Osendé Afana
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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 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 ...
.


Early years

Castor Osendé Afana was born in 1930 in Ngoksa near Sa'a, in the Centre Region of Cameroon. In 1948 he was admitted to the seminary at Mvolyé, where he became a strong friend of Albert Ndongmo, the future Bishop of Nkongsamba. He left the seminary in 1950 and became a militant nationalist. At that time Eastern Cameroon was under French colonial rule, and would not gain independence until 1960. Afana joined the
Union of the Peoples of Cameroon The Union of the Peoples of Cameroon ( - UPC) is a political party in Cameroon. It was one of the main belligerents in the Cameroon War. Foundation The UPC was founded on 10 April 1948, at a meeting in the bar ''Chez Sierra'' in Bassa. Twelve ...
(UPC), a left-wing movement agitating for independence and led by
Ruben Um Nyobé Reuben or Reuven is a Biblical male first name from Hebrew רְאוּבֵן (Re'uven), meaning "behold, a son". In the Bible, Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob. Variants include Reuvein in Yiddish or as an English variant spelling on the ...
. Osendé Afana went to
Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
, France to study Economic Science, and by 1956 was a vice-president of the
Black African Students Federation in France The Black African Students Federation in France (, abbreviated FEANF) was an organization of African students in France. FEANF was influenced by the French Communist Party, and saw the struggle against French colonialism in Africa as part of a wide ...
(''Fédération des étudiants d'Afrique noire en France'' – FEANF), and was managing director of the FEANF organ ''L'Etudiant d'Afrique noire''. As a UPC militant he ensured that the issues of Cameroon were well-covered. While he was managing director, the moderate viewpoint of the magazine shifted to a harder and more incisive tone. In 1958 Osendé Afana was General Treasurer of FEANF, as well as being responsible for the UPC in France. In 1958, after Ruben Um Nyobé died, Osendé Afana decided to abandon his thesis and rejoin the leadership of the UPC, proposing himself as a candidate for the new Secretary General. Nyobé's successor,
Félix-Roland Moumié Félix-Roland Moumié (1 November 1925 – 3 November 1960) was an anti-colonialist Cameroonian leader, assassinated in Geneva on 3 November 1960 by an agent of the SDECE (French secret service) with thallium, following official independence from ...
, told him "There is no longer a Secretary General. There was one, he is dead, that is it." However, Osendé Afana was designated UPC representative at the Afro-Asian People's Solidarity Conference in Cairo in December 1957 – January 1958. The conference was dominated by supporters of the Chinese version of communism, and later Osendé's Maoism was to arouse suspicions with the UPC leadership in Accra. Osendé Afana completed his studies in Paris in September 1962 and travelled to Accra.


