Paul Gondjout
Encyclopedia
Paul Marie Indjendjet Gondjout (4 June 1912 – 1 July 1990) was a Gabon
ese politician and civil servant, and the father of Laure Gondjout, another prominent Gabonese politician. Gondjout was a member of the Mpongwe
ethnic group, and served in the French colonial administration from 1928, and founded the Cercle amical et mutualiste des évolués de Port-Gentil in 1943. He was a delegate to the French Senate
from 1949 to 1958, and founded the Gabonese Democratic Bloc (BDG). In 1954, Léon M'ba
joined the party and eventually overthrew Gondjout as leader.
In 1960, then President M'ba reshuffled
the government without consulting Parliament. When Gondjout filed a motion of censure
he was charged with attempting a coup d'état
and sentenced to two years in prison. Following his release, M'ba appointed him to the largely symbolic post of President of the Economic Council, in part to silence the threat he represented.
Gondjout served as Minister of State during the abortive 1964 Gabon coup d'état
but was acquitted of all charges during his subsequent trial. He lived outside public view from his 1966 acquittal to his death on 1 July 1990 and there is little record of his life during this period.
family. He had a younger brother named Edouard. The elder Gondjout began his service in the French colonial administration in 1928. In 1943 he founded the Cercle amical et mutualiste des évolués de Port-Gentil
(roughly translated as Mutual Friends for the Evolution of Port-Gentil), an organization that enchouraged and utilised the talents of educated Gabonese. With the assistance of Mpongwe businesspeople, Gondjout was elected to the National Assembly of France on 24 July 1949 and re-elected on 18 May 1952—both times as an independent candidate—serving until the end of his term on 7 June 1958. On 18 December 1953, he became the father of Laure Gondjout. She would later become a prominent politician as would his son, Vincent de Paul Gondjout
, and nephew, Georges Rawiri
.
In April 1954, Gondjout and French forester Roland Bru formed the Gabonese Democratic Bloc (BDG). Over the course of the following seven years, the party published a newspaper which caught the eye of the aspiring politician Léon M'ba
, whom Gondjout had earlier helped to elect to the Gabonese council of government. The two formed an alliance supported by the Mpongwe business community, the wealthy coastal Fangs (like M'ba), and the French, which managed to overpower Jean-Hilaire Aubame
and fellow members of the Union Démocratique et Sociale Gabonaise. Gondjout, the self-appointed secretary of the BDG, decreed M'ba to be the secretary-general. He and M'ba both believed that Gabon should not have full political independence, stating shortly before it was obtained:
M'ba overthrew Gondjout as head of the BDG and Goundjout aligned with Aubame on several issues, such as opposing M'ba's amount of power. Nonetheless, when Gabon gained its independence on 17 August 1960 Gondjout was named President of the National Assembly by the new President of Gabon, Leon M'ba. In November 1960 or 1961, Gondjout called for a constitutional amendment to allow him more executive power. When M'ba reshuffled his cabinet
without consulting Parliament, Gondjout filed a motion of censure
. He supposedly hoped to benefit from a balance of power modified to his own advantage, and to model Gabon after the Western democracies. M'ba, who did not share these ideas, reacted repressively.
On 16 November, under the pretext of a conspiracy, M'ba declared a state of emergency
, ordering the internment
of eight BDG opponents and the dissolution of the National Assembly the day after. Electors were asked to vote again on 12 February 1961. Gondjout himself was sentenced to two years in prison. He was imprisoned in a remote village under house arrest, where he was supplied, according to U.S. ambassador to Gabon, Charles Darlington, "with all the whisky and beer he [could] drink and all the girls he want[ed]". Unable to fulfill his position, it was given to Louis Bigmann
. Upon Gondjout's release, M'ba appointed him to the mostly symbolic post of President of the Economic Council, in part to silence any threat to M'ba's power.
