The Unlikely Emperor

"Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely,'' said a certain Baron Acton - and he was not wrong.

In the long and mournful history of power on a global scale, there are characters who seem to be outside the space-time continuum, offspring born from the womb of evil, beings who leave behind semi-myths and pseudo-legends, tormenting traces of suffering and hopelessness. One of them was the creature who acted as a prototype of a third-world dictator, Jean Bedel Bokassa, tyrant of the Central African Republic in the seventies of the suffering twentieth century.

The former French colony known by the exotic name of Ubangi-Chari, gained ``independence'' in 1960. Famous and famous for nothing, this country, as its name suggests, is located in the glamorous region known as Central Africa or colloquially called Sub-Saharan Africa, a term that acts as a death sentence and evokes dystopian visions. However, in a relatively short period of time, this country found itself on the front pages of the world media when its leader, who, following the stereotype of a dictator, came to power with a coup d'état on January 1, 1966. Jean Bedel Bokassa, a former officer of the French army, a participant in the Second World War and the First Indochina War, decorated with the Legion of Honor for his undoubted acts of courage in combat conditions - felt somehow unfulfilled, unfulfilled in his new "homeland". As commander-in-chief of the armed forces, he was responsible for building the new army of the new state, which was a logical position as the most famous soldier who found himself in Ubangi-Shari during the declaration of independence.

Subordinate to the supreme commander, President David Daco - the feeling of inadequacy tormented Jean's psychopathic soul, who soon decided that the best step would be a coup d'état. But for such a thing, prerequisites were needed, which, fortunately for Bokassa, appeared on the scene soon. Daco began to change course towards Moscow and Beijing with a slight inclination to copy some other pseudo-leftist regimes on the continent. Concerned about the possible exit of this neo-colony from the French orbit, the authorities in Paris contacted their ex-officer and probably still active intelligence officer Bokassa, and it was agreed that in the event of a coup d'état, official Paris would look favorably in order to suppress the communist influence of this vast but sparsely populated country.

And so on New Year's Eve in early 1966, Bokassa and his army followers carried out a coup d'état, overthrowing David Dako, with the usual radio message to the broad masses informing the citizens that they would have a new ruler who would love, protect and nurture them...Becoming caliph instead of the caliph, Bokassa began a broad and comprehensive program of corruption and nepotism, using all the tried and tested forms of transferring public budget funds into his own pockets, granting concessions to foreign companies, selling resources and appropriating international aid. Of course, all this was accompanied by the liquidations of opponents of the regime, a media monopoly and propaganda aimed at building a Cult of Personality. Declaring himself president for life in 1972, Bokassa showed himself to be a devotee of the brightest traditions of dictatorship.

How many women can one have sex with, how many luxurious meals can one eat, how much cocaine can one snort, how many dissidents can one kill by one's own hand? All of this gets boring over time, and one of the main characteristics of psychopaths is that they get bored quickly. What next?

And so, Bokassa decided to become Tsar! An Emperor no less!

Not figuratively, not metaphorically, but quite literally. For this purpose, the most luxurious cars, a golden throne, a crown studded with diamonds were purchased, genealogists were hired to "discover" and write the glorious history of the Bokassa "dynasty", the capital Bangui was hastily transformed into a Potemkin village, and cameramen were brought from France to cover the ceremony in detail with film documentation. The equivalent of today's $92 million was spent for this purpose, a maniacal sum in an environment where most of the inhabitants lived in shameful poverty. On December 4, 1976, the Central African Empire was proclaimed, and the coronation ceremony took place the following year. It was planned that the Pope would crown the newest world emperor, but the Vatican did not understand such a situation, leaving the backup option for a local bishop to place the crown on the head of Bokassa I.

Being the Emperor of the CAR, Bokassa increasingly began to lose touch with reality. The enormous costs resulting from the reign, increased taxes, and economic turmoil created fertile ground for an uprising. After the massacre of about 100 schoolchildren and students who did not have the money to pay for new mandatory school uniforms with Bokassa's image - official Paris decided that the scandal with the support of the ``emperor'' was getting out of control and that France's prestige in the world was seriously damaged. After several warnings that went unheeded, a contingent of French marines reinforced by a `death squad` from the intelligence agencies invaded the `Empire` on September 20, 1979 - and in less than 40 hours crushed the anemic resistance of the local security forces. The French special forces brought with them the old and the next day the new president David Dako, who had suddenly recovered from leftist tendencies...

What the marines found in the palace in Bangui was spectacular in its grislyness. Namely, in the deep-freezing refrigerators, packed in plastic - were human babies that Bokassa and his entourage used as a culinary specialty! The cannibal emperor was a great lover of human flesh, a true gourmet who had killed several children with his own hands...

Bokassa fled to the Ivory Coast on his private plane during that time and after a few years he returned to Paris in remorse where he bought himself a castle, Château Ardricourt near Paris! His escape was forgiven by the French authorities and the old asset even received a military pension! The shock of the cannibalistic outbursts began to fade, in the meantime the "emperor" was sentenced in absentia in the CAR to death and Bokassa's masters "persuaded" him to go and surrender to the new government in Bangui, with the guarantee that his extended family could stay and live in the castle in Paris. All said and done, Jean returned to Bangui where the `deal` between the new government and Paris came into effect, life-long house arrest instead of the death penalty, and so Jean Bedel Bokassa, the first and last emperor of the CAR, gradually sank into madness, explaining to some stray journalist that he was the incarnation of the 13th apostle of Jesus...

He died in 1996, forgotten by everyone. Made up tyrants had their counterpart in real life, an anthropophagic grotesque from the depths of the blackest continent.

Fantasy-Reality 0-1.

(Roger Mortis, 133)