Artucio, Arturo. The Trial of Macias in Equatorial Guinea: The Story of a Dictatorship....

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I . INTRODUCTION

The I n t e r n a t i o n a l Commission o f J u r i s t s was i nv i t ed by th e

Pres iden t o f th e Supreme Mil i ta ry Council o f Equa to r i a l Guinea

to send an observer to the t r i a l of former P r e s i d e n t - f o r - l i f e

Don Francisco Mac:Las Nguema and seve ra l o f h is c lo se a s s o c i a t e s , \ .

·rhe t r i a l was to be held in Malabo ( former ly Santa I sabe l ) .an d /would open on 24 September 1979. The IC J accepted the govern

ment ' s i n v i t a t i o n and I was honoured to be des igna ted for t h i s

mission.

At a l l t imes during my s t ay in 1-ialabo I received f u l l

as s i s t ance and cooperat ion from th e new a u t h o r i t i e s o f Equator ia l

Cuinea. This allowed me to fol low c lose ly the p rogress o f the

t r i a l and to become acquainted with the c u r r e n t s i t u a t i o n in

the country. I had complete freedom to communicate with any-

one, including Equator ia l Guineans, former pr i sone r s , and t h e i r

r e l a t i v e s . I wish to express the thanks o f the I n t e r n a t i o n a lCommission o f J u r i s t s to the government o f Equator ia l Guinea

lo r t h i s coopera t ion and my persona l g r a t i t u d e to the Pres iden t

uf the Supreme M i l i t ~ r yCounci l , L t. Col . Teodoro Obiang Nguema,for the in terview t h a t he gran ted me as wel l as fo r h is va luab le

views on the fu tu r e o f Equa to r i a l Guinea.

A sho r t de sc r ip t i on of the country and i t s people and somel1ackground informat ion a re necessary to unders tand the spec i a luign i f icance o f t h i s t r i a l for Equa to r i a l Guinea and fo r the

In t e rna t i ona l Commission o f J u r i s t s . I w i l l a l so s e t fo r th

my persona l observa t ions on the s t a t e o f the country from an

PConomic, s o c i a l and c u l t u r a l po in t o f view.

The Republic of Equa tor ia l Guinea i s loca ted in the Gulf

" ' Guinea border ing cameroon, Gabon, Niger ia an d the At lan t i cllcean. I t s t e r r i t o r y comprises (a ) a con t inen ta l area known01:: Rio Muni with Bata as the main c i t y and (b) an i n su l a r area



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which i n c ludes th e i s l and o f Bioko (whose former names were

Fernando P6 and l a t e r Macias Nguema), wher_e Malabo, the count ry 'c a p i t a l i s found, and th e i s l ands o f Pagalu (former Annob6n),

Cor i sco , Elobey Grande, Elobey Chico and s e v e r a l smal l barren

i s l a n d s . Th e coun t ry ' s t o t a l area i s 28,051- km2 •

The t r i b e i s the bas i c s o c i a l u n i t . Genera l ly speak ing ,

th e popula t i 'on i s of Bantu o r i g i n and i s divided e t h n i c a l l y.

The p r i n c i p a l e thn i c u n i t s are the Annoboneses ( i nhab i t i ng thei s l and o f Pagalu) , Bubis (Bioko i s l and) , Fangs (mainly

on th e cont inentandfound a l so in Gabon, Fangs account account

fo r 70% o f the popu l a t i on o f Equa to r i a l Guinea) , Fernandinos

(Creoles , o f span i sh descen t , inhabi t ing Bioko I s land) and

Ndowes. D i f f e r e n t t r i b e s e x i s t with in each e thn i c u n i t .

Th e absence o f censuses makes i t d i f f i c u l t to give an

es t ima te of the popula t ion . According to s e v e r a l sources ,

the c u r r e n t popula t ion would be about 300,000 persons , including

between 20,000 and 30,000 l i v ing in th e c a p i t a l . The samesources es t ima te t h a t the number of people who went in to e x i l e ,

both fo r p o l i t i c a l and economicreasons , may

amountto

100,000.

Of these , 50,000 l i v e in Gabon, 30,000 in Cameroon, 10,000 in

Niger ia and 8,000 in Spa in . The new government has dec la red

t h a t a l l re fugees without except ion may re tu rn to the coun t ry

but t h a t u n t i l such t ime as th e economy i s r e s to r ed i t w i l l n ot1

be poss ib l e t o t o l e r a t e p o l i t i c a l a c t i v i t i e s .

Severa l observers have poin ted ou t t h a t the d i f f e r e n t

e thn i c groups and the t r i b e s with in each group a re e.lements o fp a r t i c u l a r importance in th e s o c i e t y. Thei r t r a d i t i o n a l

r i v a l r i e s , t h e i r d i f f e r e n t ou t look , t h e i r d i f f e r e n t cus toms , the i

d ive r se languages , have been determining f ac to r s in th e r e p r e s s i

dur ing th e t ime o f Macias (who was of Fang or ig in ) and in th e

coun t ry ' s present situation. Despite the fundamental irrportance of the

different ethnic groups, th e prime f ac to r in my opinion leading t o



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repress ion recent ly exper ienced in Equator ia l Guinea was ~

t>oli t i c a l in na tu re . This opin ion i s based on the evidencet ha t in wel l nigh a l l cases the repress ion a ff ec t ed seve ra le thnic g r o u p s - including Fangs - w i t h o u t d i s t i n c t i o n , b u t"lways on the pre tex t t h a t the v ic t ims were "subvers ive elements"or " p o l i t i c a l enemies". Not s u r p r i s i n g l y, members o f Mac!as'~ t h n i cgroup and more s p e c i f i c a l l y of h is own t r i b e , enjoyed

c e r t a i n advantages unavai lable to other groups . There were

a lso ins tances of negat ive d i sc r imina t ion , as when the populat iono f Pagalu i s l and (the Annoboneses) were abandoned to t he i r f a t ec1uring an epidemic of cho le ra .

Equator ia l Guinea i s a po ten t i a l ly r i ch count ry, cocoa,t lmber, bananas, coffee and f i sh being the important produc ts .

In addi t ion , s tud ies ind ica te t h a t t h e i r may be minera l depos i t sIn the gu l f o f Guinea. I t i s thought t h a t o i l and na tu ra l•taz e x i s t in the region. In the l a t e 1960 ' s , Equator ia l Guinea

had one of the highes t per cap i t a incomes in Afr ica and ar ~ l a t i v e l ydeveloped economic i n f r a s t r u c t u r e .

l l l s to r i ca l backgound

Since the 18th century, when Portugal ceded Equator ia l Guineat o Spain, c o l o n i a l p o l i c i e s brought g r e a t misfor tune to thec•ountry. These p o l i c i e s made th e nat ives economically, p o l i t i

c•ally and c u l t u r a l l y dependent and prevented t h e i r f u l l develop-

mrnt. Idea l s o f independence began to be discussed within thel 'ountry during the 1950 ' s . A decade l a t e r , th e f i r s t demands

ror se l f -de te rmina t ion and independence were heard abroad.l ~ • t u a t o r i a lGuineans appeared before the U.N. Decolonisat ion

1'11mmittee. Severa l p o l i t i c a l movements were formed in Equatorial

tl u inea, the main ones being: the National Movement for thet . lberat ion of Equator ia l Guinea (MONALIGE) ~ the Nat iona l Union

Mnvement of Equator ia l Guinea (MUNGE) ~ the Popular Idea oft•:quatorial Guinea (IPGE), and the Bubi Union.



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A l l t h e s e movements were d r a s t i c a l l y suppres sed by t h e

c o l o n i a l a u t h o r i t i e s , l e a d i n g t o d e a t h , impr i9onment and e x i l e

f o r many E q u a t o r i a l Guineans . G u e r r i l l a s were formed t o f i g h t

t h e Span i sh f o r c e s . Given t h e growth o f t h e independencemovement , S p a i n d e c i d e d i n 1963, t o e n a c t an " I n t e r n a l Autonomy•

s t a t u t e . An autonomous government was a p p o i n t e d t o p r e p a r e t h e

way f o r i ndependence .

A f t e r some t i m e , d i s s i d e n t s from t h r e e p o l i t i c a l groups

(HONALIGE, MUNGE, IPGE) ag reed t o c o o r d i n a t e t h e i r a c t i v i t e s

t h rough a J o i n t S e c r e t a r i a t . I t i s d u r i n g t h i s t ime t h a t

F r a n c i s c o Macias Nguema came t o t h e f o r e . He was born i n 1920 1

a t Nzeng Ayong i n th e d i s t r i c t o f l.fongomo and prov ince o f Rio

Huni .

t i o n .

A f t e r pr imary s c h o o l , he e n t e r e d th e c o l o n i a l a d m i n i s t r a

H is r a d i c a l i d e a s abou t i ndependence and s o v e r e i g n t y

from t h e c o l o n i a l power made him a p o p u l a r l e a d e r . He was

t hen d e s i g n a t e d Vi c e - P r e s i d e n t o f t h e p r e - i n d e p e n d e n c e autonomo

government .

In 1967 , Spa in convened a C o n s t i t u t i o n a l Confe rence i n

Madrid t o p r e p a r e a d r a f t C o n s t i t u t i o n f o r E q u a t o r i a l Guinea .

F o r t y - s i x E q u a t o r i a l Guineans r e p r e s e n t i n g a l l e t h n i c groups

a t t e n d e d t h e c o n f e r e n c e . Mac£as Nguema was one o f them. A

p l e b i s c i t e was h e l d i n E q u a t o r i a l Guinea i n 1968 t o approve t h e

C o n s t i t u t i o n . I t i s a p r o g r e s s i v e , d e m o c r a t i c , We s t e r n - s t y l e

document . As a m a t t e r o f f a c t , i f compared w i t h t h e C o n s t i t u

t i o n t h e n i n e f f e c t i n S p a i n , i t i s f a r more advanced .

F r a n c i s c o Mac£as won t h e e l e c t i o n s a s c a n d i d a t e f o r t h e

J o i n t S e c r e t a r i a t and became P r e s i d e n t on 29 September 1968 .

Independence was f i n a l l y ach ieved on 12 Octobe r 1968 wi th t h e

o f f i c i a l p r o c l a m a t i o n o f t h e Repub l i c o f E q u a t o r i a l Guinea .



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[ 1 , THE MAC1AS REGIME

l ~ r o mindependence to th e m i l i t a r y coup o f 3 August 1979

The f i r s t impor tan t even t o f t h i s e leven year per iod took~ ~ l a c eon 5 March 1969 . A few months be fo re , Macias had ordered

the a r r e s t of seve ra l leading p o l i t i c a l f i g u r e s , including the

rormer Pres iden t o f the pre- independence autonomous government.

on 5 March 1969 , an unsuccess fu l p l o t to overthrow Macias,

repor ted ly with some Spanish involvement, was a t t empted .Macias was ab l e to s tay in power an d unleashed a f i e r c e campaign~ > f p o l i t i c a l r ep re s s ion . As a r e s u l t , many of h i s former~ ! l i e sin th e independence movement who were then h is p o l i t i c a l

••pponents were murdered or imprisoned (see ICJ Review, No. 1 3 ,

llc.,cember 197 4, p . 11) ~ Th e governmenta l c o a l i t i o n ( Jo in t

l l t ' c re ta r ia t ) was disso lved and th e a c t i v i t i e s o f a l l p o l i t i c a l

pnr t i e s were suspended.

In 1970 , Macias es t ab l i shed the S ing le Na t iona l Workers

l 'nrty (PUNT). He was Pres iden t o f i t s Cen t r a l Committee upI n

the t ime o f th e mi l i t a ry coup. A ll o the r p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e swnre outlawed and any p o l i t i c a l a c t i v i t y ou t s ide PUNT was~ ~ v e r e l yrepressed .

At t h a t t ime , th e Popular Revolut ionary M i l i t i a was organ i sed .

tloon a f t e r , i t became known a s "Youth on th e March with Mac!as".

l t was formed by volun tee rs d ressed in c i v i l i a n c l o t h e s , b ut

llif)y bore arms and rece ived m i l i t a r y t r a i n i n g . Thei r a c t i v i t i e s

w ~ r econducted a l l over the coun t ry. Th e r eg iona l heads were· · ~U ed D i s t r i c t M i l i t i a Delega tes and they usua l ly had the rank

" ' Second Lieu tenan t and th e s t a t u s o f commanding o f f i c e r s .

l l l t . imately, they repor ted d i r e c t l y to Macias and were respons ib le

"u ly to him.1 · ~l d s a l a r i e s .

As vo lun t ee r s , members o f th e m i l i t i a were n o t

Never the less , they p r o f i t e d from e x t o r t i o n s"11d loo t ings a g a i n s t p o l i t i c a l opponents o f Macias and a g a i n s tn J • o ~ n i s h ,por tuguese and n ige r i an na t iona l s . When a mil i t i aman



had a c h i e v e d s u f f i c i e n t m e r i t , he was promoted t o a government

p o s t .

The w o r s t fo rms o f p o l i t i c a l r e p r e s s i o n a r e a t t r i b u t a b l e

t o t h e Youth on t h e March wi th Macias . I t was r e s p o n s i b l e fo r

most o f t h e a t r o c i t i e s , i n c l u d i n g k i l l i n g s , e x e c u t i o n s , t o r t u r e ,

burn ing o f v i l l a g e s and l o o t i n g s . They i n fo rm e d on anyone ,

r e s o r t e d t o v i o l e n c e a s a l i n e o f conduc t and g e n e r a l l y aimed a t

t e r r o r i s i n g t h e p o p u l a t i o n .

On 7 May 1 9 7 1 , by Decree 415 , Macias r e p e a l e d c e r t a i n

a r t i c l e s o f th e 1968 C o n s t i t u t i o n and assumed a s P r e s i -

d e n t " a l l d i r e c t powers o f Government and I n s t i t u t i o n s " , v i z .

t h e powers o f t h e l e g i s l a t u r e , t h e e x e c u t i v e and t h e j u d i c i a r y ,

a s w e l l a s t h e p r e r o g a t i v e s o f t h e Counc i l o f t h e R e p u b l i c , a

body c r e a t e d t o c o n t r o l t h e E x e c u t i v e . T h i s i n i t s e l f c o n s t i t u

t e d a coup d ' e t a t . A t t h a t t i m e , Macias became a b s o l u t e r u l e r

e x e r c i s i n g comple t e c o n t r o l ove r t h e c o u n t r y.