, and police, headed by Lieutenant Jacques Mombo and Valére Essone, seized the presidential palace. They arrested President of the National Assembly Louis Bigmann
, French commanders Claude Haulin and Major Royer, several ministers, and President M'ba, who was dragged from his bed at gunpoint. On Radio Libreville
, the military announced to the Gabonese people that a coup d'état
had taken place, asked for technical assistance, and told the French not to interfere in this matter. M'ba was forced to broadcast a speech acknowledging his defeat, in which he said, "The D-Day is here, the injustices are beyond measure, these people are patient, but their patience has limits. It came to a boil."
No blood was shed during the event, and when the Gabonese people did not respond violently the military interpreted this as a sign of approval. Aubame was offered the presidency of the newly formed provisional government. The government was composed of civilian politicians from both the UDSG and BDG, such as Gondjout. During the coup, he served as Minister of State. The coup's leaders were content at restoring security for the civilians. The small Gabonese army did not intervene; composed mostly of French officers, they remained in their barracks.
Second Lietenant Ndo Edou gave instructions to transfer M'ba to Ndjolé
, Aubame's electoral stronghold. However, due to heavy rain, the deposed president and his captors took shelter in an unknown village. The next morning they decided to take him over the easier road to Lambaréné
. Several hours later, they returned to Libreville. The new head of government contacted French ambassador Paul Cousseran, to assure him that the property of foreign nationals would be protected and to request against French military intervention. In Paris, President Charles de Gaulle
decided against the plea.
M'ba was one of France's most loyal African allies, and during a visit to France in 1961, declared, "all Gabonese have two fatherlands: France and Gabon." Moreover, under his regime, Europeans were particularly well treated. The French authorities therefore decided, in accordance with signed Franco-Gabon agreements, to restore the legitimate government. Intervention could not commence without a formal request to the Head of State of Gabon. Since M'ba was imprisoned, the French contacted the Vice President of Gabon, Paul-Marie Yembit
, who had not been arrested. However, he remained unaccounted for; therefore, they decided to compose a predated letter confirming their intervention, that Yembit would later sign. Less than 24 hours later, French troops stationed in Dakar
and Brazzaville
landed in Libreville and restored M'ba to power. During the operation, a French soldier and 15 to 25 Gabonese died.
. A "state of precations" was imposed, which decreed that local government keep surveillance on suspected troublemakers and, if necessary, order curfew, and special permits were required to travel through the town. The trial was held in a school building overlooking the Ogooue River
, which was near Albert Schweitzer
's hospital
. Space at the hearing was limited, so members of the public were disallowed from attending. Permits were required to attend the trial, and family members were restricted to one permit each. Press coverage was limited, and journalists were allowed only if they represented a high-profile news agency. In addition, there were restrictions on the defence of the accused.
During a trial which carried the death sentence as a maximum, the prosecution called 64 separate witnesses. Aubame claimed he had formed his provisional government in a constitutional manner; at the request of members of the "putschists
". He argued that the French intervention was effectively an illegal act of interference; a belief shared by both Gondjout and the former education minister, Jean Mare Ekoh. On 9 September, without consulting M'ba, Leon Auge handed down a verdict acquitting both Ekoh and Gondjout of all charges.
Little is known of Goundjout's life between his 1966 acquittal and death on 1 July 1990, in Libreville. He is buried in Libreville near his wife Odette (d. 2006), a former fashion model. A secondary school has been established in his name.
Gabon
Gabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...
ese politician and civil servant, and the father of Laure Gondjout, another prominent Gabonese politician. Gondjout was a member of the Mpongwe
Mpongwe
The Mpongwe are an ethnic group in Gabon, notable as the earliest known dwellers around the Estuary, where Libreville is now located.The Mpongwe language identifies them as a subgroup of the Myènè people of the Bantus, who are believed to have been in the area for some 2,000 years, although the...
ethnic group, and served in the French colonial administration from 1928, and founded the Cercle amical et mutualiste des évolués de Port-Gentil in 1943. He was a delegate to the French Senate
French Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the Parliament of France, presided over by a president.The Senate enjoys less prominence than the lower house, the directly elected National Assembly; debates in the Senate tend to be less tense and generally enjoy less media coverage.-History:France's first...
from 1949 to 1958, and founded the Gabonese Democratic Bloc (BDG). In 1954, Léon M'ba
Léon M'ba
Gabriel Léon M'ba was the first Prime Minister and President of Gabon. A member of the Fang ethnic group, M'ba was born into a relatively privileged village family. After studying at a seminary, he held a number of small jobs before entering the colonial administration as a customs agent...
joined the party and eventually overthrew Gondjout as leader.
