Henrique N'zita Tiago (14 July 1927 – 3 June 2016) was President of the Armed Forces of Cabinda, a rebel group that fights for the independence of Cabinda from

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

. He died in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

on 3 June 2016. It was reported that Tiago was 88 years old when he died, and that he was buried in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

– as Cabinda was not independent at the time of his death.

Biography

He was born on July 14, 1927, at the mission of San Jose de Luali in the region of Dinge, or in Mboma Lubinda, Cabinda, into a modest family. In 1963, he co-founded the

Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda The Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda ( pt, Frente para a Libertação do Enclave de Cabinda, FLEC) is a guerrilla and political movement fighting for the independence of the Angolan province of Cabinda.AlʻAmin Mazrui, Ali. ...

(FLEC) to fight against Portuguese colonial rule. Because he was part of the FLEC, he was arrested in 1970 by the colonial

PIDE The International and State Defense Police ( pt, Polícia Internacional e de Defesa do Estado; PIDE) was a Portuguese security agency that existed during the '' Estado Novo'' regime of António de Oliveira Salazar. Formally, the main roles of the ...

. He served his sentence in the São Nicolau jail in

Bentiaba The Bentiaba (or ''Rio de São Nicolau'' or Saint Nicolas River) is a river in southern Angola. Its mouth is at the Atlantic Ocean near the commune of Bentiaba in Namibe Province. The riverbank has produced a number of Cretaceous fossils includin ...

. He was released in 1974, opened a FLEC office in Tchiowa, the capital of Cabinda; and a year later, he was appointed chairman of the FLEC. Upon learning that the Portuguese government was planning to include Cabinda as part of Angola, N'zita started an

armed conflict War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

against Angola's pro-independence armed groups. His firm position to achieve the independence of Cabinda only by military means caused the FLEC to fragment into different factions. He went into exile to France. N'zita died in

on June 3, 2016. His funeral was on June 10. Upon his death, his son, Emmanuel N'zita, succeeded him as Commander of the Armed Forces of Cabinda a few days later.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiago, Henrique N'zita 1927 births 2016 deaths People from Cabinda Province Cabindan independence activists Angolan rebels Angolan revolutionaries Angolan warlords 20th-century Angolan people 21st-century Angolan people

Biography

See also

References