On 18 Octobe r 1971 , law 1 (one o f th e very fe w passed by

t h e N a t i o n a l Assembly} made t h e k i l l i n g , a t t e m p t e d k i l l i n g or

t h r e a t t o k i l l t h e P r e s i d e n t p u n i s h a b l e by d e a t h . C a p i t a l

pun i shmen t wasa l s o

c o n t e m p l a t e d fo ro f f e n c e s

such a sa r r e s t i n g

th e P r e s i d e n t o r f o r c i n g him t o a c t a g a i n s t h i s w i l l , u p r i s i n g ,

s e c e s s i o n , a t t a c k s a g a i n s t t h e c o u n t r y ' s t e r r i t o r i a l i n t e g r i t y ,

and a t t e m p t s t o r e p l a c e th e government w i t h o u t p o p u l a r c o n s e n t .

The law a l s o p r o v i d e d f o r 30 y e a r s ' impr i sonment for accompl i ce s

i n t h e s e o f f e n c e s , and o t h e r pun i shmen t s f o r i n s u l t i n g ,

t h r e a t e n i n g o r o f f e n d i n g t h e P r e s i d e n t o r members o f h i s Cabine

On 14 J u l y 1972 , a c o n s t i t u t i o n a l Decree (No. 1} p r o c l a i mMacias as P r e s i d e n t - f o r - l i f e , commander- in -ch i e f o f t h e army

and Grand Mas te r o f e d u c a t i o n , s c i e n c e and c u l t u r e . In t i m e ,

he a c q u i r e d o v e r 30 t i t l e s , i n c l u d i n g t h a t o f "Only M i r a c l e o f

E q u a t o r i a l G u i n e a " . Th i s was d i c t a t o r s h i p unmasked.



The Macias C o n s t i t u t i o n

The 1968 C o n s t i t u t i o n was r e p e a l e d on 29 J u l y 1973 . The

now C o n s t i t u t i o n g i v i n g Macias a b s o l u t e powers was d i s c u s s e d

At th e t h i r d c o n g r e s s o f PUNT and r a t i f i e d i n a r e f e r endu m

o rg a n i s e d by t h e p a r t y . Some o f i t s main f e a t u r e s a r e a s

ro l l ows :Accord ing t o a r t . 42 t h e P r e s i d e n t was e l e c t e d by

d i r e c t , s e c r e t and u n i v e r s a l s u f f r a g e f o r a 5 y e a r t e rm .

T h i s p r o v i s i o n d i d n o t app ly t o t h e P r e s i d e n t t hen ho ld ing

o f f i c e , who was a p p o i n t e d f o r l i f e ( a r t i c l e s 49 and 50) .

A N a t i o n a l P o p u l a r Assembly composed o f 60 d e p u t i e s

e l e c t e d by t h e peop le fo r a 5 y e a r term was e s t a b l i s h e d

under a r t . 56 . C a n d i d a t e s were proposed by t h e PUNTand c o u l d be d i s m i s s e d by t h e p a r t y .

The P r e s i d e n t - f o r - l i f e c o u l d d i s s o l v e t h e Assembly

a t any t i m e . A t empo ra r y p r o v i s i o n ad d s t h a t t h e

P r e s i d e n t would assume l e g i s l a t i v e and e x e c u t i v e powers

i f t h e Assembly i s n o t e l e c t e d .

PUNT became t h e o n l y l e g a l p a r t y . I t d e f i n e d ,c o o r d i n a t e d and s u p e r v i s e d th e imp lemen ta t ion o f government

p o l i c i e s ( a r t . 4 ) .

E q u a t o r i a l Guinea was d i v i d e d i n t o p r o v i n c e s , r e g i o n s

and m u n i c i p a l i t i e s ( a r t . 6 ) .

Lands , f o r e s t s , s u b s o i l , r i v e r and s e a w a t e r s be l o nge d

t o t h e S t a t e ( a r t . 1 0 ) . P r o p e r t y r i g h t s o f f a r m e r s werer e c o g n i s e d ( a r t . 13) and p r i v a t e p r o p e r t y i n g e n e r a l was

p r o t e c t e d s u b j e c t t o t h e l i m i t a t i o n s s p e c i f i e d by law

( a r t . 1 4 ) .

J u d i c i a l power r e s t e d i n t h e Supreme Popu la r T r i b u n a l

and lower c i v i l i a n and m i l i t a r y t r i b u n a l s ( a r t . 6 7 ) . A l l



-B-

j u d g e s and p r o s e c u t o r s were d i r e c t l y a p p o i n t e d by t h e

P r e s i d e n t and cou ld be d i s m i s s e d by him ( a r t s . 68 and 7 0 ) .

A number o f r i g h t s were g u a r a n t e e d t o c i t i z e n s and

f o r e i g n e r s , i n c l u d i n g t h e r i g h t t o v o t e , t h e r i g h t t o

e d u c a t i o n and c u l t u r e , f reedom o f s p e e c h , f reedom o f t h e

p r e s s , f reedom o f a s s o c i a t i o n , r e l i g i o u s f reedom, p r o h i b i ~

t i o n o f r a c i a l d i s c r i m i n a t i o n , e t c .

On 18 March 1975 , Decree No. 6 banned a l l p r i v a t e e d u c a t i o

~ i v a t ee d u c a t i o n was deemed " s u b v e r s i v e " . The C a t h o l i c Church

was f o r c e d t o c l o s e down i t s s c h o o l s . Span i sh and E q u a t o r i a l

Guinean m i s s i o n a r i e s and p r i e s t s were p e r s e c u t e d and most o f

them had t o l e a v e th e c o u n t r y.

In o r d e r t o c u l t i v a t e and h a r v e s t t h e cocoa c rop th e n a t i o

p l a n t a t i o n s had t r a d i t i o n a l l y r e l i e d on m i g r a n t l a b o u r from

ne ighbour ing c o u n t r i e s 1 f i r s t L i b e r i a and t h e n N i g e r i a . P o o ~

l a b o u r c o n d i t i o n s , low s a l a r i e s and d e a t h s caused by r e p r e s s i o n

l e d t h e N i g e r i a n government i n 1975 t o e v a c u a t e t housands o f

i t s n a t i o n a l s . T h i s e v a c u ~ t i o nl e f t th e p l a n t a t i o n s w i t h o u t

worke r s t o h a r v e s t th e c r o p s . Maclas r e sponded t o t h i s s i t u a ~

t i o n by impos ing compulsory l a b o u r . In Janua ry 1976 , t h e

PUNT c o n g r e s s c a l l e d fo r a sys tem o f c om p u l s o r y l a b o u r . T h i s

was adop ted by a P r e s i d e n t i a l Decree i n March, making i t manda

t o r y fo r a l l c i t i z e n s ove r t h e age o f 15 t o r e n d e r manual

l a b o u r i n gove rnmen t p l a n t a t i o n s and mines . I n 1977, 25 ,000

worke r s were " r e c r u i t e d " u n de r t h i s scheme. These worke r s

were n o t p a i d s a l a r i e s . The s o l e r emunera t ion was t h a t eachw o r ke r r e c e i v e d a r a t i o n o f r i c e , palm o i l and f i s h . Thi s

r a t i o n was s u f f i c i e n t o n l y f o r h i s n e ed s and made no p r o v i s i o n

f o r h i s d e p e n d a n t s . I n t o t a l th e dependan t s numbered 1 5 , 0 0 0 .

The workday l a s t e d f o r some 12 h o u r s . I n a d d i t i o n t o t h e

s t r e n u o u s £ b o u r , t h e c o n d i t i o n s o f work i n c l u d e d f r e q u e n t

b e a t i n g s , w i t h h o l d i n g o f food r a t i o n s and random b r u t a l i t y .

They were p r e v e n t e d from r e t u r n i n g home w i t h o u t s p e c i a l p e r -

m i s s i o n . P u b l i c o f f i c i a l s and m i l i t a r y p e r s o n n e l were a l s o



- 9 -

rurced to do pa r t - t ime compulsory l abour.

they devoted to t h e i r work.

The na ture o f the regime

Th e remaining time

I t i s d i f f i c u l t to de f ine the regime o f Macias during h is

eLeven years in power •. There were numerous proc lamat ions o f

IUcia l i sm accompanied by widespread n a t i o n a l i s a t i o n s , including

t-he major i ty o f the a g r i c u l t u r a l l and , bu t th e mismanagement o f

the economy and the cor rup t ion and exp lo i t a t i on were such t h a t

the r e s u l t s fo r the workers were d i s a s t r o u s . His s ta tements were

1trongly a n t i - i m p e r i a l i s t and a n t i - c o l o n i a l i s t , and opposed tor ac i a l d i sc r imina t i on . These pr inc ip l e s d id no t preven t the

Inhuman t r ea tment o f th e few a l i ens t h a t remained in the countryan&1 of many Equator ia l Guineans. Spain was forced to evacuate1 , 0 0 0 na t iona l s . As I have s a i d , repress ion was due more toJ lo l i t i ca l reasons than t o e thn i c o r r a c i a l cond i t i ons . Ther • ~ l m ewas an unpara l le led ins tance o f extreme concen t ra t ion o f

l ••raonal power. I t was an a b s o l u t i s t regime cha rac t e r i s ed by <)>.('A versona l i ty c u l t . Ci t i zens had no r i g h t s or guarantees

wh•tsoever; any opponent was branded a "subvers ive" or a11 t 'O lon ia l i s t " and hence s u b j e c t to pe r secu t ion . Even Macias '• ~ n fo l lowers were persecuted when they l o s t h is conf idence.

During h is government, se r ious an d sys temat ic v io l a t i onsur human r i g h t s were repor ted . These included i l l e g a l a r r e s t

I,•ru1 de ten t ion withou t t r i a l before an independent t r i b u n a l .1 MIImbers o f Youth on the March with Mac:Las had power to de t a in11n

qrounds as vague as giving a id to miss ionar ies ( e spec i a l l yt '11tholics), f a i l i n g to a t tend na t iona l mani fes ta t ions o f "p ra i s ea n ~ joy", or merely for being "descon ten to" . Offenders would

• • rvc unspec i f i ed p r i son terms with no r i g h t to defend themselves .

Tor ture became a regu la r p r a c t i c e . The fo l lowing forms11t to r ture were common: ind isc r imina te blows; " e l balanceo" ,ll11• pr i soner being hung upside down from t i ed or shackled f e e t ,

,,,,.,, beaten; " l a s t a b l i l l a s " , planks o f wood were pressed



- 1 0 -

agains t the s ides of the c a l f , ankle and the under p a r t of thefoot and t ightened by ropes , causing in tense pain, "loa gr i l l e t e sn ,metal f e t t e r s were t ightened around the wris ts as bard as poss ib le ,so as to prevent c i rcu la t ion in the hands, causing acute pain ;

"e l rombo", both elbows were forced behind the p r i s o n e r ' s backu n t i l they met and were t i ed in t ha t pos i t ion , and then the wris t swere bound in f ron t of h is body. These methods sometimes

caused the death of vic t ims of t o r tu re .

Prison condi t ions were notor ious for t h e i r barbar i ty andfor the use of c rue l , inhuman and degrading punishment. Prison-e rs were c l a s s i f i e d in th ree ca tegor i e s : Brigade A for p o l i t i c a lopponents, which Macias - ever fear ing p lo t s aga ins t h is govern-

ment - considered the most dangerous. The aim was to destroythese pr i sone r s , e i the r morally by breaking t he i r w i l l to r e s i s t

or phys ica l ly, s ince t he i r death was of no account. No one

was accountable for dead pr isoners and qu i t e of ten guards wereordered to k i l l them, for which they were rewarded. This

explains why the g r e a t e s t number of k i l l i n g s took place amongthe pr isoners of Brigade A. They were under compulsory labourbut t h i s did not issue from a lawful ly passed sentence. Early

in the morning pr isoners were divided in to work teams under anoff i ce r ca l led "prisoner escor t" who was accompanied by armedguards . They were taken to work in agr i cu l tu ra l p lan ta t ions ,cons t ruc t ion of roads, bridges and bui ldin91 (usual ly without

appropriate equipment), or mowing the gra11 in publ ic places .Their l iv ing and working condi t ions were indeaoribable . Asa ru le , they were given no food, They survived on f r u i t s

from the fo res t . Physical punishment with whipl and "machetes"was common. Some were punished to death in t ron t of other

pr i sone r s . Brigade B was composed o t people who had c r i t i c i s e dthe government or had had d i f f i c u l t i e s with the Youth un the

March with Macias but were not p o l i t i c a l Ol>J)on•nta. •rhf'y werealso under compulsory labour and wnre l i ab le to h• t rAn"rrrredto Brigade A. Brigade C included common or lm i na la , 'l'hrywere much be t t e r o ff than other pr i sone r s , a l thnu•Jh ~ h" Y wr>rc

a lso forced to do some s o r t of compulsory labour.



- 11 -

A g r e a t many p o l i t i c a l opponents were e x e c u t e d whi l e in

p r i s o n . Somet imes , t h e c o r p s e was d e l i v e r e d t o r e l a t i v e s wi th

a c e r t i f i c a t e a t t r i b u t i n g d e a t h t o n a t u r a l c a u s e s . Othe r s

were b u r i e d in t h e f o r e s t . Excep t f o r s e v e r a l c a s e s in which

armed groups s h o t th e p r i s o n e r s , i t was more f r e q u e n t t o b e a t

them t o d e a t h o r s h a t t e r t h e head wi th a "mache te" o r an i r o n

b a r. Of c o u r s e , t h e s e e x e c u t i o n s were n o t based on a d e a t h

s e n t e n c e , s i n c e most p r i s o n e r s were n e v e r s e n t e n c e d .

A fe w examples w i l l s u f f i c e t o show th e e x t e n t o f t h el i q u ~ d a t i o no f p o l i t i c a l o p p o n e n t s . Of 46 p e r s o n s who a t t e n d e d

th e C o n s t i t u t i o n a l Confe rence in Madrid in 1967-1968, n o t more

than 10 a r e a l i v e t o d a y. Excep t f o r a few who d i e d n a t u r a l l y ,

t h e r e s t were k i l l e d by t h e reg ime o f Mac{as. Over tw o t h i r d s

o f t h e members o f th e f i r s t L e g i s l a t i v e Assembly d i e d v i o l e n t l y

o r d i s a p p e a r e d , (some were p a r t c r t h e g r o up o f 4 6 ) . Of t h e

12 m i n i s t e r s i n t h e f i r s t C a b i n e t , 10 were murdered . Broadly

s p e a k i n g , r e p r e s s i o n a f f e c t e d main ly th e i n t e l l e c t u a l s . Thi s

h e l p s t o e x p l a i n why most p e o p l e wi th some t e c h n i c ~o r

s c i e n t i f i c s k i l l went i n t o e x i l e . Mac{as i s r e p o r t e d t o have

s a i d "In p o l i t i c s , th e v i c t o r wins and t h e l o s e r d i e s " .