In 1960, then President M'ba reshuffled
Cabinet shuffle
In the parliamentary system a cabinet shuffle or reshuffle is an informal term for an event that occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of ministers in their cabinet....
the government without consulting Parliament. When Gondjout filed a motion of censure
Motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence is a parliamentary motion whose passing would demonstrate to the head of state that the elected parliament no longer has confidence in the appointed government.-Overview:Typically, when a parliament passes a vote of no...
he was charged with attempting a coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
and sentenced to two years in prison. Following his release, M'ba appointed him to the largely symbolic post of President of the Economic Council, in part to silence the threat he represented.
Gondjout served as Minister of State during the abortive 1964 Gabon coup d'état
1964 Gabon coup d'état
The 1964 Gabon coup d'état was staged between 17 and 18 February 1964 by Gabonese military officers who rose against Gabonese President Léon M'ba. Before the coup, Gabon was seen as one of the most politically stable countries in Africa...
but was acquitted of all charges during his subsequent trial. He lived outside public view from his 1966 acquittal to his death on 1 July 1990 and there is little record of his life during this period.
Early life and political career
Gondjout was born on 4 June 1912, to a MpongweMpongwe
The Mpongwe are an ethnic group in Gabon, notable as the earliest known dwellers around the Estuary, where Libreville is now located.The Mpongwe language identifies them as a subgroup of the Myènè people of the Bantus, who are believed to have been in the area for some 2,000 years, although the...
family. He had a younger brother named Edouard. The elder Gondjout began his service in the French colonial administration in 1928. In 1943 he founded the Cercle amical et mutualiste des évolués de Port-Gentil
Port-Gentil
Port-Gentil or Mandji is the second-largest city of Gabon and a leading seaport. It is the center of Gabon's petroleum and timber industries. Although it lies inshore, the nearby mainland is a remote forest area and it is not connected by road to the rest of the nation...
(roughly translated as Mutual Friends for the Evolution of Port-Gentil), an organization that enchouraged and utilised the talents of educated Gabonese. With the assistance of Mpongwe businesspeople, Gondjout was elected to the National Assembly of France on 24 July 1949 and re-elected on 18 May 1952—both times as an independent candidate—serving until the end of his term on 7 June 1958. On 18 December 1953, he became the father of Laure Gondjout. She would later become a prominent politician as would his son, Vincent de Paul Gondjout
Vincent de Paul Gondjout
Vincent de Paul Gondjout is a Gabonese politician. He is a member of the Gabonese Democratic Party , and is a Deputy of the National Assembly of Gabon representing the Commune of Libreville. He is the son of Paul Gondjout, who was a prominent figure in Gabon in the 1960s.-References:...
, and nephew, Georges Rawiri
Georges Rawiri
Georges Rawiri was a Gabonese politician, diplomat and poet.-Biography:Rawiri was born in western Gabon. He became a prominent government official in 1967 when President Omar Bongo took office, with Bongo and Rawiri becoming close friends...
.
In April 1954, Gondjout and French forester Roland Bru formed the Gabonese Democratic Bloc (BDG). Over the course of the following seven years, the party published a newspaper which caught the eye of the aspiring politician Léon M'ba
Léon M'ba
Gabriel Léon M'ba was the first Prime Minister and President of Gabon. A member of the Fang ethnic group, M'ba was born into a relatively privileged village family. After studying at a seminary, he held a number of small jobs before entering the colonial administration as a customs agent...
