would be governed by a communist ideology that represents the people in the working class in an effort to dismantle the class system.
So we’re talking a classless, stateless society built through centralised planning, collective ownership of the means of production and the suppression of captialist or counter-revolutionary forces.
The thing is such systems are typically authoritarian but justified as a means to achieving full communism.
Regardless of whether you agree with such a philosophy or not, Ngouabi was not another Francophone placeholder. He was building a new system. One that did not bow to Paris.
His Real Crime? Independence
Ngouabi was a full on socialist in terms of the policies he enacted. He nationalised industries. Redirected foreign profits. Funded education and worker cooperatives. He even aligned Congo with Cuba, the Soviet Union, and China.
He publicly criticized France’s post-colonial grip on Central Africa. He slammed Gabonese President Omar Bongo, France’s golden boy whom I have spoken of often in my commentary on the situation in Gabon. And most dangerously, he rejected the economic stranglehold of French corporations.
France had spent years planting economic roots deep inside Congo.
Ngouabi was pulling them out and he was doing it flagrantly.
The Shadow War
I didn’t realise before writing this that Ngouabi survived three assassination attempts before the final one. The palace was under surveillance. Dissidents moved in whispers. And France’s secret services were everywhere.
It really was a question of time.
Former presidents Fulbert Youlou and Alphonse Massamba-Débat, both ousted by coups, lingered in the background as symbols of French-aligned power. Some say they had contact with France. Some say they were just tools. I suppose you can believe what you wan to believe.
But what we know is this:
On March 18, 1977, Marien Ngouabi was shot multiple times inside the presidential palace. No trial. No real investigation. Just a quick parade of executions.
Massamba-Débat was blamed.
He was executed.
General Yhombi-Opango took power.
He too would fall.
And the craziest part about all this? France didn’t say a word.
Who Benefited From His Death?
This is all speculation of course but the timing was perfect.
Congo was drifting out of France’s orbit.
Ngouabi was cutting deals with socialist states. Denouncing French neocolonialism. Pushing African countries to control their own resources.
After his death, Congo returned to familiar hands.
Military rule. Political instability. And eventually, the long reign of Denis Sassou Nguesso, one of France’s most reliable allies in Africa. The guy is 81 and STILL in power in what is an alleged democracy.
The corruption of France in Africa is actually astounding.
This is the same thing they did with the Bongos of Gabon and Biya of Cameroon. These men are relics almost a century old each and France supports their decades long rule.
Ngouabi’s radical independence was buried with him and the country went right back to where it started. In bed with France.
Ngouabi ruled with a firm hand. He was no saint. But he stood for something few African leaders have dared to pursue: Total political and economic sovereignty.
He died not because he was a tyrant, but because he refused to be managed.
He didn’t want to play France’s game. He wanted to flip the board so he had to go.
See you for PART 11 the series:
Laurent Kabila: He tried to nationalise Congo till a bullet ended his dream
Yeah, this may be the darkest series of stories I’ve ever seen and i’m happy to bring this to my audience in a clean concise way. Their stories should never be forgotten.
France 🇫🇷 British 🇬🇧 America 🇺🇸 this people are evil and monsters. Wolves in sheep 🐑 clothing. But their time is up
France 🇫🇷 British 🇬🇧 America 🇺🇸 this people are evil and monsters. Wolves in sheep 🐑 clothing. But their time is up