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

anti-colonialist Decolonization is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. The meanings and applications of the term are disputed. Some scholars of decolon ...

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

ian leader, assassinated in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

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

thallium Thallium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Tl and atomic number 81. It is a silvery-white post-transition metal that is not found free in nature. When isolated, thallium resembles tin, but discolors when exposed to air. Che ...

, 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 French presidents on African affairs. He also co-founded in 1959 with Charles Pasqua the Gaullist Service d'Action Civiq ...

, counsellor to

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

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 served as Prime Minister of France under President Charles de Gaulle from 19 ...

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. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...

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 by Jeune Afrique Media Group. It is the most widely read pan-African magazine. It o ...

'' 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, ...

'', Fall 1997
Documentary : DEATH IN GENEVA - The Poisoning of Félix Moumié
Félix-Roland Moumié succeeded Ruben Um Nyobé, who was killed in September 1958, as leader of the '' Union des Populations du Cameroun'' (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 (1925–1930), State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini m ...

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 Bamum people, Bamoun people and is home to a museum of traditional arts and Culture of Camer ...

, to 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 (Cameroon), 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'' (Urba ...

(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. 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 *** List ...

) and the historian Jean Suret-Canale. In April 1958, he attended the "Conference of Independent African States" organized by the Ghanaian President

Kwame Nkrumah Francis Kwame Nkrumah (, 21 September 1909 – 27 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He served as Prime Minister of the Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast from 1952 until 1957, when it gained ...

. He befriended

Frantz Fanon Frantz Omar Fanon (, ; ; 20 July 1925 – 6 December 1961) was a French West Indian psychiatrist, political philosopher, and Marxist from the French colony of Martinique (today a French department). His works have become influential in the ...

, 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 ...

, he went to Congo in 1960 to meet with President

Patrice Lumumba Patrice Émery Lumumba ( ; born Isaïe Tasumbu Tawosa; 2 July 192517 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 o ...

, who had shown sympathy for the UPC 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), often shortened to Mobutu Sese Seko or Mobutu and also known by his initials MSS, was a Congolese politician and military officer ...

'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 () was the constitutional organization set up in October 1958 between France and its remaining African colonies, then in the process of decolonization. It replaced the French Union, which had reorganized the colonial em ...

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

Ahmed Ben Bella Ahmed Ben Bella (; 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 and then the first president of ...

and FLN leaders was in 1956. He lived mainly between

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

and

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

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 People murdered in 1960 People killed in French intelligence operations Politicians assassinated in 1960