, whom Gondjout had earlier helped to elect to the Gabonese council of government. The two formed an alliance supported by the Mpongwe business community, the wealthy coastal Fangs (like M'ba), and the French, which managed to overpower Jean-Hilaire Aubame
Jean-Hilaire Aubame
Jean-Hilaire Aubame was a Gabonese politician active during both the colonial and independence periods. The French journalist Pierre Péan said that Aubame's training "as a practicing Catholic and a customs official helped to make him an integrated man, one of whom political power was not an end in...
and fellow members of the Union Démocratique et Sociale Gabonaise. Gondjout, the self-appointed secretary of the BDG, decreed M'ba to be the secretary-general. He and M'ba both believed that Gabon should not have full political independence, stating shortly before it was obtained:
M'ba overthrew Gondjout as head of the BDG and Goundjout aligned with Aubame on several issues, such as opposing M'ba's amount of power. Nonetheless, when Gabon gained its independence on 17 August 1960 Gondjout was named President of the National Assembly by the new President of Gabon, Leon M'ba. In November 1960 or 1961, Gondjout called for a constitutional amendment to allow him more executive power. When M'ba reshuffled his cabinet
Cabinet shuffle
In the parliamentary system a cabinet shuffle or reshuffle is an informal term for an event that occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of ministers in their cabinet....
without consulting Parliament, Gondjout filed a motion of censure
Motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence is a parliamentary motion whose passing would demonstrate to the head of state that the elected parliament no longer has confidence in the appointed government.-Overview:Typically, when a parliament passes a vote of no...
. He supposedly hoped to benefit from a balance of power modified to his own advantage, and to model Gabon after the Western democracies. M'ba, who did not share these ideas, reacted repressively.
On 16 November, under the pretext of a conspiracy, M'ba declared a state of emergency
State of emergency
A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend some normal functions of the executive, legislative and judicial powers, alert citizens to change their normal behaviours, or order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. It can also be used as a rationale...
, ordering the internment
Internment
Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of 'interning'; confinement within the limits of a country or place." Most modern usage is about individuals, and there is a distinction...
of eight BDG opponents and the dissolution of the National Assembly the day after. Electors were asked to vote again on 12 February 1961. Gondjout himself was sentenced to two years in prison. He was imprisoned in a remote village under house arrest, where he was supplied, according to U.S. ambassador to Gabon, Charles Darlington, "with all the whisky and beer he [could] drink and all the girls he want[ed]". Unable to fulfill his position, it was given to Louis Bigmann
Louis Bigmann
-Early life and political career:A member of the Mpongwe people, he was born and lived in Baraka. Bigmann attended the Ecole Montfort in Libreville, Gabon's capital...
. Upon Gondjout's release, M'ba appointed him to the mostly symbolic post of President of the Economic Council, in part to silence any threat to M'ba's power.
1964 Gabon coup d'état
During the night of 17 February and the early morning of 18 February 1964, 150 members of the Gabonese military, gendarmerieGendarmerie
A gendarmerie or gendarmery is a military force charged with police duties among civilian populations. Members of such a force are typically called "gendarmes". The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary describes a gendarme as "a soldier who is employed on police duties" and a "gendarmery, -erie" as...
, and police, headed by Lieutenant Jacques Mombo and Valére Essone, seized the presidential palace. They arrested President of the National Assembly Louis Bigmann
Louis Bigmann
-Early life and political career:A member of the Mpongwe people, he was born and lived in Baraka. Bigmann attended the Ecole Montfort in Libreville, Gabon's capital...
, French commanders Claude Haulin and Major Royer, several ministers, and President M'ba, who was dragged from his bed at gunpoint. On Radio Libreville
Radio Libreville
Radio Libreville is a radio station based in Libreville, Gabon's capital. The station played an important role politically in Gabon throughout the 1960s and 1970s and was the state's communication system to the nation....
, the military announced to the Gabonese people that a coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
had taken place, asked for technical assistance, and told the French not to interfere in this matter. M'ba was forced to broadcast a speech acknowledging his defeat, in which he said, "The D-Day is here, the injustices are beyond measure, these people are patient, but their patience has limits. It came to a boil."
Second Lietenant Ndo Edou gave instructions to transfer M'ba to Ndjolé
Ndjolé
Ndjolé is a town in Gabon, lying north east of Lambaréné on the River Ogooué, the N2 road and the Trans-Gabon Railway. It is known as a base for logging and as a transport hub. Ndjolé is the last city that can be reached by barge traffic traveling up the Ogooué River. Above Ndjolé there are...
