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Bonifacio Ondó Edú

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In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Ondó and the second or maternal family name is Edú-Aguong.
Bonifacio Ondó Edú
Presidential campaign photo, 1968
Prime Minister of Spanish Guinea
In office
1 January 1964 – 12 October 1968
DeputyFrancisco Macías Nguema
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byCristino Seriche Bioko as Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea[a]
Personal details
Born(1922-03-16)16 March 1922
Evinayong, Spanish Guinea,
(now Equatorial Guinea)
Died5 March 1969(1969-03-05) (aged 46)
Black Beach, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea
Political partyUPLGE [es] (1959–1963)
MUNGE [es] (from 1963)
SpouseEdelvina Oyana[2]
AwardsGrand Cross of the Order of Isabella The Catholic (1968)

Bonifacio Ondó Edú-Aguong (16 March 1922 – 5 March 1969) was an Equatoguinean politician who served as the Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea from 1964 to 1968 while it was still under Spanish colonial rule, as Spanish Guinea. He played a leading role in the country's independence, and led the National Union Movement of Equatorial Guinea [es] from 1959 until his death.

He took office when the country gained autonomy in 1964, and ran in the country's first presidential election in 1968, losing in the run-off.[3] He handed power over to newly elected president Francisco Macías Nguema on 12 October 1968 (the day of independence). He was imprisoned and officially committed suicide only a few months later. Another account says he returned in 1969 from exile in Gabon and was killed.[3]

Biography

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Early and personal life

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Evinayong, Ondó Edú's hometown

Bonifacio Ondó Edú-Aguong,[4] a member of the Fang people,[5][6][7] was born in either 1920 or 1922,[b] in Evinayong, Río Muni, in what was then Spanish Guinea.[6][7] He was a member of the Nsomo clan, which also included Enrique Nvo [es].[9] Ondó Edú married Edelvina Oyana, also a member of the Fang people,[2] and the two were the parents of a large family. Ondó Edú has been described as "of profound religious-Catholic convictions."[6]

During the 1950s, emerging groups of African nationalists began pushing for independence from Spain. However, after the murder of several independence leaders such as Nvo and Acacio Mañé Ela and the arrests of 24 others in 1959, many nationalists chose to flee into exile and continue the movement abroad, including Ondó Edú. He founded the party Unión Popular de Liberación de Guinea Ecuatorial (UPLGE) [es] ("People's Liberation Movement of Equatorial Guinea") in Libreville, Gabon, in October 1959.[10] The party had the support of the Gabonese government.[11]

In August of 1963, Spain's government invited all exiled Guineans to return and announced a referendum on a draft bill to give the territory autonomy, scheduled for December. This led to nationalist parties hastily realigning, as many could not agree on the autonomy question.[12] That same year, Spain began allowing open political activity in Equatorial Guinea, which led to several new Equatoguinean political parties being formed.[13] Ondó Edú returned from exile that year,[14] and his UPLGE became the moderate Movimiento de Unión Nacional de Guinea Ecuatorial (MUNGE) [es] ("National Unity Movement of Equatorial Guinea") in November.[15][c] The creation of Ondó Edú's new party was supported by the Casas Fuertes ("Strong Houses"), large commercial companies and cocoa plantation owners.[16]

Most exiles returned from Cameroon and chose to vote. Ondó Edú and MUNGE led the "yes" campaign, while Atanasio Ndongo Miyone was the only major nationalist figure who boycotted the referendum.[12] On 15 December 1963, Spain held the autonomy referendum, with 62.5% of eligible Equatoguinean voters voting yes for autonomy.[17] [15] Ondó Edú and his party were seen as being a decisive factor in the success of the autonomy vote,[12][18] which was rejected in the Fernando Po region but allowed to pass because of the large majority of Río Muni voters who sided with the "yes" campaign.[12]