P o l i t i c a l and t r a d e union a c t i v i t i e s o u t s i d e PUNT were

fo rb idden and s u b j e c t t o s e v e r e pun i shmen t . In a speech t o

women in Bata i n 1975 Macias s a i d : "Women shou ld n o t t a l k abou t

p o l i t i c s because p o l i t i c s p e r t a i n s on ly t o t h e P r e s i d e n t - f o r -

l i f e . " Repres s ion nd:wi t h s t a n d i n g , t h e o p p o s i t i o n began t o

o r g a n i s e . In Augus t 1974 , r e f u g e e s l i v i n g abroad formed a

p o l i t i c a l f r o n t c a l l e d " N a t i o n a l A l l i a n c e fo r Democra t icR e s t . ) r a t i o n " {ANRD). I t has done i m p o r t a n t work in expos ing

t h e s i t u a t i o n i n E q u a t o r i a l Guinea i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y and in

c l a n d e s t i n e p o l i t i c a l o r g a n i s a t i o n w i t h i n t h e c o u n t r y, t h rough

t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f i t s B u l l e t i n "La Voz d e l P u e b l o " .

Freedom o f speech d i d n o t e x i s t . No newspapem were

p u b l i s h e d a f t e r 1975 and t h e s t a t e - o w n e d r a d i o was c o n t r o l l e d

by Macia s . Freedom o f assembly and f reedom o f a s s o c i a t i o n

were n o t a l l o w e d , e x c e p t f o r PUNT.



- 1 2 -

Religbus freedom was completely ignored. A 1974 decreeordered p r i e s t s and pas tors t o open t h e i r sermons with thesewords: "Nothing without Macias, everything for Mac!as, downwith colon ia l i sm and the ambit ious ." In a speech in Bata in

1975 Macias s a i d : "Let the f a l se p r i e s t s know t h a t they areth ieves , swindle rs , exp lo i t e r s and c o l o n i a l i s t s " . "Any contac t

with the Cathol ic s e c t w i l l be severe ly punished by the General

Direc tora te of Secur i ty, the government delega tes and thepopular m i l i t i a • . • •

In the labour f i e l d , many Sta t e o f f i c i a l s were dismissed

without regard to the procedure of the Sta tu t e b r publ ic se rvan t s .Others saw t h e i r s a l a r i e s reduced.

Ci t i zens were not f ree to leave the country and t o r e tu rn .In every case , spec i a l permiss ion from Macias himself wasr equ i r ed . People were not f ree to t r a v e l within t he i r own

country e i t h e r . A "visa" was required to t r ave l from the

i s lands to th e cont inent or vice versa .

Forced movements o f populat ion a lso took place . For

example, Fangs were moved to Bioko i s l a n d , which i s inhabi ted

by Bubis and Fernandinos. The purpor ted objec t ive was toassure labour for the cocoa p l a n t a t i o n s .

In t e rna t iona l ac t ion aga ins t Mac!as

Non-governmental organ i sa t i ons such a1 Amnelty In te rna t iona l .the Commission of the Churches for In t e rna t iona l Affa i r s (WorldCouncil of Churches) and the In t e rna t iona l Movement to r Fra te rna lUnion among Races and People (UFER) were ac t ive ly concerned about

Equator ia l Guinea and submitted p e r t i n e n t information to tiN

bodies . The In t e rna t iona l Univers i ty Exchange P'unc1 ( tt!P.F'l

was on e o f the leading organ i sa t iomto 1ound th • alnrm nhout

human r i g h t s v i o l a t i o n s . . The IUEF sponaored a ltuc1y hy llr.

R.obert af Klin teberg , a dis t inguished Swedilh anthrnpoloqis t ,



-13-

who v i s i t e d Equator ia l Guinea and a l so spen t four months l i v ingwith refugees in Gabon, Cameroon, Niger ia and Spain. At th eend of 1978, IUEF publ ished h is research in a book ca l l ed

't!:quator i a l Guinea: I-iacias Country - The Forgotten Refugees".

This book was th e f i r s t document of i t s kind to expla in fu l lythe ac tua l condi t ions in Equator ia l Guinea and to descr ibe

th e s i t u a t i o n of the refugees who ha d escaped repress ion byf lee ing the count ry. Ar t i c l e s based on t h i s book appeared in

th e i n t e r n a t i o n a l press . The IUEF sen t copies of th e book toAfrican He?dS of Sta t e and governments and to the Organisat ion

of African Uni ty. I t a l so played an important ro l e in

persuading the UN Commission of Human Rights to pass i t s Resolu··

t ion o f 12 March 1979.

The In te rna t iona l Commission of J u r i s t s a l so took ac t i onconcerning Equator ia l Guinea. In 1975, i t as s i s t ed refugees

in th e prepa ra t i on of a communication descr ib ing the v io l a t ionof c i v i l , p o l i t i c a l , economic, s o c i a l and c u l t u r a l r i g h t s ,

which was submitted to the United Nations SeGretary-General

under ECOSOC Resolut ion 1503. In addi t ion to a r t i c l e s publ ished

in i t s Review (No. 13, December 1 9 7 4 ~No. 21, December 1978),

the I n t e r n a t i o n a l Commission of J u r i s t s has made seve ra l i n t e r -

ven t ions before the UN Sub-Commission on Prevent ion o f Discr imi

na t ion and Pro t ec t i on of Minor i t i es and before the UN Commission

on Human Rights urging these bodies t o i nves t iga t e th e condi t ionsin Equa tor ia l Guinea. Eventua l ly, on 12 March 1979, the UN

Commission on Human Rights decided to t ake ac t i on by des igna t ing

a Spec ia l Rapporteur to examine th e s i t u a t i o n o f human r i g h t s

in the country and r epo r t to the Commission. Owing to thecomplete lack of cooperat ion by th e government of Equator ia lGuinea under th e conf iden t i a l Resolut ion 1503 procedure , the

Commission decided to remove th e case of Equator ia l Guinea

from t h a t procedure and to discuss i t in pub l i c .



'6

- 1 4 -

I I I . THE CURRENT STATE OF EQUATORIAL GUINEA

In order to place the t r i a l in i t s proper perspec t ive , ab r i e f desc r ip t ion must be given of the presen t s t a t e of a f f a i r s

in Equa to r i a l Guinea, which d i sp lays some qu i t e except ionalf e a t u r e s .

I t can f a i r l y be sa id t h a t the economic, s o c i a l and c u l t u r a l

s i t u a t i o n I found in Malabo was bordering on a na t iona l d i s a s t e r .

A few da ta wil l su ff i ce t o exp la in .

The economy

The economy was to a l l i n t en t s and purposes para lysed and

90 per cen t of the Public Administrat ion was no longer funct ion-ing . , The bas ic se rv ices - e l e c t r i c power, t r anspor t , the pos t ,banking, communications, e t c . - were v i r t u a l l y a t a s t a n d s t i l l .

The s a l a r i e s of publ ic o f f i c i a l s , who were very numerous in

view of the system of government which had brought most a c t i v i

t i e s under Sta te con t ro l , ha d not been r a i sed for years and insome cases had even been reduced in numerical terms. Themajor i ty, or a t l e a s t a la rge number of the o f f i c i a l s receivedt h e i r t iny s a l a r i e s 8 or 9 months l a t e , and many of them ceased

to draw them severa l months before . To give one example, thesa lary of an o f f i c i a l in the c e n t r a l adminis t ra t ion i s now2,900 ekueles a month (about US$95), while t h a t of a ru ra lworker on one of the government cocoa e s t a t e s i s 2,500 e ~ u e l e s

a month (about $85) , plus a ce r t a i n amount in kind ( f i sh , s a l t ,

palm o i l ) . I t s value i s d i f f i c u l t to ca lcu la te and in any casei t was not provided r e g u l a r l y. A t echn ica l o f f i c i a l of thePeople ' s Sta te Bank was paid 5,000 ekuelea a month. In mqnycases , the remuneration was pure ly nominal in the l a s t fewmonths because i t was simply not pa id . Natura l ly, t h i s i n t ens i -f ied the government c r i s i s , an d i t was the prac t i ce !o r manyof the o f f i c i a l s to go in to the fo res t in search of f r u i t andother food for themselves and t h e i r f ami l i e s .



- 1 5 -

The funds of the Sta t e had become t o t a l l y confused with

those o f Mac!as. The confusion was such t h a t the t e chn i ca l

personnel of the Sta t e Bank and the Minis t ry o f Economic Affa i r sand Finance s t i l l claim t h a t they a re unable to draw the d i v i ding l i ne between them with any c e r t a i n t y. Mac!as, as Head of

S t a t e , took th e na t iona l t r ea su re t o h is pa lace of Nzeng Ayong( d i s t r i c t of Mongomo) in the country near th e border with Gabon.

He adminis tered th e funds of th e S t a t e from h is house and some

t imes from Bata - fo r he had not ventured i n to th e c a p i t a l fo r

f ive years - without consu l t ing e i t h e r th e bank or th e minis t ryconcerned. ·

Commerce i s p r a c t i c a l l y a t a s t a n d s t i l l in Malabo. There are

only a few smal l shops , known as Sta t e Trading Pos t s , s t i l l open

but t h e i r s he lve s are almost empty. There i s no t a s ing l er e s t au ran t in th e whole town. The only cen t r e of a c t i v i t y

l e f t i s th e market , where goods can be bought. The people

a lso put t ab l e s on the pavements where they o f f e r for sa l e such

items as bananas , f r u i t , cakes and c i g a r e t t e s (which a re usua l l y

sold one a t a t ime ins tead of by packe t s ) .

There i s a l so the f a c t t h a t th e country i s almost complete ly

cu t o f f from th e outs ide world , including the neighbouring

coun t r i e s . As I have s a i d , a s p e c i f i c permi t i s necessary both

to t r a v e l abroad and to move about the count ry. There have

been no regula r and r e l i a b l e communications between th e c a p i t a l

and the mainland fo r a long t ime. A smal l passenger boa t used

to make th e t r i p a t i r r e g u l a r i n t e r v a l s up to September 1979, but

i t has now had to be sen t to th e Canar ies fo r r e p a i r s . TheSpanish a i r l i n e Ibe r i a used to have regula r domestic f l i g h t s

between Bata and Malabo, but these were discon t inued more than

a year ago.

Mac!as had given orders - which were obeyed - fo r a l l

pr iva t e c r a f t including canoes in Malabo and elsewhere on th e

i s land of Bioko to be dest royed on the grounds t h a t people were

using them t o f l ee to Cameroon t o p l o t aga ins t him the re .



- 1 6 -

Thi s p r e v e n t e d Peop le from go ing o u t t o f i s h and s h a r p l y r educed

t h e t r a d i t i o n a l supp ly o f p r o t e i n ~ r i c hf i s h and s h e l l f i s h .

P u b l i c s e r v i c e s and t h e media

S i n c e t h e b e g i n n i n g o f 1978 Malabo has had no e l e c t r i c

power, so n e i t h e r th e e l e c t r i c i t y or t e l e p h o n e sys t ems work .

More t han 95 p e r c e n t o f t h e peop le i n t h e c a p i t a l a r e a f f e c t e d

by t h i s . Only t h o s e wi th t h e i r own g e n e r a t o r s , such a s t h e

embass i e s and f o r e i g n m i s s i o n s , and one o r tw o government

b u i l d i n g s have e l e c t r i c l i g h t . For f o u r y e a r s or s o , t h e r e has

been no w r i t t e n p r e s s i n th e c o u n t r y, b e c a u s e , a c c o r d i n g t o

Macias ' gove rnmen t , t h e r e has been no p a p e r . The p o p u l a t i o n ' s

on ly means o f i n f o r m a t i o n and communica t ion has been Radio Malabo

(on t h e i s l a n d ) and Radio Bata on t h e main land . A n ot he r f a c t o r

c o n t r i b u t i n g t o t h e absence o f i n f o r m a t i o n on e v e n t s in t h e

o u t s i d e wor ld and in E q u a t o r i a l Guinea was t h a t g e n e r a t o r s

p r o d u c i n g c u r r e n t fo r t h e r a d i o o f t e n broke down.

In 1973 a w a l l a b o u t 4 m e t r e s h igh was b u i l t a round th e

whole o f t h e o l d i n n e r p a r t o f t h ~ c i t y o f Malabo. I n s i d e i t s

r a d i u s were t h e C a t h e d r a l , t h e P a l a c e o f Macias and a l a r g e

number o f h o u s e s , whose owners were d i s l o d g e d and had t o f i n d

ne w homes o u t s i d e t h e boundary w a l l . The r e a s o n s g i v e n were

t h e need t o s a f e g u a r d t h e P r e s i d e n t - f o r - l i f e a g a i n s t p o s s i b l e

a t t a c k s and c o n s p i r a c y. A p a r t from t h e a r b i t r a r y c h a r a c t e r o f

t h i s measu re (Macias r e f e r r e d t o i t d u r i n g h i s t r i a l a s one o f

h i s many works f o r th e b e n e f i t o f t h e communi ty) , i t shou ld

be r e c a l l e d t h a t Macias h ad n o t been i n t h e c a p i t a l once in t h el a s t f i v e y e a r s and had t h e r e f o r e n o t l i v e d i n h i s P a l a c e . On e

o f t h e f i r s t a c t s o f t h e ne w government was t o d e s t r o y p a r t o f

t h e w a l l so t h a t p e o p l e c o u l d a g a i n move a b o u t i n t h e c e n t r e

o f t h e town.

H e a l t h c a r e

The s i t u a t i o n i s e q u a l l y c a t a s t r o p h i c from t h e p o i n t o f



- 1 7 -

view o f h e a l t h . I had an o p p o r t u n i t y t o r ead a r e p o r t p r e p a r e d

by a f o r e i g n e p i d e m i o l o g i s t which draws a t t e n t i o n t o t h e grave

h e a l t h r i s k s d e r i v i n g from t h e l a c k o f m ed ica men t s , d o c t o r s and

s p e c i a l i s e d p e r s o n n e l , h o s p i t a l i n s t a l l a t i o n s , x - r a y f a c i l i t i e s

and i n s t r u m e n t s . I v i s i t e d t h e Malabo h o s p i t a l , which t h e new

government i s t r y i n g t o improve by p a i n t i n g and r e p a i r i n g i t .

