Systemic Use of Sexual Violence: Equatorial Guinea under Macias Nguema
This case note documents the occurrence of sexual violence in violent conflict. It contains explicit mentions of different forms of sexual assault. Reader discretion is advised.
Background of the Conflict
Francisco Macias Nguema was the first President of Equatorial Guinea after it gained independence from colonial rule by Spain (Suleiman, 2008; Kenyon, 2018). Following a plebiscite held on July 29, 1973, the 1968 Constitution of Equatorial Guinea was replaced with a new document that gave Nguema absolute power, and only his party the legal authority to rule. Following his assumption of leadership, he established a totalitarian regime. His relatives and clan members controlled all the state's instruments of repression, namely the military and presidential bodyguard. During Nguema’s presidency, Equatorial Guinea faced tremendous violence (Suleiman, 2008). Nguema’s regime itself was characterized by a highly prioritized focus on internal security, accompanied by terror. He was the country’s judiciary and executive leader, and sentenced thousands of people to death. He specifically targeted people of the Bubi ethnic minority on the island of Bioko, who were associated with relatively greater wealth and education (Kenyon, 2018).
Prevalence of Sexual Violence
Nguema's rule was especially notorious for its normalization of human rights abuses. People were imprisoned and detained unfairly, starved, humiliated, tortured, and even murdered. No fair trials were conducted, whatsoever. People who were imprisoned were subjected to rape - women were raped in front of their husbands and families (Pauron, 2018). Precise numbers remain unclear.
Basis of the Use of Sexual Violence
Sexual violence and rape were used specifically as tools to intimidate and humiliate people. In some cases, Macias ordered the execution of all former lovers of his mistresses, as well as the husbands of the women he coveted, indicating his intention to deliberately target particular women. The fact that individuals belonging to a particular ethnicity were targeted with sexual violence points to discrimination on ethnic grounds.
References
Kenyon, Paul (2018). Dictatorland. The men who stole Africa. London: Head of Zeus.
Pauron, M. (2018). "Ce jour-là : le 12 octobre 1968, le Tigre de Malabo arrive au pouvoir" (in French). https://web.archive.org/web/20230404164841/https:/www.jeuneafrique.com/mag/640572/politique/ce-jour-la-le-12-octobre-1968-le-tigre-de-malabo-arrive-au-pouvoir/
Suleiman, R. (2008). Macias Nguema: Ruthless and bloody dictator". http://www.afroarticles.com/article-dashboard/Article/Macias-Nguema--Ruthless-and-bloody-dictator/117291
