Assassination of Ngouabi and Election of Sassou-Nguesso
On March 18, 1977 President Ngouabi was assassinated. A number of people were accused of shooting Ngouabi tried and some of them executed, including former President Alphonse Massemba-Débat, but there was little evidence to prove their involvement, and the motive behind the assassination remains unclear.
An 11-member Military Committee of the Party (CMP) was named to head an interim government with Col. (later Gen.) Joachim Yhombi-Opango to serve as President of the Republic. After two years in power, Yhombi-Opango was accused of corruption and deviation from party directives, and removed from office on February 5, 1979, by the Central Committee of the PCT, which then simultaneously designated Vice President and Defense Minister Col. Denis Sassou-Nguesso as interim President.
The Central Committee directed Sassou-Nguesso to take charge of preparations for the Third Extraordinary Congress of the PCT, which proceeded to elect him President of the Central Committee and President of the Republic. Under a congressional resolution, Yhombi-Opango was stripped of all powers, rank, and possessions and placed under arrest to await trial for high treason. He was released from house arrest in late 1984 and ordered back to his native village of Owando.
Read more about this topic: History Of The Republic Of The Congo
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