So f a r , no food can be g iven t o t h e p a t i e n t s t h e r e wh o s t i l l

have t o depend e n t i r e l y on what t h e i r f a m i l i e s can b r i n g them,

a l though they t o o a r e i n s e v e r e f i n a n c i a l s t r a i t s . The p r e s e n t

s t a t e o f t h e h o s p i t a l i s undoub ted ly f a r from mee t ing t h e minimum

h e a l t h r e q u i r e m e n t s . At t h e same t i m e , t h e government o f

I-iacias was t a k i n g th e u n u s u a l s t e p o f b u i l d i n g a modern and

w e l l - e q u i p p e d h o s p i t a l a b l e t o t a k e 120 beds i n t h e d i s t r i c t

o f Hongomo. However, t h e h o s p i t a l was n e v e r opened because

t h e r e were no f unds t o run i t .

Educa t ion

The e d u c a t i o n a l s i t u a t i o n i s a l s o v e r y s e r i o u s . The c o u n t r y

h as no u n i v e r s i t y , and t h e s e c o n d a r y s c h o o l s and t e c h n i c a l and

v o c a t i o n a l t r a i n i n g c o l l e g e shad

n e a r l ya l l

c l o s e d down.The

c r i s i s had even a f f e c t e d t h e p r i m a r y s c h o o l s , and- s e v e r a l

been s h u t f o r y e a r s . I had

nea r th e c e n t r e o f Malabo .

d e s i g n e d wi th an ey e t o t h e c l i m a t i c c o n d i t i o n s t h e r e , wi th

b ig ga rden and s u f f i c i e n t s p a c e t o t a k e a l a r g e number o f

As i t had been a p r i v a t e s c h o o l , i t had o n l y been a b l e t o f u n c t i o n

fo r a yea r u n t i l p r i v a t e e d u c a t i o n had been a b o l i s h e d in t h e

c o u n t r y by t h e d e c r e e o f 18 March 1975 t o whichI

have a l r e a d yr e f e r r e d . I t was neve r r eopened by th e S t a t e , and a l l t h e

schoo l equ ipmen t such as d e s k s , c h a i r s , e t c . have now been a l m o s t

comple t e ly d e s t r o y e d and t h e t r o p i c a l v e g e t a t i o n has begun t o

invade th e c l a s s r o o m s . Thi s o c c u r r e d when t h e r e were h u n d red s

o f c h i l d r e n wande r ing abou t who had n o t been g iven a p l a c e in

th e S t a t e s c h o o l s . The government o f Macias o b v i o u s l y d id

no th ing t o encou rage e d u c a t i o n o r c u l t u r e ; on t h e c o n t r a r y ,

lhe i n t e l l e c t u a l s were one o f t h e most p e r s e c u t e d g r oups o f



- 1 8 -

people . The adverse e f f e c t s o f a d i c t a t o r i a l regime were f e l t

throughout the educa t iona l system. Primary schoo l ch i ld r enwere forced t o l e a rn a number of s logans desiqned t o fu r the rthe pe r sona l i t y c u l t fo r Mac{as.

Pover ty

As a r e s u l t of the economic d i s rup t ion and chaos , therehas been an alarming increase in unemployment, pover ty, mal-

n u t r i t i o n , d i sea se and i l l i t e r a c y dur ing the l a s t few years ,and a t the same t ime the coun t ry ' s expor t income dropped

apprec iab ly. I wondered how i t was poss ib l e t ha t th e death

r a t e had no t r i s en more than i t d id , given the deplorab lel i v ing condi t ions of the people . The only exp lana t ion I wasgiven i s t h a t the country i s r ich in f r u i t and na tu ra l foods

which a re access ib le to everyone, and has a good c l ima te .Never the less , a ser ious assessment s t i l l remains to be madeof the f u l l impact o f r tac ias ' eleven years in power.

What shocked me most was not the extreme pover ty, s ince

unhappi ly t he r e are even worse condi t ions to be seen in other

p a r t s of the world , but to· f ind t h a t a town once equi9ped with

a s u b s t a n t i a l i n f r a s t r u c t u r e , and se rv i ce s in working orde r,had l o s t them a l l in the course o f a few years . E l e c t r i c

power l i n e s , t e lephones , admin i s t r a t i ve c f f i c e s , bui ld ings fo r

schoo l s ,hosp i t a l s and o f f i c e s , can s t i l l be seen bu t a l l o fthem have been abandoned or a re ly ing i d l e .

The l ega l system

J u r i d i c a l l y and l e g a l l y , there i s a l so a profound c r i s i s .

After independence the Spanish laws appl icab le in Equator ia l

Guinea before the es tab l i shment o f the Republic cont inued in

fo rce under a t r a n s i t i o n a l prov is ion in the 1968 Cons t i t u t i on .

This s t a t e d :

"The l e g i s l a t i o n in force in Guinea a t the time i t

assumes independence which does no t c o n f l i c t with



- 1 9 -

t h e e x p r e s s l y e s t a b l i s h e d p r i n c i p l e s o f t h i s C o n s t i t u t i o n

s h a l l remain in f o r c e a s l ong as t h e y have n o t been

r e p e a l e d o r amended by t h e compe ten t Guinean i n s t i t u t i o n s . "

However, t h e ne w C o n s t i t u t i o n drawn up by M a cfa s ' g ove r n men t ,

which was r a t i f i e d by a re fe rendum o r g a n i s e d by PUNT on 29 J u l y

19 7 3 , s t a t e d i n t h e f i n a l p r o v ~ o n st h a t :

"The C o n s t i t u t i o n o f 22 June 1968 i s he reby r e p e a l e d i n

i t s e n t i r e t y , t o g e t h e r w i t h a l l such l aws and gove rnmen ta l

o r d e r s a s a r e i n c o m p a t i b l e w i t h t h e t e rms o f t h i s C o n s t i t u

t i o n . "

T h i s l e d t o a s i t u a t i o n o f ex t r eme c o n f u s i o n i n which no -o n e

knew which o f t h e fo rmer l aws remained in f o r c e . As no p e n a l ,

c i v i l , a d m i n i s t r a t i v e or l a b o u r code was i n t r o d u c e d , t h e r e was

an e x t e n s i v e l e g a l vacuum.

The a d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f j u s t i c e and j u d i c i a l f u n c t i o n s ,

which t h e 1973 C o n s t i t u t i o n p l a c e d i n th e hands o f t h e "Supreme

C o ur t o f t h e Peop le and any o t h e r c i v i l and m i l i t a r y c o u r t s

which may be s e t up by law" ( A r t . 6 7 ) , v i r t u a l l y ceased t o

e x i s t a f t e r a b o u t 1975 . Dur ing t h e e l even y e a r s o f Mac£as '

regime i t was e x c e p t i o n a l f o r p e r s o n s accused o f p o l i t i c a l

o f f e n c e s t o be t r i e d . When such t r i a l s were h e l d , as i n 1974

and 1975 , t h e accused were t r i e d by " M i l i t a r y P e o p l e ' s T r i b u n a l s "

composed o f members o f t h e armed f o r c e s a p p o i n t e d by t h e Head

o f S t a t e . I was a l s o t o l d i n Malabo t h a t no l e g a l p r o c e e d i n g s

wh a t soeve r were he ld i n t h e l a s t few y e a r s , b u t t h a t p o l i t i c a l

p r i s o n e r s were s t i l l k e p t i n c u s t o d y and ne w a r r e s t s c o n t i n u e d .

I t would be p o s s i b l e t ol i s t

many o t h e r e x c e s s e s andv i o l a t i o n s t h a t o c c u r r e d d u r i n g t h e reg ime o f Macfas , b u t what

h as been s a i d g i v e s a s u f f i c i e n t i d e a o f t h e c l i m a t e o f t e r r o r

and h o r r o r t h a t d e v e l o i e d i n E q u a t o r i a l Guinea and e x p l a i n s

th e high number o f r e f u g e e s .



- 2 0 -

IV , THE OVERTHROW OF MAC!AS

M i l i t a r y coup o f 3 A u g u s ~1979

On t h i s day t h e armed f o r c e s o f E q u a t o r i a l Guinea , a c t i n g

t h rough fue N a t i o n a l Guard , deposed t h e d i c t a t o r F r a n c i s c o Macias

and e s t a b l i s h e d a Supreme M i l i t a r y C o u n c i l t o r u l e t h e c o u n t r y.

The P r e s i d e n t o f t h e C o u n c i l , L t . C o l . Teodoro Obiang Nguema,

was M i l i t a r y Governor o f t h e prov ince o f Bioko and Vi c e - M i n i s t e r

o f t h e Armed Forces fo r s e v e r a l y e a r s d u r i n g th e Macias g o v e r n

ment .

Macias r e s i s t e d t h e u p r i s i n g wi th t h e he lp o f f o r c e s r ema in

in g l o y a l t o him. In t h e f i g h t i n g which broke o u t on th e m a in -

l and an u n s p e c i f i e d number o f p e o p l e l o s t t h e i r l i v e s . When

Macias was abandoned by h i s s u p p o r t e r s , he escaped i n t o t h e

f o r e s t and was f i n a l l y c a p t u r e d on 18 Augus t , a l o n e and hungry.

In r e s i s t i n g c a p t u r e , a b u l l e t s l i g h t l y i n j u r e d h i s l e f t f o r e

arm.

The r e l e a s e o f p r i s o n e r s

Everyone I spoke t o , i n c l u d i n g fo rmer p r i s o n e r s , o f f i c i a l s

and o r d i n a r y c i t i z e n s , a s s u r e d me t h a t a l l p o l i t i c a l p r i s o n e r s

were f r e e d immed ia t e ly a f t e r t h e m i l i t a r y coup d ' e t a t o f 3

Augus t . They d i d n o t even w a i t t o promulga t e an amnes ty l aw,

probab ly because t h e p r i s o n e r s had n o t been t r i e d o r even

i n d i c t e d . I was n o t t o l d o f any p o l i t i c a l opponen t s be ing

a r r e s t e d , e x c e p t fo ra

s c o r e o r so o f per sons d i r e c t l y a s s o c i a t e dw i t h t h e o u s t e d gove rnmen t , a s w e l l a s p e r s o n s accused o f

t o r t u r e , i l l - t r e a t m e n t o f p r i s o n e r s , murder o r embezz lement o f

p u b l i c funds .

I was in formed t h a t t h e P e o p l e ' s Revo lu t iona ry M i l i t i a

(Youth on th e March w i t h Macias ) was d i sbanded and i t i s b e l i e v e d

t h a t most o f i t s members who remained w i t h Mac{as d u r i n g t h e

f i r s t few days a f t e r 3 Augus t succeeded i n c r o s s i n g i n t o Gabon.



- 2 1 -

Dur ing my s t a y in Malabo, I f e l t above a l l t h a t th e a tmos

phe re was one o f f r e e d o m w i t h a t l e a s t no v i s i b l e form o f r e p r e s

s i o n . The p e o p l e t a l k e d a n i m a t e d l y on a l l s o r t s o f s u b j e c t s ,

w i t h o u t c o n s t r a i n t , and were conv inced t h a t a t e r r i b l e c h a p t e r

in t h e i r l i v e s had c l o s e d . T he r e seemed t o be a g e n e r a l

d e s i r e t o c o n t r i b u t e t o th e r e c o ~ r u c t i o no f t h e c o u n t r y, t o

p u t th e economy and p u b l i c a d m i n i s t r a t i o n i n t o working o r d e r

a g a i n and t o o b t a i n th e en joyment o f fundamenta l r i g h t s w i t h o u t

any e x c e p t i o n . The r equ i r emen t s l a i d down by th e government

fo r th e r e t u r n o f p o l i t i c a l e x i l e s t o th e c o u n t r y have been

ment ioned . An impor t an t s t e p t o f a c i l i t a t e t h e i r r e t u r n was

t aken on 11 Octobe r 1979 wi th t h e announcement by th e Supreme

M i l i t a r y C o u n c i l t h a t a g e n e r a l anmes ty would app ly t o a l l

r e f u g e e s wh o had l e f t th e c o u n t r y a f t e r 1968.

Although t r a n s p o r t problems made i t i m p o s s i b l e f o r me t o

t r a v e l t o B a t a and R io Muni , f rom a l l I was t o l d by Guineans

t h e m s e l v e s , by a number o f f o r e i g n j o u r n a l i s t s who had a t t e n d e d

th e t r i a l and had been in t h a t a r e a , as w e l l as by members o f

th e d i p l o m a t i c corps s t a t i o n e d in Malabo, th e s i t u a t i o n in

o t h e r p a r t s o fth e c o u n t r y

wasno b e t t e r than in

Malaboand

th e main problems I have o u t l i n e d were t o be found t h e r e as w e l l .

V. THE TRIAL

On 5 September, th e Supreme M i l i t a r y Counc i l dec ided t o

convene a S p e c i a l M i l i t a r y Tr i b u n a l whose on ly and e x p r e s s

f u n c t i o n was t o t r y th e deposed d i c t a t o r and s e v e r a l o f h i sc l o s e c o l l a b o r a t o r s f o r c r imes commit ted between 5 March 1969

and 18 Augus t 1979 .

On 24 September 1979 t h e p u b l i c t r i a l began , in th e M a r f i l

c inema o f th e town o f Malabo, o f :

1 . F r a n c i s c o Macia s , fo rmer P r e s i d e n t - f o r - l i f e and

Head o f S t a t e ;



• U ·

*• ~ - ~ ~ ~ tNlu•, 1 s u l d i e r , who had ac ted a s p r i s o n gua rd

In the MonQomo g a o l , A f t e r one o f t h e p r i s o n e r s

• • c a ~ J e d ,he was demoted by Mac.las from second l i e u t e n -

a n t t o p r i v a t e s o l d i e r ;

3. S a l v a d o r Ondo E l a , an army s e r g e a n t , a l s o a p r i s o n

guard* in t h e Bata p u b l i c g a o l , and l a t e r in cha rge

o f Blackbeach p r i s o n a t Malabo;

4. F o r t u n a t e Nsogo, an army c o r p o r a l , f i r s t c l a s s , a n d

p r i s o n guard* a t t h e Bata p u b l i c g a o l ;

s. Eduardo Nguema Edu, an army s e r g e a n t . C h i e f o f

Mac.las ' p e r s o n a l body g u a r d ;

6 . Miguel Eyegue, former C i v i l Governor o f t h e Prov ince

o f R io Muni, and l a t e r Vi c e - P r e s i d e n t o f t h e Repub l i c ;

7 . Bienven ido Micha Nsue , an army l i e u t e n a n t . Commanding

t h e p e r s o n a l bodyguard o f Macias , o f whom he was a

nephew. D i r e c t o r o f th e M i l i t a r y Academy;

B. N o r b e r t o Nsue Micha , former D i r e c t o r - G e n e r a l o f

S e c u r i t y ;

9 . A l b e r t a Ndongo Ayang, a government o f f i c i a l and l a t e r

C i v i l Governor o f t h e Prov ince o f Rio Muni;

1 0 . Roman Mba Edu, a s o l d i e r ;

1 1 . Tob.las Nvulu , a s o l d i e r .

