Félix-Roland Moumié (1 November 1925 – 3 November 1960) was an

anti-colonialist Decolonization or decolonisation is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. Some scholars of decolonization focus especially on independence m ...

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

ian leader, assassinated in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

on 3 November 1960 by an agent of the SDECE (French secret service) with

thallium Thallium is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Tl and atomic number 81. It is a gray post-transition metal that is not found free in nature. When isolated, thallium resembles tin, but discolors when exposed to air. Chemists W ...

, following official independence from France earlier that year.

Jacques Foccart Jacques Foccart (31 August 1913 – 19 March 1997) was a French businessman and politician, best known as a chief adviser to President of France, French presidents on African affairs. He was also a co-founder of the Gaullist Party, Gaullist Servi ...

, counsellor to

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

Georges Pompidou Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou ( , ; 5 July 19112 April 1974) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1969 until his death in 1974. He previously was Prime Minister of France of President Charles de Gaulle from 1962 to 196 ...

and

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as Ma ...

for African matters, recognized it in 1995 to ''

Jeune Afrique ''Jeune Afrique'' (English: ''Young Africa'') is a French-language pan-African weekly news magazine, founded in 1960 in Tunis and subsequently published in Paris. It is the most widely read pan-African magazine. It is also a book publisher, unde ...

'' review. See also ''Foccart parle, interviews with Philippe Gaillard'', Fayard - ''

'' and als
"The man who ran Francafrique - French politician Jacques Foccart's role in France's colonization of Africa under the leadership of Charles de Gaulle - Obituary"
in ''

The National Interest ''The National Interest'' (''TNI'') is an American bimonthly international relations magazine edited by American journalist Jacob Heilbrunn and published by the Center for the National Interest, a public policy think tank based in Washington, D ...

'', Fall 1997
Documentary : DEATH IN GENEVA - The Poisoning of Félix Moumié
Félix-Roland Moumié succeeded

Ruben Um Nyobé Reuben or Reuven is a Hebrew Bible, Biblical male first name from Hebrew רְאוּבֵן (Re'uven), meaning "behold, a son". In the Bible, Reuben (son of Jacob), Reuben was the Reuben (son of Jacob), firstborn son of Jacob. Variants include R� ...

, who was killed in September 1958, as leader of the ''

Union des Populations du Cameroun The Union of the Peoples of Cameroon ( - UPC) is a political party in Cameroon. Foundation The UPC was founded on 10 April 1948, at a meeting in the bar ''Chez Sierra'' in Bassa. Twelve men assisted the founding meeting, including Charles Assa ...

'' (UPC - or also ''Union du Peuple Camerounais'' — "Cameroon's People Union").

Biography

Félix Moumié was born in

1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Italia ...

at the Protestant hospital of Njissé in

Foumban Foumban or Fumban is a city in Cameroon, lying north east of Bafoussam. It has a population of 83,522 (at the 2005 Census). It is a major town for the Bamoun people and is home to a museum of traditional arts and culture. Foumban is known fo ...

, Samuel Mekou Moumié evangelist at the Protestant mission and Suzanne Mvuh. He began his primary studies at the Bandjo school, continued them at the Protestant school in Njissé, then at the public school in

Bafoussam Bafoussam is the capital and largest city of the West Region of Cameroon, in the Bamboutos Mountains. It is the 3rd most important (financially) city in Cameroon, after Yaoundé and Douala. The ''communauté urbaine'' (Urban Community) of Bafouss ...

(CMI), and completed them at the regional school in

Dschang Dschang is a city located in the West (Ouest) Province of Cameroon, with an estimated population of 87,000 (est) in 2001, growing dramatically from 21,705 recorded in 1981. The 2006 Population is estimated to be 200,000 inhabitants. Dschang is th ...

(CMII) where he brilliantly obtained the

primary school certificate The Primary Education Certificate (PEC) Examination is a national examination in Bangladesh administered by the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, and taken by all students near the end of their fifth year in primary school A primary s ...

. He was sensitized to anti-colonialist and communist ideas during his studies, notably with Gabriel d'Arboussier (the future Secretary General of the

African Democratic Rally African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

) and the historian

Jean Suret-Canale Jean Suret-Canale (27 April 1921 – 23 June 2007) was a French historian of Africa, Marxist theoretician, political activist, and World War II French Resistance fighter. Suret-Canale was born to father Victor Suret-Canale (1883–1958), an engrav ...

In April 1958, he attended the "Conference of Independent African States" organized by the Ghanaian President

Kwame Nkrumah Kwame Nkrumah (born 21 September 190927 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He was the first Prime Minister and President of Ghana, having led the Gold Coast to independence from Britain in 1957. An in ...

. He befriended

Frantz Fanon Frantz Omar Fanon (, ; ; 20 July 1925 – 6 December 1961), also known as Ibrahim Frantz Fanon, was a French West Indian psychiatrist, and political philosopher from the French colony of Martinique (today a French department). His works have be ...

, who represented the Algerian FLN. Accompanied by

Osendé Afana Castor Osendé Afana (1930 – 15 March 1966) was a Marxist economist and militant nationalist who died in 1966 while fighting as a guerrilla against the government of Cameroon. Early years Castor Osendé Afana was born in 1930 in Ngoksa near S ...

, he went to Congo in 1960 to meet with President

Patrice Lumumba Patrice Émery Lumumba (; 2 July 1925 – 17 January 1961) was a Congolese politician and independence leader who served as the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then known as the Republic of the Congo) from June u ...

, who had shown sympathy for the upecist cause, but who was then overthrown by Colonel

Mobutu Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga (; born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997) was a Congolese politician and military officer who was the president of Zaire from 1965 to 1997 (known as the Democratic Republic o ...

's troops, who drove them out of the country. Knowing that he was constantly under surveillance by the French intelligence services, he ensured that he never flew over French territory and avoided the airspace of the countries that were members of the

French Community The French Community (1958–1960; french: Communauté française) was the constitutional organization set up in 1958 between France and its remaining African colonies, then in the process of decolonization. It replaced the French Union, which ...

. He feared that his plane would be intercepted, as the plane of

Ahmed Ben Bella Ahmed Ben Bella ( ar, أحمد بن بلّة '; 25 December 1916 – 11 April 2012) was an Algerian politician, soldier and socialist revolutionary who served as the head of government of Algeria from 27 September 1962 to 15 September 1963 an ...

and FLN leaders was in 1956. He lived mainly between

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

and

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

where he sought to gain support for the UPC.

References

External links

"Cameroun: Il faut tuer l’UPC et Félix Moumié"
from ''

Marianne Marianne () has been the national personification of the French Republic since the French Revolution, as a personification of liberty, equality, fraternity and reason, as well as a portrayal of the Goddess of Liberty. Marianne is displayed i ...

'' magazine, March 30, 2005
"France's Dirty War in Cameroon: The Assassination of Félix-Roland Moumié"
from
Scribbles from the Den
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Moumie, Felix-Roland 1960 deaths Cameroonian rebels Contemporary French history Assassinated Cameroonian politicians Cameroonian people murdered abroad People murdered in Switzerland Union of the Peoples of Cameroon politicians People of French Equatorial Africa 1926 births 1960 murders in Switzerland People killed in French intelligence operations