Central African Empire - Proclamation of The Empire

Proclamation of The Empire

In September 1976, Bokassa dissolved the government and replaced it with the Conseil de la Révolution Centrafricaine (“Central African Revolutionary Council”). On 4 December 1976, at the MESAN congress, Bokassa instituted a new constitution and declared the republic to be a monarchy: the “Central African Empire”. He issued an imperial constitution, announced his conversion back to Roman Catholicism and had himself crowned “S.M.I. Bokassa 1er”, with S.M.I. standing for Sa Majesté Impériale: “His Imperial Majesty”, on 4 December 1977. Bokassa’s full title was Empereur de Centrafrique par la volonté du peuple Centrafricain, uni au sein du parti politique national, le MESAN (“Emperor of Central Africa by the will of the Central African people, united within the national political party, the MESAN”). His regalia, lavish coronation ceremony and régime were largely inspired by Napoleon I, who had converted the French Revolutionary Republic, of which he was First Consul, into the First French Empire. The coronation ceremony was estimated to cost his country roughly US$20 million.

Bokassa attempted to justify his actions by claiming that creating a monarchy would help Central Africa “stand out” from the rest of the continent, and earn the world’s respect. The coronation consumed one third of the CAR’s annual budget and all of France’s aid that year, but despite generous invitations, no foreign leaders attended the event. Many thought Bokassa was insane, and compared his egotistical extravagance with that of Africa’s other well-known eccentric dictator—Idi Amin. Tenacious rumors that he occasionally consumed human flesh were found unproven during his eventual trial.

Although it was claimed that the new empire would be a constitutional monarchy, no significant democratic reforms were made, and suppression of dissenters remained widespread. Torture was said to be especially rampant, with allegations that even Bokassa himself occasionally participated in beatings.