UPC leadership in exile

In April and May 1955 the UPC held a series of angry meetings, circulated pamphlets and organised strikes. On 13 July 1955 the French government dissolved the UPC by decree. Most of the UPC leaders moved to
Kumba Kumba is a city in the Southwest Region of Cameroon and the administrative capital of Meme Division. It is one of the largest and most economically significant cities in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon. Known for its vibrant commercial ac ...
in the British-administered
Southern Cameroons The Southern Cameroons was the southern part of the British League of Nations mandate territory of the British Cameroons in West Africa. Since 1961, it has been part of the Republic of Cameroon, where it makes up the Northwest Region and Southw ...
to avoid being jailed by the colonial power. In July 1957, under pressure from the French, the British authorities in western Cameroon deported the leaders of the UPC to Khartoum, Sudan. They moved in turn to Cairo, Egypt, to Conakry, Guinea and finally to Accra, Ghana. After Cameroon gained independence in 1960, UPC rebels who had been fighting the French colonial government continued to fight the government of President
Ahmadou Ahidjo Ahmadou Babatoura Ahidjo (24 August 192430 November 1989) was a Cameroonian politician who was the first president of Cameroon from 1960 until 1982. He was previously the first Prime Minister of Cameroon, Prime Minister from the country's indepe ...
, whom they considered to be a puppet of the French. On 6 September 1962 the UPC leadership in exile met in Accra at
Ndeh Ntumazah Ndeh Ntumazah (1926 - 21 January 2010) was a leader of the pro-independence movement in Cameroon in the 1950s. He was forced into exile, and was unable to return to his country until 1991, when he returned to the political fray. After his deat ...
's house, and decided to exclude the "criminal clique of Woungly" from the administrative secretariat. At ten that evening, when the attendees were about to leave, a bomb exploded without causing any injury. The Ghana authorities were not amused and threw the entire UPC leadership in jail. In October they freed Massaga, Tchaptchet and Ntumazah, but kept
Abel Kingué Abel Kingué (1924 – 16 April 1964) was a political leader in the struggle for the independence of Cameroon from France. Early years Abel Kegne (his birth name) was born at Fokoué, near Bamendou in the MENOUA department of West Province, C ...
in prison. On 13 September 1962 the UPC organised its first ''Assemblée populaire sous maquis'' in
Mungo Mungo may refer to: People * Mungo (name), a list of people with the given name or surname * Mungo people, an ethnic group in Cameroon Places * Mungo, Angola, a town and municipality * Mungo National Park, Australia * Lake Mungo, Australia * ...
, where the Revolutionary Committee was named. The committee was presided over by
Ernest Ouandié Ernest Ouandié (1924 – 15 January 1971) was a leader of the struggle for independence of Cameroon in the 1950s who continued to resist the government of President Ahmadou Ahidjo after Cameroon was granted a nominal independence by French pres ...
. Other members were Abel Kingué,
Michel Ndoh Michel may refer to: * Michel (name), a given name or surname of French origin (and list of people with the name) * Míchel (nickname), a nickname (a list of people with the nickname, mainly Spanish footballers) * Míchel (footballer, born 1963), ...
,
Ndongo Diyé The Kingdom of Ndongo (formerly known as Angola or Dongo, also Kimbundu: ) was an early-modern African state located in the highlands between the Lukala and Kwanza Rivers, in what is now Angola. The Kingdom of Ndongo is first recorded in th ...
, Osendé Afana,
Nicanor Njiawe Nicanor or Nikanor is the name of: People Ancient history * Nicanor (father of Balacrus), 4th century BC * Nicanor (son of Parmenion) (4th-century–330 BC), 4th century BC; a Macedonian officer under Alexander * Nicanor of Stageira, 4th cent ...
and Woungly-Massaga. A two-headed leadership was theoretically in place, with Abel Kingué leading the exiles from Ghana and Ernest Ouandié in the maquis. The organisation functioned poorly due to communication problems and also to the Sino-Soviet split. The next year it split, with Abel Kingué and Osendé Afana allied with Ntumazah and opposed to the other leaders.


