The 1963 Dahomey coup d'état was staged on October 28, 1963 by Christophe Soglo

Christophe Soglo

Christophe Soglo was a Beninese military officer and political leader and one of the most important figures in Benin's period of political instability and frequent, though usually bloodless, coups during the 1960s.-Biography:...

, who took control of the country to prevent a civil war. He overthrew Hubert Maga

Hubert Maga

Coutoucou Hubert Maga was a politician from Dahomey .Dahomey was renamed Benin in 1975. See . He arose on a political scene where one's power was dictated by what region in Dahomey they lived...

, whose presidency faced extreme economic stagnation and a host of other problems.

Background

The West African country of Dahomey

Dahomey

Dahomey was a country in west Africa in what is now the Republic of Benin. The Kingdom of Dahomey was a powerful west African state that was founded in the seventeenth century and survived until 1894. From 1894 until 1960 Dahomey was a part of French West Africa. The independent Republic of Dahomey...

, now known as Benin

Benin

Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...

, was largely ignored by the French during its colonial era. Dahomey had a weak economy, propelled by the lack of known natural resources; the last time the country had a favorable trade balance was in 1924. Its main export was intellectuals, and was known as the Latin Quarter of Africa due to its rich cultural landscape. On August 1, 1960, Dahomey gained its independence and prominent politician Hubert Maga

Hubert Maga

Coutoucou Hubert Maga was a politician from Dahomey .Dahomey was renamed Benin in 1975. See . He arose on a political scene where one's power was dictated by what region in Dahomey they lived...

 was chosen as its first president. At the time, Dahomey was also facing a major economic recession. Now that Dahomey was independent, France no longer offered subsidies. Maga helped counter this by investing in the infrastructure and encouraging civil servants to take Dahomey as their residence. Still, Dahomey's GDP grew by 1.4 percent annually from 1957–1965, making Dahomey's economy one of the weakest in Africa.

The economic stagnation triggered intense regionalistic attitudes in Dahomey. Parties epitomising the idea began with the 1951 parliamentary elections. Capitalising on growing cynicism for the domination of southern Dahomey in the French colony's politics, Maga allied himself with the northern tribes. Sourou-Migan Apithy

Sourou-Migan Apithy

Sourou-Migan Marcellin Joseph Apithy was a Beninese political figure most active when his country was known as Dahomey. He arose on a political scene where one's power was dictated by what region in Dahomey they lived....

, whom academic Samuel Decalo described as "the grandfather of Dahomeyan politics," kept the second seat, which he won in 1946. Apithy represented the people living in southeast Benin, while a third figure, Justin Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin

Justin Ahomadegbé-Tomêtin

Justin Ahomadegbé-Tomêtin was a Beninese politician most active when his country was known as Dahomey. He arose on a political scene where one's power was dictated by what region in Dahomey they lived...

, represented the southwest. Attempts to counteract regionalism failed, as did the establishment of a single party state. Coalitions between Maga, Apithy, and Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin were similarly unsuccessful, as each sought absolute power.

In early 1961, the president began applying repressive measures on the opposition press and anyone suspected of trouble-making, thus practically eliminated Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin's voice in the country. By April, most U.D.D. members had expressed interest in joining the P.D.U., and Maga not only supported this but encouraged it. A notable exception was Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin himself. The choice was soon made for him; the entire U.D.D. was dissolved by Maga on April 11. Maga now attempted to designed a four-year growth plan, to begin on January 1, 1962, that contained many ambitious acts. It was designed to increase yield in agriculture and was financed by French capital. Part of the plan was to cut all wages by ten percent. Young Dahomeyans would contribute "human investment", or forced labor

Slavery

Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...

 on the fields.

Maga decided to reshuffle the cabinet in February 1962. He added the Planning and Development duties to Apithy's office to quench his apparently unquenchable thirst for power. Nonetheless, he accused Maga of being a dictator, and the series of demonstrations the Vice President coordinated would ultimately depose his boss. They were not sparked by Maga himself, but rather the murder of David Dessou.