Prime minister of Spanish Guinea

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Autonomous government council of Spanish Guinea[19][20]
OfficeNameTerm
Prime MinisterBonifacio Ondó Edú1964 – 1968
Deputy Prime MinisterFrancisco Macías Nguema1964 – 1968
Minister of Public WorksFrancisco Macías Nguema1964 – 1968
Minister of ForestsRafael Nsue Nchama1964 – 1966[20]
Minister of Information and TourismAntonio Cándido Nang Ondo1964 – 1968
Minister of TeachingLuis Rondo Maguga Rolé1964 – 1967[20]
Minister of AgricultureAurelio Nicolás Itoha1964 – 1968
Minister of the TreasuryLuis Maho Sicachá [es]1964 – 1968
Minister of SanitationGustavo Watson Bueco [es]1964 – 1968
Minister of Industry and CommerceRamón Boricó Toichoa1964 – 1968

When Spanish Guinea was granted autonomy in 1964, a provisional council was created to govern the country. Ondó Edú became the Prime Minister (or President) of the council on 1 January 1964.[15] The council had eight ministers,[21] along with Ondó Edú's deputy (or vice president), Francisco Macías Nguema of the political party Idea Popular de Guinea Ecuatorial (IPGE).[3][15][22] The council included politicians from Spanish Guinea's various ethnic groups, including Fang, Bubi, and Ndowe people.[19] The members were elected by a legislature.[21] Spain was represented by a high commissioner[21] or commissioner general. Major General Pedro Latorre Alcubierre held this position from the beginning of autonomy until his replacement in 1966 by Víctor Suances y Díaz del Río.[7]

All members of the council received salaries of 40,000 pesetas, as well as a Mercedes-Benz, a house with free personnel, and "gifts" from the Casas Fuertes. Corruption was an open problem in the administration as well. Rafael Nsue Nchama was dismissed in 1966 for misappropriation of funds.[20] Luis Rondo Maguga Rolé died of natural causes in 1967.[20]

As MUNGE sought to bring together moderate nationalists and colonialists, the colonialists supported it and Ondó Edú's government as a way to weaken less moderate African nationalists. Rising investment in the new institutions increased the new political elite's dependence on the Spanish government, and those in Ondó Edú's autonomous council developed a greater interest in maintaining the political and economic alignment with Spain.[23]

Ondó Edú (far left) in an audience with the dictator of Spain, Francisco Franco (far right) in June of 1964. The Spanish politician Luis Carrero Blanco (second from right) is also present.

In foreign policy, Ondó Edú established good relations with Gabon and its president Léon M'ba (also a Fang). He visited Libreville in May 1965, and was given a warm reception, being referred to as the "President of Equatorial Guinea" by the local press.[24]

A Constitutional Conference [es] was for Equatorial Guinea was held beginning on 30 October.[25] Ondó Edú co-chaired a 41-member Equatoguinean delegation at the conference.[26] The first phase ended on 15 November due to complaints from Fernando Po separatists.[25] It resumed on 1 April of the following year, and proposed to unify the two territories into a single state and a democratic constitution, the latter of which was to be put to a referendum. The Equatoguinean delegation also became split on which presidential candidate to support for the new nation. Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs supported Ndongo, while most members of the autonomous institutions supported Macias, and Spain's Presidential Office divided its support between Ondó Edú and the Fernando Po separatists.[27] A full, democratic constitution was proclaimed on 22 June, which led to complaints to the United Nations by the Equatoguineans due to their lack of input, but these were ignored.[28]

The constitutional referendum was held on 11 August 1968. Ondó Edú and Ndongo campaigned in favor of ratifying the constitution, while Macias, Edmundo Bossio, and the separatists campaigned against it.[29] The constitution was approved with 72,458 votes for and 40,197, or 64.32% for and 35.68% against.[17][29]

Francisco Macías Nguema (pictured) is speculated to have ordered the execution of Ondó Edú in 1969.