, Aubame's electoral stronghold. However, due to heavy rain, the deposed president and his captors took shelter in an unknown village. The next morning they decided to take him over the easier road to Lambaréné
Lambaréné
Lambaréné is the capital of the political district Moyen-Ogooué in Gabon. The city counts 24,000 inhabitants and is located 75 kilometres south of the equator....
. Several hours later, they returned to Libreville. The new head of government contacted French ambassador Paul Cousseran, to assure him that the property of foreign nationals would be protected and to request against French military intervention. In Paris, President Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
decided against the plea.
M'ba was one of France's most loyal African allies, and during a visit to France in 1961, declared, "all Gabonese have two fatherlands: France and Gabon." Moreover, under his regime, Europeans were particularly well treated. The French authorities therefore decided, in accordance with signed Franco-Gabon agreements, to restore the legitimate government. Intervention could not commence without a formal request to the Head of State of Gabon. Since M'ba was imprisoned, the French contacted the Vice President of Gabon, Paul-Marie Yembit
Paul-Marie Yembit
Paul-Marie Yembit was a vice president of Gabon under Léon M'ba.A member of the Bapounou people, he was born at Moussambou and educated in local Catholic schools, then at the public secondary school of Lambaréné. He was a businessman in Mouila from 1943 to 1952, then was elected to the Territorial...
, who had not been arrested. However, he remained unaccounted for; therefore, they decided to compose a predated letter confirming their intervention, that Yembit would later sign. Less than 24 hours later, French troops stationed in Dakar
Dakar
Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland...
and Brazzaville
Brazzaville
-Transport:The city is home to Maya-Maya Airport and a railway station on the Congo-Ocean Railway. It is also an important river port, with ferries sailing to Kinshasa and to Bangui via Impfondo...
landed in Libreville and restored M'ba to power. During the operation, a French soldier and 15 to 25 Gabonese died.
Post coup d'état
Aubame and Gondjout fled Libreville, but were captured sometime before 20 February. In August a trial of the rebels and provisional government was opened in LambarénéLambaréné
Lambaréné is the capital of the political district Moyen-Ogooué in Gabon. The city counts 24,000 inhabitants and is located 75 kilometres south of the equator....
. A "state of precations" was imposed, which decreed that local government keep surveillance on suspected troublemakers and, if necessary, order curfew, and special permits were required to travel through the town. The trial was held in a school building overlooking the Ogooue River
Ogooué River
The Ogooué , some 1,200 km long, is the principal river of Gabon in west central Africa. Its watershed drains nearly the entire country of Gabon, with some tributaries reaching into the Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, and Equatorial Guinea....
, which was near Albert Schweitzer
Albert Schweitzer
Albert Schweitzer OM was a German theologian, organist, philosopher, physician, and medical missionary. He was born in Kaysersberg in the province of Alsace-Lorraine, at that time part of the German Empire...
's hospital
Albert Schweitzer Hospital
The Medical Research Unit of the Albert Schweitzer Hospital was established in Lambaréné, Gabon, to study major causes of disease burden in the local population...
. Space at the hearing was limited, so members of the public were disallowed from attending. Permits were required to attend the trial, and family members were restricted to one permit each. Press coverage was limited, and journalists were allowed only if they represented a high-profile news agency. In addition, there were restrictions on the defence of the accused.
During a trial which carried the death sentence as a maximum, the prosecution called 64 separate witnesses. Aubame claimed he had formed his provisional government in a constitutional manner; at the request of members of the "putschists
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
". He argued that the French intervention was effectively an illegal act of interference; a belief shared by both Gondjout and the former education minister, Jean Mare Ekoh. On 9 September, without consulting M'ba, Leon Auge handed down a verdict acquitting both Ekoh and Gondjout of all charges.
Little is known of Goundjout's life between his 1966 acquittal and death on 1 July 1990, in Libreville. He is buried in Libreville near his wife Odette (d. 2006), a former fashion model. A secondary school has been established in his name.