At B a , m . , which was t h e t ime f ixed fo r the s t a r t o f

p r o c e e d i n g s , a long queue o f p e o p l e anx ious t o e n t e r t h e M a r f i l

cinema had a l r e a d y fo rmed. Once t h e c inema had been f i l l e d

( i t he ld abou t 500 p e o p l e ) , t housands o f Guineans fo l lowed t h e

p r o c e e d i n g s from th e s t r e e t by means o f l o u d s p e a k e r s which

broadcas t the p r o c e e d i n g s from t h e h a l l i n S p a n i s h , fo l lowed a t

i n t e r v a l s by a summary in Fang. The same p a t t e r n o f e v e n t s

was r e p e a t e d e v e r y day d u r i n g t h e t r i a l . The f i r s t rows i n s i d e

th e h a l l were r e s e r v e d fo r members o f th e d i p l o m a t i c c o r p s

a c c r e d i t e d t o Malabo (about 30 ) and I was a l s o a l l o t t e d a s e a t

among them. On one s i d e t h e r e wa s a s p a c e r e se rved for f o r e i g n

* These g u a r d s superv i sed p r i s o n e r s t o and from nnd o ~ t t h e i rp l a c e s o f work and were known as "prinonc-rn " 'H ' " r l : : " .



- 2 3 -

j o u r n a l i s t s and na t iona l rad io commentators . They were allowed

to take f i lms and photographs o f th e opening o f the proceedings ,

but once th e t r i a l proper began, no cameras ( inc lud ing movie

and TV cameras) were permi t ted . The secu r i t y measures taken

were thorough but not excess ive .

At 9 a.m. members o f th e Tr ibuna l , the defence counsel

and prosecutor ar r ived a t th e h a l l , an d a t 9.30 a.m. Macias

en te red , escor ted by two male nurses an d a m i l i t a r y guard .

The o t h e r defendan t s were led in almost immediately af te rwards .

They a l l looked wel l , including Macias who had a bandage round

a wound on h is forearm. Although I was not ab le to t a lk t o

th e accused in p r i v a t e , from th e a t t i t u d e of t h e i r lawyers and

from what I was to ld by a Norwegian t e l ev i s ion cor responden twho had v i s i t e d and f i lmed Macias a few days before in Blackbeach

p r i son , I gained the impress ion t h a t they ha d a l l been wel l

t r ea t ed and had n ot t e s t i f i e d under du re s s .

The Spec ia l Mil i t a ry Tr ibuna l

There weref ive members of the Tr ibunal

( th reemi l i t a rymen and two c i v i l i a n s ) , and care had been taken to ensure t h a t

the two main e thn i c groups , th e Fangs and Bubis , were equi tab ly

represented on i t . They were:-

Chairman - Capta in of the Na t iona l Guard Eulogio Oy6 Rechesa

(Bubi) and Mil i t a ry Governor of the Province o f

Bioko.

MemberMemberMember

Member

- L i e u t e n a n t o f th e Nat iona l Guard (Fang).- Lieu tenan t o f th e Nat iona l Guard (Fang) •- Luis Maho Sikacha (a c i v i l i a n lawyer, Bubi) . He

had been imprisoned by Macias ' o rde r s in Malabo gao l

an d was one of th e few surv ivors o f the group o f

46 c i t i z e n s of Equa to r i a l Guinea who had taken p a r t

in th e Madrid C o n s t i t u t i o n a l Conference o f 1 9 6 7 - 6 8 ,

held to prepare fo r independence an d to d r a f t the

f i r s t C o n s t i t u t i o n .- a c i v i l i a n lawyer.



ut t tcw ut Utt IU.!!l!. rwuyyterH•pr• . . . nt••' hv J o l t Lui1 Jones Dougan, a c i v i l i a n

l•wv•r I n ~ na t ive o t Malabo (Bubit . Two years

•• r l ler he had been imprisoned in Malabo, and had

he•n re leased a f t e r the m i l i t a r y coup d ' e t a t o f3 ~ u g u s t . He came from a well-known family, andh is unc le , who was a surv ivor of the group which

had at tended the Cons t i t u t i ona l Conference o f

Madrid, had been over two years in pr i son onp o l i t i c a l grounds .

Defence counse l

for Francisco Mac{as: Eloy Elo Nve Mbengono, ac i v i l i a n lawyer from the Province o f Rio Muni (Fang).

for the o the r defendan ts : Alfredo Thomas King,

nota ry pub l i c . A c i v i l i a n and na t ive o f Malabo

(Bubi) . He had been imprisoned t h r ee t imes onp o l i t i c a l grounds .

At the opening o f th e proceed ings , the Chairman o f the

Tr ibuna l s t a t e d (and h is words were no t chal lenged) t h a t Mac{ashad been allowed t o choose h is defence counse l , who could be

a na t iona l o f Equator ia l Guinea or a fo r e igne r, but he had notexerc i sed h is r i g h t to do so and the Tr ibuna l i t s e l f had appointed

counse l . Mr Eloy Elo Nve obviously defended him as convincingly

as poss ib l e an d made use of a l l the p o s s i b i l i t i e s offe red t o

him in the t r i a l . His task was, o f course , a d i f f i c u l t and

unpopular one, s ince many people , being unfamil iar with theworkings o f j u s t i c e , no doubt f a i l ed t o r e a l i s e t h a t he wasdoing h is duty an d t h a t h i s was an e s s e n t i a l funct ion i f i t wasto be sa id t h a t j u s t i c e had been done.

Mil i t a ry Examining I - iagis t ra te A Captain of the Nat iona l Guard.

The case was given the number 1/979 , and ca tegor ized as a"summary m i l i t a r y t r i a l " . i n accordance with the Spanish Code o f

Mil i t a ry J u s t i c e . The Mil i t a ry ExamininqM < ~ q i s t r a t e

proceededto read out the f i l e o f the eaRl' , wh I c:h hm I I ••·•·n opened on



-25-

18 August . I t was a comprehensive r e co rd , con ta in ing s ta tements

by the accused, the tes t imony of a l a rge number of wi tne s se s ,wr i t t en documents, r epo r t s on p h y s i c a l evidence an d f i n a n c i a laccoun t s .

When t h i s had been concluded, th e ind ic tment was read

o u t , v i z . : (The fo l lowing i s n o t a t ex tua l copy. )

"The Deputy Minis te r o f th e Peop l e ' s Army, Lieu t enan t

Colonel Teodoro Obiang Nguema:In view o f the mani fes t i n a b i l i t y o f th e Pres iden t of the

Republic an d Head o f S t a t e to assume r e s p o n s i b i l i t y in an

honourable and d i g n i f i e d fash ion fo r the des t i ny of Equa to r i a lGuinea;

In view o f h i s abandonment of the c a p i t a l fo r more than

f ive yea r s , the reby pa ra ly s ing th e economy;

In view o f th e i n t e r n a t i o n a l p o l i t i c a l and dip lomat ici s o l a t i o n brought about by th e d i c t a t o r i a l r e g i m e ~

The Armed Forces , consc ious o f t h e i r g r e a t and h i s t o r i c

miss ion, es t ab l i shed a Supreme Mil i t a ry Counc i l , which reso lved

to assume power andto

shou lder the r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e so f

govern

ment;

Consider ing t h a t th e Council fo r thwi th informed Franc i sco

Macias Nguema o f h is removal from o f f i c e , and assured him t h a t

he and h is family would be given guaran tees and had nothing

to f e a r ;

Consider ing t h a t Macias refused to accep t t h e i r dec i s ion ,an d mobi l ized h is t roops aga in s t th e government, thereby

i n i t i a t i n g a c i v i l war;Consider ing t h a t Franc i sco Macias , dur ing h i s term of

o f f i c e , had launched a v i o l e n t campaign aga in s t a l l those he

cons ide red to be h is p o l i t i c a l adve r sa r i e s , aga in s t th e

i n t e l l e c t u a l and economic e l i t e an d aga in s t people o f high

s tand ing ( d i g n i t a r i e s ) ;

Consider ing t h a t t h i s led to many dea th s , which took place

on h i s o r d e r s :



- 2 6 -

1'u1111 lt1nr ing t h a t he o b t a i n e d p e r s o n a l g a i n by n e u t r a l i s i n g

l '" ' ' 'k lnq n c t i v i t i e s and t r a n s f e r r i n g t h e N a t i o n a l Tr e a s u r y t o

11111 n u t i v e town1

C o n s i d e r i n g t h a t no d i s t i n c t i o n o r s e p a r a t i o n was made

be tween h i s p e r s o n a l a s s e t s and t h e N a t i o n a l Tr e a s u r y and t h a t

he was c o n s e q u e n t l y a b l e t o draw on t h e f i n a n c i a l r e s o u r c e s o f

t h e n a t i o n t o f i n a n c e works o f p e r s o n a l b e n e f i t t o h imse l f1

C o n s i d e r i n g t h a t he o r d e r e d t h e v i l l a g e s o f Jangze i n t h e

d i s t r i c t o f Mbin i , and o f Melen in t h e d i s t r i c t o f Mongomo

t o be b u r n t , c o n f i s c a t i n g t h e p o s s e s s i o n s o f t h e i n h a b i t a n t s

and i m p r i s o n i n g them;

C o n s i d e r i n g t h a t numerous p u b l i c o f f i c i a l s , p r o t e c t e d by

S t a t u t e , were d i s m i s s e d w i t h o u t due c a u s e ;

(1 ) Wi t h o u t p r e j u d i c e t o p o s s i b l e r e c t i f i c a t i o n , t h e s e

f a c t s s h o u l d be d e s i g n a t e d as c o n t i n u e d and r e p e a t e d c r i m e s o f

g e n o c i d e , mass murde r, embezz lement o f p u b l i c f u n d s , damage t o

p r o p e r t y , s y s t e m a t i c v i o l a t i o n o f human r i g h t s , and t r e a s o n ;

t h a t such a c t s a r e cove red by a r t . 406 , no . 1 , in r e l a t i o n t o

p a r a . 2 , and a r t . 14 o f t h e Ord ina ry Pena l Code (o f Spain) 1

a r t . 25 8 o f t h e Code o f M i l i t a r y J u s t i c e (Spa in) and a r t s . 394,

p a r a . 4 , 3 9 6 and 55 8 o f t h e Ord ina ry P e n a l Code ( S p a i n ) ; t h e

Uni ted N a t i o n s Conven t ion on t h e P r e v e n t i o n and Punishment o f

th e Crime o f Genoc ide ; and t h e U n i v e r s a l D e c l a r a t i o n o f Human

R i g h t s ;

(2 ) Tha t t h e f o l l o w i n g shou ld answer fo r t h e s e : F r a n c i s c o

Macias , a s t h e p r i n c i p a l o f f e n d e r , and , as a c c o m p l i c e s , . • • ( a l l

t h e o t h e r a c c u s e d ) ;

(3 ) C o n s i d e r i n g t h a t t h e y a r e commit ted fo r t r i a l u n d e r

a r t . 55 3 o f t h e Code o f M i l i t a r y J u s t i c e (o f S p a i n ) )(4 ) C o n s i d e r i n g t h a t , u n de r a r t s . 67 3 e t s e q . o f t h e Code

o f M i l i t a r y J u s t i c e , t h e accused s h a l l remain i n p r e v e n t i v e

d e t e n t i o n d u r i n g t h e t r i a l 1

Hereby i n d i c t s • • • • ( the accused a r e he re named) in a c c o r -

dance w i t h t h e Span i sh Code o f M i l i t a r y J u s t i c e , which i s i n

f o r c e i n th e c o u n t r y.

They s h a l l be in formed o f t h e le<Jnl g u a r a n t e e s and o t h e r

r i g h t s t o which t hey a r e · e n t i t l e d " .



(The t e x t h as been r e c o n s t r u c t e d from n o t e s t aken by th e o b s e r v e r .

I t was n o t p o s s i b l e t o o b t a i n a copy o f t h e i n d i c t m e n t . )

The Examin ing M a g i s t r a t e conc luded t h e f i r s t s t a g e o f th e

t r i a l by r e a d i n g o u t h i s r e p o r t .

* * *

Dur ing t h e t r i a l , a l l t h e accused made s t a t e m e n t s on s e v e r a l

o c c a s i o n s and a number o f c o n f r o n t a t i o n s wi th w i t n e s s e s took

p l a c e . Every o p p o r t u n i t y was g iven t o t h e d e f e n c e c o u n s e l and

p r o s e c u t o r t o q u e s t i o n them r e p e a t e d l y. One i n t e r e s t i n g a s p e c t

was t h a t from th e o u t s e t a l l Mac ia s ' c o l l a b o r a t o r s t r i e d t o l a y

a l l t h e blame on him, w h i l e Macias c l a imed t h a t i f anyone was t o

blame, i t was t hey a l o n e : " I was t h e Head o f S t a t e , I was n o ta p r i s o n gove rno r o r p r i s o n g u a r d " . T h i s was t h e l i n e a l s o

fo l lowed t o some e x t e n t by t h e two d e f e n c e c o u n s e l . Another

remarkable d e t a i l which demons t r a t e s t h a t t h e t r i a l fo l lowed

a r a t h e r u n u s u a l cour se was t h a t on v a r i o u s o c c a s i o n s , when one

o f th e accused den ied t h e c h a r g e s , t h e Tr i b u n a l asked whether

anyone a t t e n d i n g t h e t r i a l cou ld g i v e ev idence on t h e p a r t i c u l a r

p o i n t b e f o r e i t and was prepa red t o t e s t i f y i n c o u r t . Each

t ime i t d i d s o , s e v e r a l o f t h o s e p r e s e n t s t o o d up and gave

e v i d e n c e .The d e f e n c e c o u n s e l d id n o t o b j e c t t o t h a t form o f

procedu re and were a l l owed t o q u e s t i o n t h e w i t n e s s e s .

The c h a rg e s a g a i n s t Macias and h i s c o l l a b o r a t o r s can be«J rouped a s f o l l o w s :

(A) Genoc ide

(B) Mass Murder

(C) Embezzlement o f p u b l i c funds

(0 ) M a t e r i a l i n j u r y(P.) S y s t e m a t i c v i o l a t i o n s o f human r i g h t s

( I•') Tr e a s o n .