Immediately after the referendum, preparations for 1968 general election began, which would elect the legislature and the president.[29] Ondó Edú was his party's presidential candidate in the election.[17] The other candidates were Macías, Ndongo, and Bossio.[29] Ondó Edú campaigned as a moderate who supported continued ties with Spain after independence, while his main opponent, Macías, was vocally critical of further Spanish involvement in Equatoguinean affairs post-independence.[30] Ondó Edú had the support of then-Deputy Prime Minister of Spain Luis Carrero Blanco,[14][31] the wider Spanish government, businessmen, the middle class, and various local ethnic groups. His official symbol was a gazelle.[32] In the first round, held on 22 September 1968,[29] he received 31,941 votes (34.84%) to Macías's 36,716 votes (40.05%), Ndongo's 18,223 votes (19.88%), and Bossio's 4,795 votes (5.23%).[17][33]

Because no candidate had secured a large majority, a second round was held a week later, with Ndongo and Bossio being dropped. After they gave their support to Macías,[29] he received 68,310 votes (62.92%), while Ondó Edú garnered only 40,254 votes (37.08%).[17] Macías was ultimately declared the winner on 3 October.[29][34]

On 11 October 1968, Ondó Edú was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella The Catholic by Minister of Information and Tourism Manuel Fraga on behalf of the Spanish government.[35] On 12 October, Ondó Edu transferred power to president-elect Macías.[36] Fraga signed Equatorial Guinea's Declaration of Independence later that day, officially making the country independent from Spanish rule.[37][38][39] Equatorial Guinea became the 44th independent African nation.[40] The new government was a coalition of the existing political groups, but Ondó Edú was excluded.[38]

Death and legacy

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After the end of his term, Ondó Edú, fearing for his life, once again fled into exile in Gabon.[31] Macías, who quickly began establishing a dictatorship, requested that Gabonese President Omar Bongo extradite Ondó Edú back to Equatorial Guinea, but Bongo refused. However, the Spanish government complied, and forcibly returned Ondó Edú to the country.[41] Being returned to Santa Isabel,[42] he was arrested, and according to the Equatoguinean government's official account, he committed suicide on March 5, 1969.[31] However, according to one account, Ondó Edú was tortured in Black Beach prison for ten days by Mariano Mdemendongo, a member of the national guard, before finally being executed.[43] According to Ibrahim K. Sundiata, he was imprisoned without trial, starved, and then killed in prison.[44] Reportedly, the interior minister, Ángel Masié Ntutumu, was responsible for Ondó Edú's death sentence.[45] His wife was also reportedly killed on Macías's orders the same year he was.[46][47]

The historian Enrique N. Okenve views the support that Spain gave to Ondó Edú as a reward for his role in the success of the autonomy referendum.[18] According to Gonzalo Álvarez Chillida and Gustau Nerín, Ondó Edú became a symbol of collaboration with the Spanish.[14] In 2020, a social project called INES Bonifacio Ondó Edú was inaugurated in Ondó Edú's home of Evinayong, which, according to AhoraEG, "promotes the fulfillment of the social responsibility of companies".[48] A hospital in Evinayong also shares Ondó Edú's name.[49]

