Raphaël Nzabakomada-Yakoma
Central African writer and historian(1944–1985
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Raphaël Nzabakomada-Yakoma (1944–1985) was a Central African writer, historian and academic, known for his work on the Kongo-Wara rebellion.[1][2] In 1975, Nzabakomada-Yakoma joined MESEN and was a former collaborator of the Bokassa regime until his exile in April 1979.[3][4]
Raphaël Nzabakomada-Yakoma | |
|---|---|
| |
| Born | 1944 |
| Died | 1985 (aged 40–41) Bangui, Central African Republic |
Resting place | Bimon (near Mbaïki), Lobaye, Central African Republic |
| Occupations | |
| Academic background | |
| Education |
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| Thesis | La Guerre de Kongo-Wara, 1928-1931 : un chapitre de la résistance anticoloniale en Afrique équatoriale (1975) |
| Catherine Coquery-Vidrovitch | |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | History |
Sub-discipline |
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| Institutions | University of Bangui (1972–1979, 1982–1985) |
| Language | French |
Notable works | ″L'Afrique centrale insurgée : la guerre du Kongo-Wara, 1928-1930″ (1986) |
Early life and education
Raphaël Nzabakomada-Yakoma was born in 1944 in Baboua, Ubangi-Shari, French Equatorial Africa (present-day Central African Republic).[5] Nzabakomada-Yakoma spoke Sango and French.[3]
In 1972, Nzabakomada-Yakoma graduated from the then Université de Paris X with a Master's in Teaching.[6] In 1975, Nzabakomada-Yakoma was awarded a PhD in History from the Université Paris Diderot.[7] According to Jean-Paul Ngoupandé, Nzabakomada-Yakoma was the first to be awarded a History PhD focused on the history of the Central African Republic.[3] The historian Catherine Coquery-Vidrovitch was Nzabakomada-Yakoma's doctoral advisor.[7]
As a student Nzabakomada-Yakoma was a member and vice-president of the Association nationale des étudiants centrafricains (UNECA), a section of the Black African Students Federation in France.[3] During the 1969 UNECA delegation to Bangui, Nzabakomada-Yakoma narrowly avoided arrest during a crackdown on students by Jean-Bédel Bokassa following Alexandre Banza's failed coup d'état.[3]
Career
Upon the completion of his PhD in 1975, Nzabakomada-Yakoma joined MESEN.[3] Becoming part of Bokassa's inner circle, Nzabakomada-Yakoma was appointed by Bokassa to the ″Bureau Politique de MESAN″.[3][4]
From 1972 – 1982 Nzabakomada-Yakoma was a lecturer at the University of Bangui.[5] In 1976, Nzabakomada-Yakoma was appointed the Dean of the Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences.[5] Following the 1979 student uprisings, and the subsequent massacre of students in Bangui, in early April Nzabakomada-Yakoma was arrested and dismissed from his Deanship by Bokassa.[3][4] Nzabakomada-Yakoma fled to the city of Zongo in the Democratic Republic of Congo.[4] Nzabakomada-Yakoma remained in exile until Bokassa was overthrown in the 1979 Central African coup d’état.[4]
Returning to the University of Bangui in 1982, Nzabakomada-Yakoma was the Principal of the Department of History and Conference Master until his death in 1985.[5] In late 1985, Nzabakomada-Yakoma died at the Centre national hospitalier universitaire de Bangui following an illness.[3] Nzabakomada-Yakoma is buried in the village of Bimon, near Mbaïki.[3]
Legacy
In 1986, Nzabakomada-Yakoma's doctoral thesis was posthumously published by Editions L'Harmattan.[8] Retitled as ″L'Afrique centrale insurgée : la guerre du Kongo-Wara, 1928-1930″, the publication is considered one of the most complete studies of the Kongo-Wara rebellion.[2]
Publications
- Nzabakomada-Yakoma, Raphaël (1986). L'Afrique centrale insurgée : la guerre du Kongo-Wara, 1928-1930. Paris: Editions L'Harmattan. ISBN 2-85802-650-5.[8]
Unpublished theses
- Nzabakomada-Yakoma, Raphaël (1972). Le Coton en République Centrafricaine, 1920-1964 : Une contribution à l'histoire économique et sociale de la R.C.A. Nanterre: Université de Paris X. Master's thesis.[6]
- Nzabakomada-Yakoma, Raphaël (1975). La Guerre de Kongo-Wara, 1928-1931 : un chapitre de la résistance anticoloniale en Afrique équatoriale. Paris: Université Paris Diderot. Ph.D. thesis.[7]