(/\) Genocide

As r e g a r d s t h e f i r s t c h a r g e , t h a t o f g e n o c i d e , bo th t h e



- 2 8 -

i n d i c t m e n t and t h e P r o s e c u t o r ' s c a s e were based on t h e Uni t ed

N11tions Conven t ion on t h e P r e v e n t i o n and Punishment o f t h e Crime

o r Genoc ide , adop ted on 9 December 1948 .

By A p r i l 1979 , 82 S t a t e s were p a r t i e s t o t h e Conven t ion .~ However, i t was neve r r a t i f i e d by E q u a t o r i a l G u i n e a , and t h i s

r a i s e s t h e f i r s t prob lem. Was t h e Con v e n t i o n a p p l i c a b l e i n

t h a t c o u n t r y ?

Whereas t h e Genocide Conven t ion d e c l a r e s g e n o c i d e t o be a

c r ime unde r i n t e r n a t i o n a l l aw, i t i s such a c r ime on ly when

commit ted i n a c o u n t r y which ha s r a t i f i e d or acceded t o th e

Conven t ion . I t i s t r u e t h a t in an o p i n i o n g i v e n on 28 May 1951

t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o u r t o f J u s t i c e s t a t e d * : " t h e p r i n c i p l e s

u n d e r l y i n g t h e Conven t ion a r e p r i n c i p l e s which a r e r e c o g n i s e d

by c i v i l i s e d n a t i o n s a s b i n d i n g on S t a t e s even w i t h o u t any

c o n v e n t i o n a l o b l i g a t i o n . " T h i s does n o t , however, make genoc ide

a p u n i s h a b l e c r ime whereve r i t has been commi t t ed . To be a

c r ime unde r i n t e r n a t i o n a l law i t mus t be commit ted i n t h e

t e r r i t o r y o f a c o u n t r y which i s a p a r t y t o t h e c o n v e n t i o n , and

t o be a c r ime unde r n a t i o n a l law i t must have been i n c o r p o r a t e d

d i r e c t l y o r i n d i r e c t l y i n t o t h e n a t i o n a l l aw.

In t h e i n d i c t m e n t t h e Defendan t s were cha rged wi th v a r i o u s

o f f e n c e s , i n c l u d i n g g e n o c i d e , under t h e Span i sh c i v i l and m i l i

t a r y c o d e s .

Genocide was f i r s t i n t r o d u c e d a s a c r i m e u n de r t h e Span i sh

P e n a l Code i n 1971 i n A r t i c l e 137 b i s , fo l lowing S p a i n ' s r a t i f ic a t i o n o f t h e Genocide Conven t ion . As has been e x p l a i n e d , t h e

1968 Independence C o n s t i t u t i o n · p r o v i d e d t h a t t h e l e g i s l a t i o n

in f o r c e a t t h e t ime o f i ndependence c o n t i n u e d i n f o r c e u n t i l

i t was r e p e a l e d o r modi f i ed by t h e compe ten t Guinean i n s t i t u t i o n s

*

I n t e r n a t i o n a l Law R e p o r t s , L a u t e r p a c h t , v o l . 36 , p p . 2 9 - 3 0 .



- 2 9 -

The 1973 C o n s t i t u t i o n , however, dec la red t ha t the Cons t i t u t i on

of 1968 was repealed in i t s e n t i r e t y. I t con ta ined no prov is ion

abou t the law in fo rce . No argument was ra i sed a t th e t r i a l

to s u g g e s t t h a t th e pre- independence spanish law was no longer

r e l evan t . Nor was the re an y discuss ion whether Spanish law

subsequent to independence was r e l e v a n t . I t appears to have

been assumed by th e prosecu tor and by th e t r i b u n a l t h a t i t wasr e l evan t , bu t i t i s d i f f i c u l t to see how t h i s can have been so .However, no argument was r a i s ed by th e defence to t h i s e f f e c t .

Art . 137 b is of the Spanish Penal Code de f ine s genocide as

rol lows ( in th e sec t i on on "Crimes a g a i n s t mankind" ( ius gen t ium)) ."A person who with i n t e n t to des t roy, in whole or in p a r t , an a t i o n a l , e thn ic , soc i a l or r e l i g i o u s group, commits an y o f the

fol lowing a c t s , s h a l l be punishab le :

l ) ty long- term imprisonment or dea th* , i f he causes the

death o f a member o f the g roup ;2) qy long- term imprisonment i f he should cause t h e i r

c a s t r a t i o n , s t e r i l i z a t i o n , mut i l a t i on or any s e r i ous

i n ju ry ;1) b¥ shor t - t e rm imprisonment i f he compels the group or any

of i t s members to l i v e in cond i t i ons which endanger t h e i r

l i ve s or se r ious ly impair t h e i r h e a l t h .

The same pena l ty s h a l l be incur red by those who forc ib ly

t r ans fe r th e group or i t s members, adopt any measure which

tends to make imposs ib le t h e i r way o f l i f e or t h e i r

reproduc t ion ; or fo r c ib ly t r a n s f e r i nd iv idua l s from one

group to another" .

During th e t r i a l th e Tr ibuna l mentioned a t f i r s t t h i s

I H t l c le 137 b i s , bu t t h e r e a f t e r re fe rence was always made to

Ita" In t e rna t iona l Convention aga in s t Genocide, withou t any

lllt'fllment as t o how i t was t o be regarded as a p p l i c a b l e , bear ing

• ' l 'he dea th pena l ty was abol ished in Spain by th e 1978 Cons t i t u -

1 i o n , e x c e p t under Mil i t a ry Penal Law in t imes of war.



- 3 0 -

111 mind t h a t t h i s Convention had not been r a t i f i e d or accededt (I by Equator ia l Guinea .

The j u r i d i c a l crime of genocide was of ~ P e c i a li n t e r e s t .

The f i r s t t ime in the h i s t o r y of pena l law t h a t genocide wasmentioned in a cr imina l indic tment was in the t r i a l of Nazi

war c r imina l s by the I n t e r n a t i o n a l Mil i ta ry Tr ibuna l o f

Nuremburg, by the na t iona l cou r t s o f coun t r i e s which had been

occupied by the Nazis ,and by th e I n t e r n a t i o n a l Mil i t a ry Tr ibuna l

for the Far Eas t* . Repeated re fe rences were made t o genocide

in th e sen tences passed by the Tr ibuna l s . This was, of co u r s e ,

p r i o r to th e 1948 Convention.

The o the r known preceden t i s the t r i a l of Adolf Eichmann,

the notor ious Nazi o f f i c i a l , who was t r i e d by th e Jerusalem

D i s t r i c t Court and subsequent ly appealed to th e Supreme Court

of I s r a e l (judgments of 12 December 1961 and 29 May 1962) . In

h is case , I s r a e l i la w No. 5710 of 1950 was app l i ed , which

sanc t ions cr imes "aga ins t the Jewish people" in s imi l a r terms

to th e d e f i n i t i o n of genocide given in a r t . I I of th e Convention

The elements o f genocide are c l e a r l y def ined in theGenocid.e Convention. Under A r t i c l e I I genocide and ac t s of

genocide are def ined a s :" (a ) k i l l i ~ gmembers of th e g r o u p ~

(b) caus ing bodi ly or mental harm to th e membersof the g r o u p ~

(c) d e l i b e r a t e l y i n f l i c t i n g on th e group condi t ions o f

l i f e ca l cu l a t ed to br ing about i t s phys i ca l des t ruc -t i on in whole or in p a r t ~

(d) imposing measures in tended to preven t b i r t h s with in

the g r o u p ~

(e) f o r c i b l y t r a n s f e r r i n g ch i ld ren of th e group to another

group."

* See the S t a t u t e s of the Nuremburg In t e rna t iona l Mil i t a ry T r ibunal o f 8 August 1945, of th e I n t e r n a t i o n a l Mil i t a ry Tribuna

fo r th e Far Eas t o f . l 9 January 1946, and th e t r i a l s held in1946, 1947 and 1948.



- 31 -

But th e ac t s descr ibed w i l l n o t c o n s t i t u t e genocide unless they

are committed "wi th i n t e n t t o d e s t r o y, in whole or in p a r t ,

a na t iona l , e t h n i c a l , r a c i a l or r e l i g i o u s group, as such" . Thesame app l i e s t o the offences o f "consp i racy to commit genocide" ,

" d i r e c t and pub l i c inc i t ement" , "a t temp to commit genocide" and

"compl ic i ty" ( a r t . I I I ) . I f th e s p e c i f i c sub j ec t i ve element ,

the dolus s p e c i a l i s (pa r t i cu l a r i n t en t ) i s d i s r ega rded , i t i s

imposs ib le to d i s t i ngu i sh genocide from ord inary or even mul t ip lehomicide ( these remarks a l so apply to the conduct descr ibed in

a r t . 137 h is o f the Spanish Penal Code).

In h is f i r s t expos i t ion in the Malabo t r i a l , th e Publ ic

Prosecutor poin ted ou t t h a t i t was n o t he bu t " the people o fEqua tor ia l Guinea which ha d c r i ed ou t aga ins t the regime of

Macias", an express ion he was to r epea t on many occas ions .

He sa id t h a t they were dea l ing with a h i s t o r i c ca se , as they

were t ry ing th e person who represen ted a persona l i sed regime

and who was g u i l t y o f many cr imes : unl ike the Nuremburg and other~ e r l i e rt r i a l s , i t was now the person pr imar i ly respons ib le

who was being judged, an d he invoked the Convention aga in s tGenocide.

I t i s my opin ion , from th e evidence brought in the t r i a l ,

t h a t even i f th e charge o f genocide was l e g a l l y v a l i d , th e >.-charge was n o t proved. Numerous and hor r i fy ing murders o f

p o l i t i c a l pr i sone r s and opponents were proved, but no t genocide .I have the impress ion t h a t the word "genocide and mass murder"

were used synonymously. At no time d id the Prosecu to r or th e

Tribunal a t t empt to def ine the o ffence of genocide as i t hasbeen def ined in th e Convention or in spanish law, or exp la in

or at tempt to e s t a b l i s h th e d i f f e r e n t elements which c o n s t i t u t e

h is crime. I wa s su rp r i s ed t h a t defence counsel a l so f a i l e d

t o exp la in the elements o f the offence or to show t h a t theyh < ~ dnot been proved.

Th e " i n t e n t to des t roy" was no t proved in the t r i a l .

N ~ > rwas i t proved - an d no a t t empt was made to do so - t h a t' ' " ' vic t ims belonged t o a na t iona l , e thn i c , r a c i a l or r e l i g ious



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PREFACE

A few days before th e t r i a l o f Ex-Pres iden t Macfas took

place in Equ a t o r i a l Guinea a t th e end o f September, 1979, the X

In te rna t iona l Commission o f J u r i s t s was i nv i t ed by th e l eader

of the coup which overthrew him, L t . - C o l o n e l Teodoro Obiang

Nguema, in the name of the Supreme M i l i t a r y Counci l , to send

an Observer to the t r i a l . Simi la r i n v i t a t i o n s were extended

to the United Nations Div i s ion o f Human Rights and to AmnestyI n t e r n a t i o n a l , n e i t h e r of whom s en t obse rve r s .

The In t e rna t iona l Commission of J u r i s t s was f o r t una t e in

having a v a i l a b l e i t s l e g a l o f f i c e r fo r span i sh -speak ing c o u n t r i e s ~

Dr Alejandro Artuc io , a Uruguayan lawyer. Dr Artuc io i s fami l -

i a r with the Spanish system o f law under which the accused were

t r i e d , an d in h is work a t th e I n t e r n a t i o n a l Commission o f J u r i s t s

he had been fo l lowing events in Equator ia l Guinea for some y ea r s .

Accordingly, he had a good knowledge of th e ci rcumstances pre

va i l i ng in the country dur ing th e eleven years o f Mac{as' r u l e .

On Dr A r t u c i o ' s re turr i an immediate pre s s r e l ea se wasissued commenting b r i e f l y upon; the dec i s i on o f the Spec ia lMi l i t a ry Tr ibuna l . A copy wil·l. be found in the Appendix.

This press r e l ea se was somewhat inadequa te ly repor ted in most

of the i n t e r n a t i o n a l pre s s , s t a t i n g merely t h a t the obse rver

considered t h a t Macias had had a f a i r t r i a l . As appears both

from the press r e l ea se and, in more d e t a i l from t h i s f u l l e r

r epo r t , Dr Artuc io l e v e l l e d a number of c r i t i c i s m s aga in s t the

proceedings , including the f a c t t h a t so few o f those respons ib le >

for the regime o f t e r r o r were being brought to t r i a l . He does ,

however, say t h a t having regard to the chao t i c condi t ionspreva i l ing in the country an d th e complete absence fo r s eve ra l ; .

years of any j u d i c i a l system, th e t r i a l g iven t o Macfas and h iseo-accused was reasonably f a i r . Moreover, th e g u i l t o f the

Jccused on a number of th e charges , inc lud ing mass murder, wa s

<·learly. e s t a b l i s h e d .



-32-

group. What d id emerge c l e a r l y was t h a t the regime o f Macias

a t tacked i t s p o l i t i c a l opponents , but although the persecu t ionan d des t ruc t ion of p o l i t i c a l adve r sa r i e s i s as revol t ing a crim

as genoc ide , i t i s no t the same. This quest ion was discussed

a t length in the General Assembly Six th Committee, when the texof the Convention was under cons ide ra t i on , and i t was even tua l l

dec ided , a f t e r weighing a l l the pros and cons , not to include

p o l i t i c a l groups among those pro tec ted by the Convention.

In commenting on t h i s aspec t , th e I n t e r n a t i o n a l Commission

of J u r i s t s recommended in January 1973 t ha t " the d e f i n i t i o n of

genocide should be expanded to inc lude ac t s committed with the

i n t e n t to des t roy, in whole or in p a r t , a p o l i t i c a l group as

such as wel l as n a t i o n a l , e thn ic , r a c i a l and re l ig ious groups .

The massacre o f unarmed p o l i t i c a l adversar ies i s j u s t as c r imi - ,n a l as th e massacre of these o ther groups , and should be recog

nised as such".*

B. Mass murder

As a l ready s t a t ed in r e l a t i o n to genocide , the terms

"mass· murder" and "genocide" were in te rchangeab le throughout

the t r i a l . Both crimes were taken to mean the same t h ing .I have, however, explained the d i f f e r ences between them.

During the prel iminary i nqu i r i e s pr io r to the t r i a l , al i s t was drawn up of 441 c i t i z e n s of Equa tor ia l Guinea who had

been as sa s s ina t ed by the regime. In the course o f the t r i a l ,

ano ther 33 cases were added, bringing the t o t a l up to 474.From the o u t s e t , the Chairman of the Tr ibuna l made i t c l e a r t h a t

th e l i s t was merely i n d i c a t i v e , s ince the ac tua l number o fpersons who had been k i l l e d as a r e s u l t of th e p o l i t i c a l r ep re s

s ion was fa r higher.