Guerilla

In 1963 Osendé Afana left
Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
, Egypt, where he had taken refuge. He travelled to
Conakry Conakry ( , ; ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guinea. A port city, it serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea. Its population as of the 2014 Guinea census was 1,660,973. The current population of C ...
, Guinea, and then to
Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...
, Ghana, where he met the core of the leadership in exile. He spent the following months in
Brazzaville Brazzaville () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Republic of the Congo. Administratively, it is a Departments of the Republic of the Congo, department and a Communes of the Republic of the Congo, commune. Constituting t ...
before secretly entering Cameroon with the intent of establishing a new maquis, a second front in the
Moloundou Moloundou is a town and ''arrondissement'' (district) in the Boumba-et-Ngoko Division of southeastern Cameroon's East Province. Moloundou sits on the north bank of the Dja River, also known as the ''Ngoko River'', which forms the Cameroon–Rep ...
region, a corner of Cameroon that borders the
Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...
. In August 1963 there had been a popular revolution in Congo Brazzaville in which the neo-colonial regime of
Fulbert Youlou Fulbert Youlou (19 July 1917 – 6 May 1972) was a Republic of the Congo, Congolese Nationalism, nationalist leader and former Catholic Church, Catholic priest who became the first President of the Republic of the Congo upon its independence in ...
was replaced by a government led by
Alphonse Massemba-Débat Alphonse may refer to: * Alphonse (given name) * Alphonse (surname) * Alphonse Atoll, one of two atolls in the Seychelles' Alphonse Group *Alphonso (mango), a mango-cultivar from India See also *Alphons Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adel ...
. This government was relatively friendly to the UPC rebels, opening the possibility of supply from the Congo. Details of his activity in the period that followed are sketchy, but Osendé Afana seems to have made several visits to the extremely poor Moloundou region, where he made contact with the local people, mostly
Baka Baka, baká or BAKA may refer to: Ethnicities and languages * Baka people (Cameroon and Gabon), an African ethnic group * Baka people (Congo and South Sudan), an African ethnic group * Baka language, a dialect cluster of Cameroon and Gabon * Baka ...
s. On 1 September 1965 a small party led by Asana entered Moloundou, mainly aiming to educate the people rather than start an uprising, but was forced to leave quickly. He intended to establish a politico-administrative organisation on Maoist lines, but the population of this very backward part of Cameroon was not receptive to these ideas. A few months later Osendé Afana's small group returned to Moloundou. By 5 March 1966 they had been detected and encircled by troops that were far more at home in the forest than they were. Osendé, a myopic intellectual, lost his spectacles and his sandals. On 15 March 1966 his party was ambushed by a Cameroon army unit. He did not take flight, as did most of his companions. Taken prisoner, he was killed and decapitated, and his head was flown by helicopter to
Yaoundé Yaoundé (; , ) is the Capital city, capital city of Cameroon. It has a population of more than 2.8 million which makes it the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region (Cameroon), Centre Region o ...
so that President
Ahmadou Ahidjo Ahmadou Babatoura Ahidjo (24 August 192430 November 1989) was a Cameroonian politician who was the first president of Cameroon from 1960 until 1982. He was previously the first Prime Minister of Cameroon, Prime Minister from the country's indepe ...
could look into the eyes of the dead man.


Publications and views

Osendé Afana's article ''Justice pour le Cameroun'' (Justice for Cameroon) appeared in the first issue of ''L'Etudiant d'Afrique noire'' (The Black African Student) in 1956. It included a short but complete overview of the French and British colonial rule in Cameroon, including the annexation of various parts of the territory to Nigeria. In issue 8, January 1857, he published an important article ''Pour ou contre L'Etudian d'Afrique Noire?'' In February 1957 Afana gave his study ''Le Kamerun en lutte'' to the fourth United Nations commission, and in July 1957 published ''L'Etat sous tutelle de Cameroun'' (The Trust State of Cameroon). Osendé Afana was the author of a thesis on economics that was published in the year of his death. In the 1950s and 1960s there was rivalry between the Chinese and Soviet communist parties. Osendé Afana aligned himself with the Chinese, who seemed more revolutionary in their views than the Soviets. He theorised on the existence of a "primitive communism" in the pre-colonial era, but noted the existence of contradictions in the social and inter-tribal structures, and the relations between the sexes and the generations. In a brochure published after his death, Osendé Afana gave the standard Marxist viewpoint: "The proletariat is the most revolutionary class... Some say that in Africa it is the peasantry that is the most exploited... but anyway, it is the proletariat that is most conscious of their exploitation."


References

Citations Sources * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Afana, Osende 1930 births 1966 deaths Executed Cameroonian people Executed communists Cameroonian rebels Union of the Peoples of Cameroon politicians People from Centre Region (Cameroon) Cameroonian expatriates in France Cameroonian expatriates in Egypt People executed by decapitation