Notes

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  1. ^ Following the independence of Spanish Guinea in 1968 and the presidential election that year, the country was renamed and the position of prime minister was abolished. President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo reestablished the office in 1982 as Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea, with Seriche Bioko in the position.[1]
  2. ^ Sources disagree on his date and year of birth. El Mundo says 1920 without specifying a date.[5] Association France-Guinée Equatoriale cites 5 June 1920,[7] while AhoraEG and Augusto Iyanga Pendi state 1922 without a date.[1][8]
  3. ^ Africa Today says that MUNGE was founded in 1962.[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Estas son las personalidades que han ostentado el cargo de Primer Ministro en Guinea Ecuatorial" (in Spanish). AhoraEG. 2023-02-07. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
  2. ^ a b Liniger-Goumaz 1979, p. 203
  3. ^ a b c Lipschutz & Rasmussen 1986, p. 272
  4. ^ Delmas, Bonacci & Argyriadis 2020, p. 71
  5. ^ a b Alarcón, Julio Martín (2016-12-01). "Españoles en Guinea Ecuatorial: descolonización a punta de pistola" (in Spanish). El Mundo. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
  6. ^ a b c Iyanga Pendi 2021, p. 315
  7. ^ a b c d "Quelques personnalités historiques de la Guinée équatoriale". Association France-Guinée Equatoriale (Assofrage) (in French). 2013. Archived from the original on 2018-03-24. Retrieved 2025-03-01.
  8. ^ Iyanga Pendi 2021, pp. 314–315.
  9. ^ Liniger-Goumaz 2000, p. 126.
  10. ^ Scafidi 2015, p. 24
  11. ^ a b Miller 1965, pp. 9–10
  12. ^ a b c d Miller 1965, p. 10
  13. ^ Mitchell, Morrison & Paden 1989, p. 437
  14. ^ a b c Álvarez Chillida & Nerín 2018, p. 24
  15. ^ a b c d Scafidi 2015, p. 25
  16. ^ Liniger-Goumaz 2000, p. 74.
  17. ^ a b c d e "Elections in Equatorial Guinea". African Elections Database. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
  18. ^ a b Okenve 2014, p. 282
  19. ^ a b Iyanga Pendi 2021, p. 362
  20. ^ a b c d e Liniger-Goumaz 2000, p. 92
  21. ^ a b c Pélissier 1965, p. 527
  22. ^ "Francisco Macias Nguema, el rey loco de Guinea Ecuatorial. Kribios Universal" (in Spanish). Asodegue Segunda Etapa. 2020-11-02. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
  23. ^ Campos 2003, p. 104.
  24. ^ Cronjé, Suzanne (1976). Equatorial Guinea, the Forgotten Dictatorship: Forced Labour and Political Murder in Central Africa. Anti-Slavery Society. p. 10. ISBN 9780900918056.
  25. ^ a b Campos 2003, pp. 109–110
  26. ^ Liniger-Goumaz 2000, p. 95.
  27. ^ Campos 2003, p. 111.
  28. ^ Campos 2003, p. 112.
  29. ^ a b c d e f g Campos 2003, p. 113
  30. ^ "Central Intelligence Bulletin" (PDF). Central Intelligence Agency. 1968-09-27. p. 11. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
  31. ^ a b c Alarcón, Julio Martín. "Guinea por Gibraltar: el plan que partió al régimen de Franco en dos" (in Spanish). El Confidencial. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  32. ^ Iyanga Pendi 2021, p. 396
  33. ^ Campos 2003, p. 113, footnote #110.
  34. ^ Iyanga Pendi 2021, p. 321
  35. ^ Iyanga Pendi 2021, p. 401
  36. ^ Iyanga Pendi 2021, pp. 316, 398
  37. ^ Iyanga Pendi 2021, p. 404
  38. ^ a b Campos 2003, p. 114
  39. ^ "Fraga regresa a Guinea cuatro décadas después de firmar su acta de independencia" (in Spanish). El Mundo. 2009-09-07. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
  40. ^ Iyanga Pendi 2021, p. 406
  41. ^ Acta Africana: Vol. 20-21 (in French). Institut Africain de Genève. 1982. p. 115.
  42. ^ Liniger-Goumaz 2000, p. 189.
  43. ^ Liniger-Goumaz 1979, p. 381
  44. ^ Sundiata 1988, p. 20.
  45. ^ Liniger-Goumaz 2000, p. 245.
  46. ^ Liniger-Goumaz 1979, p. 387
  47. ^ Uwechue 1991, p. 599
  48. ^ "Ampliación del INES Bonifacio Ondo Edu de Evinayong". AhoraEG (in Spanish). 2020-01-31. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
  49. ^ "El hospital de Evinayong cuenta con un nuevo dispositivo para detectar las enfermedades contagiosas". AhoraEG (in Spanish). 2022-04-25. Retrieved 2025-03-03.

Bibliography

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