* For the ques t ion of genocide gene ra l l y, see the "Study on th eques t ion o f the p reven t ion and punishment of the crime ofgenocide" , (E/CN.4/Sub.2/416), Ju ly 1978, by Mr NicodemeRuhashyankiko, Spec ia t Rapporteur o f the United Nations SubCommission on the Prevent ion o f Discr imina t ion an d Protec t iono f Minor i t i e s .



- 3 3 -

Near ly a l l t h e v i c t i m s were p e r s o n s who e i t h e r had b e e n , o r

were s u s p e c t e d o f hav ing b e e n , p o l i t i c a l opponen t s o f H a c i a s .As s t a t e d a t t h e beg inn ing o f t h i s r e p o r t , a l l such p e o p l e were

1lescr ibed by t h e p r e v i o u s g o v e r n m e n t a s s u b v e r s i v e s , c o l o n i a l i s t s

o r c o n s p i r a t o r s . The names on t h e l i s t - many o f which were

read o u t by t h e M i l i t a r y Examining M a g i s t r a t e - i n c l u d e d t h o s e

o f fo rmer M i n i s t e r s o f S t a t e , o n e - t i m e members o f t h e f i r s t

N a t i o n a l L e g i s l a t i v e Assembly, and p e o p l e who had p a r t i c i p a t e d

ln th e C o n s t i t u t i o n a l Confe rence o f Madr id .

From t h e t e s t i m o n y o f t h e a c c u s e d , t h e c o n f r o n t a t i o n s which

took p l a c e i n c o u r t and t h e e v i d e n c e g i v e n by o t h e r w i t n e s s e s ,

l t was p o s s i b l e t o prove many c a s e s o f v i o l e n t d e a t h and a l s o

l o e s t a b l i s h some g e n e r a l f a c t s :

t h e p r e t e x t fo r t h e f i r s t mass l i q u i d a t i o n o f p o l i t i c a l

opponen t s was t h e u n s u c c e s s f u l a t t e m p t a t a coup d ' e t a t

a g a i n s t Macias (5 Februa ry 1 9 6 9 ) , who was t hen C o n s t i t u

t i o n a l P r e s i d e n t ;

t h e m a j o r i t y o f d e a t h s o c c u r r e d among t h e p o l i t i c a l

p r i s o n e r s , and e s p e c i a l l y t h o s e i n Br igade A ( see p . l O ) ,

in t h e g a o l s o f B a t a , Mongomo and Malabo ( B l a c k b e a c h ) ;

most o f them d i e d from blows and i l l - t r e a t m e n t d u r i n g

f o r c e d l a b o u r , whi l e o t h e r s d i e d in t h e g a o l s t h e m s e l v e s .

They were h i t wi th mache te s , s t i c k s and whips u n t i l t hey

d i e d , o r d e a t h somet imes supe rvened n r l a c k o f s u b s e q u e n t

m e d i c a l a t t e n t i o n . A m i n o r i t y were s h o t a t n i g h t , a f t e rbe ing removed from p r i s o n . Most o f t h e b o d i e s were

b u r i e d i n t h e j u n g l e and t h e i r f a m i l i e s were n o t

in formed o f t h e i r d e a t h s ;

In g e n e r a l , t h e d e a t h s were a d i r e c t s e q u e l t o v i s i t s

o f i n s p e c t i o n by Macia s , accompanied by h i s p e r s o n a l

bodygua rd , t o g a o l s and p r i s o n camps o r fo rced l a b o u r

camps . There was a lways a c o i n c i d e n c e o f t im ing be tween



-34-

h is v i s i t s an d dea ths which took place e i t h e r the sameday or very sho r t ly a f t e rwards , and when· there were no

dea ths fo r a long pe r iod , i t was observed t h a t Macfas

had no t v i s i t e d the p r i son or labour camp in ques t ion ;

c e r t a i n words of Macias during h is v i s i t s of inspec t ionwere r e c a l l e d : " I have no s o l d i e r s s t rong enough torid me o f my p o l i t i c a l enemies" , " i f my son were old

enough, he would g e t r i d o f them • • . " , "you t r e a t these

pr i sone r s too wel l ; why d o n ' t you f i n i sh them off?" ;

the fo l lowing are some of the i nc iden t s which were proved

in the t r i a l (1) one o f the "esco r t s o f p o l i t i c a l

pr i sone r s " from Bata gaol confessed t h a t 8 o f th e

pr i sone r s had died in one day from i l l - t r e a t m e n t ;

(2) a f t e r a v i s i t by Macias t o a forced labour camp,

where t he re had been 40 persons de ta ined a f t e r re tu rn ingfrom Gabon, 5 were taken from the gao l t ha t n i g h t an d

sho t in the jung le by members o f Macfas ' persona lb o d y g u a r ~ ;(3 ) 17 pr i sone r s were k i l l e d in th e Malabo

gaol in the space o f a few months; (4) dozens of

pr i sone r s in the Bata gao l were k i l l e d in one day, onth e grounds t h a t a p l o t to escape had been discovered ;

(5) 8 persons were as sa s s ina t ed by t roops hidden on

th e roads l ~ a d i n gt o Gabon, in o rder to s top people

f l e e ing to other coun t r i e s ;

Macfas was kept f u l l y informed by the p r i son governors ,

the l o c a l r ep re sen t a t i ve s o f the c e n t r a l government andthe c i v i l i a n prov inc i a l Governors, on an almost da i lyb a s i s , ~ f each pr i sone r who died in gaol or as a r e s u l t

o f forced l abour ;

during th e 11 years h i s government remained in power,

no members of the armed fo r ce s , po l i ce or m i l i t i a were

ever t r i e d for the dea th of p r i sone r s J



- 3 5 -

one o f t h e accused c l a imed t h a t Macias had g iven him

v e r b a l o r d e r s t o l i q u i d a t e c e r t a i n p r i s o n e r s , wher e a s

Macias a s s e r t e d t h a t he had neve r g iven v e r b a l o r d e r s

and t h a t t h e p e r s o n i n q u e s t i o n had a lways r e c e i v e d h i s

o r d e r s i n w r i t i n g . A p a r t f rom th e f a c t t h a t numerous

w i t n e s s e s t e s t i f i e d t h a t Macias a l w a y s g a v e h i s o r d e r s

by word o f mouth and o n l y r a r e l y i n w r i t i n g , t h e r e c i p i e n t

o f t h e p a r t i c u l a r o r d e r o f l i q u i d a t i o n i n q u e s t i o n , wh o

was t h e gove rno r o f a p r i s o n , e v e n t u a l l y c o n f e s s e d t h a t

he c o u l d n e i t h e r r ead o r w r i t e and t h a t t h e r e were no

p r i s o n r e g u l a t i o n s o r a n y t h i n g r emo te ly r e sembl ing them:

th e main p e r s o n s r e s p o n s i b l e fo r t h e r e p e a t e d and m u l t i p l e

m u r d e r s were t h e Head o f S t a t e , th e p r i s o n g o v e r n o r s ,

th e e s c o r t s o f p o l i t i c a l p r i s o n e r s , t h e o f f i c e r s and

p r i v a t e s i n r- tacias ' p e r s o n a l bodyguard and t h e m i l i t i a

o f Youth on t h e March . Those p r e s e n t a t t h e t r i a l were

F r a n c i s c o M a c i a s , P a s t o r N sue , Sa lvado r Ondo E l a , F o r t u n a t o

Nsogo , Eduardo Nguema Edu and Bienven ido Micha Nsue .

In c o n c l u s i o n , in my o p i n i o n s u f f i c i e n t and c o n v i n c i n g p r o o f

wno g iven i n t h e c o u r s e o f t h e t r i a l o f t h e o c c u r r e n c e o f a

l n rye number o f p o l i t i c a l a s s a s s i n a t i o n s and o f t h e i d e n t i t y o f

11ome o f t h e p r i n c i p a l p a r t i e s r e s p o n s i b l e fo r them, i n c l u d i n g

the Defendan t s •

• t ' ) Embezz lement o f p u b l i c f u nds

Thi swas

o n eo f t h e

c h a rg e s t h a twas

proved m o s tc o n c l u s i v e l y,

Atlll i t occup ied a c o n s i d e r a b l e p a r t o f th e t r i a l , a s t h e T r i b u n a l

"'i'l '<'ared t o a t t a c h s p e c i a l impor t ance t o i t . S t a t e m e n t s by

llllmProus w i t n e s s e s were h e a r d , i n c l u d i n g o f f i c i a l s from t h e

M 11 i s t r y o f Economic A f f a i r s and Finance and from t h e P e o p l e ' s

11n11k o f t h e R e p u b l i c , who con f i rmed t h e s t a t e m e n t s a l r e a d y

l l l · l d P d u r i n g t h e p r e l i m i n a r y i n v e s t i g a t i o n and r e p l i e s t o ne w

' i l l• · : : t ions p u t by t h e T r i b u n a l , t h e P r o s e c u t o r and t h e Def en c e .

'1'•··:1 imony was a l s o g i v e n by members o f t h e Commission fo r t h e' ' " . 1. o : ~ c o f Produce from t h e S t a t e P l a n t a t i o n s (cocoa and c o f f e e )



- 3 6 -

and by managers o f th e S t a t e Trad ing P o s t s ( s t o r e s ) . F i n a n c i a

r e p o r t s and a u d i t s conce rn ing t h e bank accoun t s he ld by Macias

and h i s f ami ly were r ead o u t , a s w e l l a s r e p o r t s on s a l a r i e s

pa id t o th e fo rmer Head o f S t a t e , r e p o r t s on c r a n s f e r s o f money

abroad and s t a t e m e n t s on f o r e i g n t r a v e l . S t a t e m e n t s were a l s o .

hea rd by th e p r i n c i p a l d e f e n d a n t and by two o f h i s e o - d e f e n d a n t

wh o had been C i v i l Governors o f t h e Prov ince o f R io Huni and on

o f them had a l s o been Vi c e - P r e s i d e n t o f th e R e p u b l i c . The

accused were e x t e n s i v e l y c r o s s - q u e s t i o n e d by members o f t h e

T r i b u n a l , by th e P r o s e c u t o r and by t h e i r own c o u n s e l , and a

number o f documents t h a t had n o t formed p a r t o f th e p r e l i m i n a r y ·

i n q u i r i e s w e r e added t o th e r e c o r d s o f t h e c a s e .

I t seemed t o me t h a t t h i s o f f e n c e wa s amply proved , a s

w e l l as t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y borne by t h r e e o f th e a c c u s e d .

The f a c t s proved can be summarised as f o l l o w s :

t h e fo rmer Head o f S t a t e removed t h e N a t i o n a l Treasu ry

from th e S t a t e Bank and t ook i t t o h i s own home, in

t h e s m a l l town o f Nzeng Ayong, nea r t h e borde r o f

Gabon. The e x p l a n a t i o n g iven by Macias f o r such an

unusua l and e x t r a o r d i n a r y a c t i o n was t h a t he had

f e a r e d a robbe ry a t t h e Bank o f Malabo. With t h e

same i n t e n t i o n , he had o r d e r e d t h a t th e money c o l l e c t e

each day shou ld be t aken t o h i s own home. He and

some o f h i s c o l l a b o r a t o r s a d m i n i s t e r e d t h e P e o p l e ' s

Bank and t h e funds o f t h e S t a t e e i t h e r from Rio Muni

(Ba ta ) o r d i r e c t l y from h i s p a l a c e i n Nzeng Ayong.

The v a r i o u s S t a t e e n t e r p r i s e s were a d m i n i s t e r e d in th e

same way. I t o f t e n happened t h a t t h e compe ten t b o d i e

w e r e n o t even in formed a b o u t th e f i n a n c i a l t r a n s a c t i o n

t h a t were c a r r i e d o u t , wi th t h e r e s u l t t h a t t h e s e c o u l

n o t be e n t e r e d on th e b o oks . In t h i s way, many o f

t h e t r a n s a c t i o n s i n v o l v i n g impor t and e x p o r t income i n

f o r e i g n exchange were neve r r e g i s t e r e d e i t h e r a t t h e

Bank o r a t t h e H i n i s t r y o f Economic A f f a i r s and Financ

S t a t e m e n t s made by v a r i o u s e x p e r t o f f i c i a l s i n d i c a t et h a t th e Bank has no d a t a from which t o de te rmine th e



- 3 7 -

p r e s e n t p o s i t i o n o f t h e c o u n t r y i n t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l

c r e d i t m a r k e t . Moreove r, from what they s a i d , i t i s

i m p o s s i b l e t o draw a l i n e between money t h a t i s owned

by Macias and t h e funds o f t h e S t a t e , a s bo th have

been i n e x t r i c a b l y i n t e rming l ed ;

The c a r in which Macias f l e d i n August 1979 c o n t a i n e d

v a r iou s s u i t c a s e s f u l l o f money. During th e t r i a l

he a l l e g e d t h a t he had been robbed o f t h e e q u i v a l e n t

o f $4 ,000 ,000 ( in d i f f e r e n t c u r r e n c i e s ) , which r e p r e

sen ted th e proceeds o f t h e c o f f e e h a r v e s t from h i s

own p l a n t a t i o n s :

The l a s t a n n u a l S t a t e budge t was approved i n 1974 .