Dessou riots

January 1962 saw the poisoning of Dessou, an official of the Sakete sub-prefecture. The deputy from his constituency, named Christophe Bokhiri, was accused of the crime and duly arrested. He was released after his fellow deputies in the National Assembly requested to suspend proceedings against him under the parliamentary immunity

Parliamentary immunity

Parliamentary immunity, also known as legislative immunity, is a system in which members of the parliament or legislature are granted partial immunity from prosecution. Before prosecuting, it is necessary that the immunity be removed, usually by a superior court of justice or by the parliament itself...

 clauses of the Dahomey Constitution, specifically Article 37. Maga, meanwhile, was away in Paris during all of this.

The people of Dahomey, on the other hand, were outraged on the release of Bokhiri. They incited racial clashes in the summer of 1963, as the murderer and the victim were of different tribes. Demonstrations were organized in Porto Novo on October 21 and soon spread to Cotonou

Cotonou

-Demographics:*1979: 320,348 *1992: 536,827 *2002: 665,100 *2005: 690,584 The main languages spoken in Cotonou include the Fon language, Aja language, Yoruba language and French.-Transport:...

. They remained somewhat orderly before the trade unionists were involved. While still led by Maga, the trade unionists were still upset by the wage cut and used the case to further their interests. In addition, they criticized what they called Maga's "squander-mania", such as the construction of a presidential palace. Most of the demonstrations were peaceful, although several demonstrators destroyed a sign containing Maga's name on a hospital. Six trade unionists were arrested on the second day of demonstrations, causing the unions to call a general strike. By the end of the second day, protesters forced the National Assembly to put Bokhiri back in jail, which simultaneously enforced a curfew.

In light of recent events, Maga cancelled his trip to the United States and returned to Dahomey immediately. Appealing for peace, he convened a special National Assembly session. The protesters and trade unionists were indifferent to these actions; when Maga agreed with their demands and replaced his government with a provisional one in which Apithy and Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin had equal standing, they organized themselves to "boo" this new order. Armed northerners came down to Cotonou

Cotonou

-Demographics:*1979: 320,348 *1992: 536,827 *2002: 665,100 *2005: 690,584 The main languages spoken in Cotonou include the Fon language, Aja language, Yoruba language and French.-Transport:...

 to support Maga and clashed with dissenters, killing two. The protesters, however, would not return to their jobs until Maga no longer held his.

Coup

On October 28 Chief of Staff of the 800-man Dahomeyan Army Christophe Soglo

Christophe Soglo

Christophe Soglo was a Beninese military officer and political leader and one of the most important figures in Benin's period of political instability and frequent, though usually bloodless, coups during the 1960s.-Biography:...

 took control of the country to prevent a civil war. He dismissed the cabinet, dissolved the Assembly, suspended the constitution and banned any type of demonstrations. After having Maga sign his resignation the same day he gave Maga, Apithy, and Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin the powers of the Ministry of State. Southern Dahomey later created a statue in honor of this day in the national history.

The strikes ended the next day. The reasons for the overthrow of Maga was the "luxurious life style of the rulers, abusive increase in the number of ministerial posts, unsatisfied social demands, unkept promises, the rise of the cost of living, and antidemocratic measures that martyrized the people and reduced them to nothing."

Aftermath

The provisional government dissolved the P.D.U. and replaced it by a Dahomeyan Democratic Party (P.D.D.). It announced a referendum on the status of the constitution was to be held on December 15. At the same time, a committee was established to investigate perceived wrongdoings by the Maga administration. In late November, it began prosecuting members of the cabinet, such as the Minister of National Economy and the Finance Minister for misusing public funds. Maga was soon to find himself in jail too.

Soglo and Maga were friends of one another. However, in early December, Soglo discovered a plot to have him assassinated and blamed Maga. and resigned his post on December 4. A few days after the discovery, he was placed under house arrest along with four former cabinet members. At an official inquiry this conspiracy charge was dropped, but Maga was still guilty of corruption. Following a March 1964 retrial, Maga was let out of prison and went into exile in Paris.