The Cannibal Emperor?

I've been a bit slack of late, failing to update the old Histbusters blog for some months. It's not that there has been a lack of juicy history myths out there, just that I couldn't be arsed.

But here I am, back to dissect and probe into one of my favourite little legends - the curious case of Emperor Jean-Bedel Bokassa, completely-and-utterly fucked up leader of the Central African Republic (or Empire, as he called it from '76 until '79).

This guy was a case, no doubt about it. He makes other tinpot African dictators look like proud, mighty, honourable and decent leaders. He was the sort of nut that Idi Amin would have enjoyed to share a bottle or two of CAR biere with, on the veranda next to his crocodile-infested lake.

There is one myth in particular that I want to tackle: was Bokassa a cannibal, as his critics later claimed?

Bokassa began his career as a soldier, serving in the French army. He fought the Vichy french in WW2, and later served in Indochina against the communist forces there. After Central African independence, he quickly rose through the ranks of the (tiny) CAR army, becoming its chief in the early 1960s. This was mainly because he was a cousin of the president, David Dacko.

Tensions arose between Dacko and Bokassa, and on the first day of 1966, Bokassa seized power. He dissolved the National Assembly, and decided to introduce some, ah, rather unique laws of his own. He dealt with the scourge of unemployment in a particularly creative way: everyone from 18-55 had to provide proof that they had a job, or they were fined and imprisoned.

Bokassa's sadistic streak began to emerge. One rival, Banza, had his flesh carved up and his spine smashed, after being found guilty of treason. The evidence is that Bokassa committed at least some of the violence against this man, possibly with the knife he had recently used to stir his coffee.

Bokassa believed in meritocratic promotion, and, being well aware of his own incredible talent, made the difficult and bold decision to promote himself to the rank of general, and president-for-life.

In the mid-70s, Bokassa met the almost-equally dotty Colonel Gaddafi, and was so tkaen that he promptly converted to Islam, taking the name Salah Eddine Ahmed Bokassa. A few months later, he promptly recanted his faith and became a Catholic again. This had nothing to do with Gaddafi refusing to cough up some cash he had promised him.

In 1976, Bokassa lost the plot completely, and declared the CAR a monarchy, now to be known as the Central African Empire. This mighty nation required a selfless monarch to rule it, and so Bokass again took the tough road, and named himself Emperor; or rather, "Emperor of Central Africa by the will of the Central African people, united within the national political party, the MESAN". His coronation was a lavish and pomp-filled affair, involving the presentation to himself of 80 Mercedes, and cost $22 million. This consumed 1/3 of CAR's budget for that year, and all of its overseas aid. Kevin Rudd would have been impressed.

Bokassa's rule became ever more strict, with regular accusations of torture and repression. He is alleged to have beaten many of the regime's victims himself. Things came to a head in 1979, when 100 schoolkids were killed during protests against wearing state-imposed uniforms (made and sold at a very high price by one of Bokassa's wives). Bokassa apparently caned some of them to death himself. Even the French, who had tolerated him for over a decade, now left his side. A team of French commandos assisted David Dacko to stage a coup against the Emperor, and the CAE became the CAR once more.

On his return from exile (in France, of course), Bokassa was arrested and tried for embezzlement, treason, murder, and cannibalism. He was acquitted of the last charge, and sentenced to death, soon commuted to life. He was released in 1993, and died three years later, claiming to be the 13 Apostle, and leaving behind 17 wives and 50 kids. Wow.

Bokassa was undoubtedly a corrupt and brutal man. But was he a cannibal?

Apparently these rumours got started when Paris Match magazine published photos, soon after the school protests, allegedly showing fridges containing the bodies of children. The implication was that the fridges belonged to Bokassa, and he kept the bodies for a spot of afternoon snacking. Bokassa always said that the photos were of the refrigerators at the morgue. After he was toppled, investigators checked his fridges. Apparently, no humans (or human bits) inside them.

There were also stories of Bokassa feeding the bodies of his victims to the crocs and lions on his personal estate. The lake was drained after his downfall, and some bones found, but not enough to provide conclusive evidence of ritual croc-feeding.

One of Bokassa's many sons has spoken out against the rumours about his father: his explanation is that 'when you don't like your dog, you declare that it has rabies'. So was Bokassa innocent? Did all those people who put their trust in him thanks to his loyal anticommunism, simply make up the allegations to justify his overthrow?

It seems the answer is...maybe. There is no compelling evidence that the Mad Monarch was ever seen eating human flesh. Sure, he probably killed lots of people, but ate them? I doubt it. The cannibalism charges didn't stick during his seven-month trial, either, as no credible witnesses came forward. The consensus seems to be that the claims were part of a smear campaign to rally French support for his overthrow - a bit like Saddam's 'human mincing machine'. Bokassa may well have encouraged the rumours while he was in power, as it kept people in fear of what he was capable of.

But without a doubt, Bokassa was as mad as pants. Whatever happened to all the crazy dictators, anyway? Is it only Kim and Muammar left?