Since t h e n , th e e s t i m a t e s p r e p a r e d y e a r l y by t h e

Min i s t ry and s e n t t o t h e Head o f S t a t e f o r h i s con-

s i d e r a t i o n were never approved . Macias t r i e d t o

e x p l a i n t h i s away by s t a t i n g t h a t he had had no

p r e s s t o p r i n t the b u d g e t and t h a t i n any c a s e t h e

q u e s t i o n was i m m a t e r i a l s i n c e he was th e Head o f S t a t e :

At t h e t ime o f t h e August 1979 m i l i t a r y coup , F r a n c i s c o

Macias had been r e c e i v i n g s a l a r i e s in a l l t h e fo l lowing

c a p a c i t i e s : a s Head o f S t a t e , as t i t u l a r M i n i s t e r fo r

th e P e o p l e ' s Armed F o r c e s , as t i t u l a r M i n i s t e r fo r

Nat iona l S e c u r i t y, as t i t u l a r Min i s t e r fo r Popula r

C o n s t r u c t i o n , and a s t i t u l a r M i n i s t e r fo r Fore ign

A f f a i r s . The amounts o f t h e s a l a r i e s were f i x e d by

him, as th e n a t i o n a l budge t had been f rozen in 1974 .His e x p l a n a t i o n fo r t h i s was t h a t he had had heavy

r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s t o bear and a s he had been per fo rm-

ing a number o f f u n c t i o n s , i t was only n a t u r a l t h a t

he shou ld be pa id fo r them;

The a u d i t i n g o f th e s a l a r i e s p a i d t o him y i e l d e d a

s u r p r i s i n g r e s u l t . In 1968 he had r e c e i v e d 516,000

Ekue les ($17 ,200) , whereas in 1978 he had r e c e i v e d320 ,000 ,000 ($10 ,600 ,000) , and in 1979 he had a l r eady



- 3 8 -

c o l l e c t e d 7 8 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 e k u e l e s . I t shou ld be remembered

t h a t t h e ~ a l a r yo f th e a v e r a g e p u b l i c o f f i c i a l ranged

from 35 ,000 t o 60 ,000 e k u e l e s a y e a r ( i . e . $1 ,160 t o

$2,000) ( see p . 1 4 ) . t·iac:las was unab le t o e x p l a i n

why t h e s a l a r i e s o f many o f f i c i a l s had been reduced

and why a l a r g e number o f them had n o t r e ce ived any

s a l a r y a t a l l fo r some months w h i l e he had been pa id

more and more , c o l l e c t i n g sums t h a t were a s t r o n o m i c a l

fo r t h e c o u n t r y. At t h a t p o i n t , an o f f i c i a l , who wa s

an e l e c t r o n i c s e n g i n e e r , s t a t e d t h a t i n 1969 he had been

p a i d 25 ,000 e k u e l e s a month, b u t in 1972 had been r e

c e i v i n g only 14 ,000 and l a t e r as l i t t l e a s 1 0 , 0 0 0 .

The i n s p e c t i o n o f M a c : l a ~bank a c c o ~ n t sshowed t h a t h i s

' s a v i n g s ' had r i s e n i n two y e a r s from 20 ,000 ,000 e k u e l e s

( i n June 1977) t o 406 ,383 ,892 e k u e l e s ($13,540,000) in

September 1979. Mac:las h i m s e l f had dec ided in 1977

t h a t he shou ld be pa id 8% i n t e r e s t annua l ly on h i s

accou n t s , which was h i g h e r than th e o f f i c i a l r a t ep ~ d by th e S t a t e Bank t o h o l d e r s o f s a v i n g s accoun t s .

I t was e s t a b l i s h e d t h a t Mac:las he ld s e v e r a l accounts

i n banks a b r o a d . On e o f h i s wives had made v a r i o u s

t r i p s a b r o a d , fo r which he had given her funds drawn

from t h e Tr e a s u r y, and had a l s o made a t r i p t o Gabon

t a k i n g w i t h h er 7 s u i t c a s e s f u l l o f money. She had

been accompanied on t h o s e t r i p s by a Bank o f f i c i a l

b u t t h e r e c o r d o f t h e a c c o u n t s in q u e s t i o n cou ld n o t

be found . Mac:las had o r d e r e d i n August 1979 t h a t th erecord o f th e code numbers o f c e r t a i n bank a c c o u n t s

abroad ( con t a in ing money from t h e Nat iona l Tr e a s u r y )

shou ld be des t royed and t h a t in f u t u r e he a lone would

keep them.

Under t h e 1968 C o n s t i t u t i o n (which was s u b s e q u e n t l y

r e p e a l e d ) a mechanism was e s t a b l i s h e d fo r c o n t r o l l i n g

t h e a c t i o n s o f t h e E x e c u t i v e , under th e d i r e c t i o n o f



- 3 9 -

t h e C o u n c i l o f t h e R e p u b l i c . I t soon c e a s e d t o f u n c

t i o n , s i n c e in May 1971 t h e P r e s i d e n t assumed a l l t h e

powers o f t h e g o v e r n m e n t and i n s t i t u t i o n s , i n c l u d i n g

t h o s e o f t h e Counc i l i n q u e s t i o n .

A ll t h i s , combined w i t h very poor a d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f t h e

S t a t e e n t e r p r i s e s and s t o r e s l e d t o t h e t o t a l d i s l o c a t i o n o f

th e economy and f i n a n c i a l c o l l a p s e . Meanwhile , M a c i a s and

name o f h i s d i r e c t c o l l a b o r a t o r s were en joy ing unsuspec t ed

weal th t o an e x t e n t i n c o n c e i v a b l e f o r p u b l i c o f f i c i a l s in a

r o u n t r y f u ~ t was i n such a p a r l o u s s t a t e .

To sum u p , t h e o f f e n c e o f embezz lement o f p u b l i c funds and

wrongfu l g a i n s by F r a n c i s c o Mac£as a n d , t o a l e s s e r e x t e n t , by

Miguel Eyegue and A l b e r t a Ndongo Ayang was f u l l y proved .

(IJ) and (E) Damage t o p r o p e r t y and s y s t e m a t i c v i o l a t i o n s o f

human r i g h t s

The a l l e g a t i o n s made under t h e s e head ings can c o n v e n i e n t l y

h r summarised a s f o l l o w s . Some o f t h e a l l e g a t i o n s were proved ;

o t h e r s n o t . The l e g a l v a l i d i t y o f t h e s e cha rges w i l l be

cons ide red a f t e r th e ev idence i n s u p p o r t o f them h as been d e s -

c r i b e d .

(n) To r t u r e and c r u e l , inhuman and d e g r a d i n g t r e a t m e n t and

punishment s y s t e m a t i c a l l y i n f l i c t e d on p o l i t i c a l p r i s o n e r s

No d o u b t s remained a f t e r t h e t r i a l o f t h e h o r r i f y i n gt o r t u r e s and c r u e l p h y s i c a l p u n i shm en t t o which p o l i t i c a l

t • r i sone r s were s u b j e c t e d , a lmos t c o n t i n u o u s l y, and p a r t i c u l a r l y

t hose i n Br igade A. I t was proved t h a t t hey were n o t excep -

t l ona l c a s e s , o r due t o an e x c e s s o f z e a l o r sad ism on th e p a r t

" ' c e r t a i n o f f i c i a l s , b u t r e f l e c t e d a d e l i b e r a t e p o l i c y des igned

' " w e a r down a l l t h e i r powers o f r e s i s t a n c e , somet imes t o t h e1 " i n t o f d e s t r o y i n g them. In t h i s a s p e c t t o o , a s in t h e c a s e

" ' the a s s a s s i n a t i o n s , Macia s ' t o u r s o f i n s p e c t i o n o f th e g a o l s



- 4 0 -

and p r i s o n s o f t e n c o i n c i d e d wi th t h e i n f l i c t i o n o f t o r t u r e and

i l l - t r e a t m e n t . In my view th e fo l lowing were some o f t h e

m a t t e r s e s t a b l i s h e d i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e s e o f f e n c e s .

~

On one o c c a s i o n a f t e r v i s i t i n g Bata g a o l , Macias t o l d

t h e C i v i l Governor (Miguel Eyegue) t h a t th e p r i s o n e r s

were be ing " s p o i l t " , and t h a t t hey shou ld be s e n t t o

b u i l d r o a d s and n o t be t r e a t e d " so w e l l " . The t r e a t -

ment d e s c r i b e d by Macias i n t h o s e t e rms was a l r e a d y

b r u t a l , b u t became even worse a f t e r h i s v i s i t , a s a

r e s u l t o f t h e G o v e r n o r ' s z e a l i n c a r r y i n g o u t o r d e r s .

S e v e r a l p r i s o n e r s d i e d f o l l o w i n g Macia s ' v i s i t .

One o f t h e " p r i s o n e r s ' e s c o r t s " in Bata a s s e r t e d t h a t

he d id n o t k i l l t h e p r i s o n e r s , he on ly pun i shed them,

b e a t i n g them a lways on t h e o r d e r s o f th e Head o f S t a t e

On e o f t h e heads o f Macias ' p e r s o n a l bodyguard s t a t e d

t h a t , d u r i n g one o f Macias ' f r e q u e n t v i s i t s t o t h e

B a t a g a o l , he o r d e r e d a l l t h e beds and c o v e r i n g s

used by th e p o l i t i c a l p r i s o n e r s t o be removed because

t h e y "were v e r y c ·omfor t ab l e " . They were t aken t o a

S t a t e s t o r e and were n o t r e t u r n e d t o th e f a m i l i e s

which had b r o u g h t them i n th e f i r s t p l a c e . Hac ia s

t h e n o r d e r e d th e p r i s o n e r s t o be g iven p h y s i c a l pun i sh

ment .

On e o f t h e a c c u s e d , S a l v a d o r Ondo E l a , who was t h e

gove rno r o f Blackbeach p r i s o n in Malabo , had t r a i n e da dog t o a t t a c k and b i t e any p r i s o n e r he was b e a t i n g

(who would o f c o u r s e have had h i s h a n d s t i e d behind

h i s back) t o t h e p o i n t o f t e a r i n g p i e c e s o f f l e s h

from him. When th e accused den ied t h i s , t h e Tr i b u n a l

asked members o f t h e p u b l i c who were a b l e t o t e s t i f y

t o come fo rward and do s o . A women (who had been

impr i soned w i t h he r son f rom 1975 t o 1977) and t h r e e

men gave e v i d e n c e , and a l l o f them conf i rmed t h e



- 4 1 -

accusa t ions made, and added fu r the r d e t a i l s . Theonly exp lana t ion given by th e accused, in view o f t h e i r

tes t imony, was t h a t he would have been punished by h issupe r io r s i f he had n ot beaten the p r i s o n e r s .

Th e t e chn i c i ans of Malabo a i r p o r t were t o r tu red an d

punished because the runway l i g h t s were turned o f f

j u s t as the p r e s i d e n t i a l plane with Mac1as on board

was about to land one n i g h t , and the plane had tocon t inue to Douala in th e Cameroons. They were

ev eo tua l l y r e l e a sed as i t was found t h a t th e l i g h t s

had been turned o f f by acc iden t .

The defendants were among the persons p r i n c i p a l l yr e spons ib l e for these offences , but they a l so namedo t he r people (7 or 8 , most o f them m i l i t a r y men), whohad been impl icated in the k i l l i n g s , t o r t u r e and i l l -

t r e a tmen t . These o the r s were not brought to t r i a l ,

however, nor have any charges been made aga in s t them

as fa r as i s known.

To my mind t h i s was a s a l i e n t d e f e c t of the t r i a l , s ince

only a few o f those g u i l t y o f t h e se offences were t r i e d .

(b) Forced labour by c i t i z e n s in genera l an d by p o l i t i c a l

pr i sone r s in p a r t i c u l a r

The p r a c t i c e o f forced labour was gene ra l l y adopted in

Rquator ia l Guinea an d a ff ec t ed l a rge s ec to r s of the popu l a t i on .Reference was made e a r l i e r in t h i s r epo r t (p.B) to th e e f f e c t s

of the P r e s i d e n t i a l Decree o f March 1976, compell ing a l l c i t i z e n s

over 15 years o f ag e to do c e r t a i n work on th e Sta t e p l an t a t i onso ~ n d in the mines , fo r which they were paid so l e ly in k ind .

With regard to th e p o l i t i c a l pr i sone r s in p a r t i c u l a r , the

kind o f forced labour they had to do was desc r i bed , t oge the r

with th e u t t e r l y inhuman cond i t i ons in which i t was performed.



- 4 2 -

' " " " • · '" ' ' , o ( course , had any j u d i c i a l sentence been passed•" , ~ , . , ' " " the vic t ims to do forced labour a_s p a r t of a punishmen

1 i l l rt l>ning the only c i rcumstance in which i t w o u l dhave been

1-•wlul , always provided t h a t i t had been performed in proper

· ·•>nditions under the superv i s ion o f the j ud i c i a ry. On the

con t r a ry, i t was proved t h a t the Head o f S t a t e himse l f had

ordered h i s subord ina tes to remove th e machinery from c e r t a i n

works and use i t for o t h e r purposes , while the pr i sone r s were

l e f t to work v i r t u a l l y with t h e i r hands . In r e l a t i o n to the

forced l abou r, an important pos t was crea ted - t h a t o f "pr i sone

esco r t " which was reserved for people in Mac1as' persona l confi_,

dence. I t was t h e i r task to conduct the pr i soners every mornin

to forced l abou r, to punishment and sometimes to execut ion.

Severa l of the accused on t r i a l had occupied t h a t pos i t i on .

(c) A r b i t r • r y and i l l e g a l d e t e n t i o n ~f a i l u r e to bring the

de t a inees before the c o u r t s ~ l ack o f penal proceedings

an d hence o f the r i g h t to l e g a l defence

When cons ider ing these a l l e g a t i o n s i t must be remembered

t h a t t he r e was no genuine an d independent system of law in force

in Equa to r i a l Guinea. In the case o f p o l i t i c a l offences or

those aga ins t the pub l i c orde r, the- fo l lowing procedure wasappl ied in p r a c t i c e . Affa i r s o f Sta t e s ecu r i t y and publ ic orde

were in the hands of the Head o f S t a t e , the Nat iona l Direc tor

of Secu r i t y ( r e s iden t in the c a p i t a l ) , the Provinc ia l Governors

an d th e l o c a l ch ie f s o f the M i l i t i a ( d i s t r i c t r ep re sen t a t i ve s

o f Youth on th e March with Mac1as}. When someone was suspected

of consp i r ing or in tending to consp i re aga in s t the secu r i t y o fthe S t a t e , or of being l i a b l e to endanger i t , or o f committing

offences aga ins t publ ic orde r, he was a r r e s t e d . Afte r being

i n t e r roga t ed , f requen t ly under t o r t u r e , h is conduct was reviewed

not by a cour t o f law, but by a committee c o n s i s t i n g o f the

Direc tor-Genera l o f Secu r i t y and o the r o f f i c i a l s . When the

i nqu i r i e s had been completed, th e case was placed before the

Head o f S t a t e so t h a t he "might decide what was to be done with

the accused" , according to the s ta tement made in the t r i a l by



-43-

the Direc to r-Genera l of Secu r i t y. In other words, in the

major i ty of cases , the re was no t r i a l or sen tence and na tu ra l l y

no r i g h t of defence . Nor were the de ta inees t o ld how long

they were to remain in p r i s o n , which would depend on the w i l l

of Mac:las. They were simply s e n t t o gao l t o do forced l abour.

In the few cases in which a t r i a l was he ld , the accused

were brought before "People ' s Mil i t a ry Tr ibuna l s " , composed o f

mi l i t a ry o f f i c e r s appointed d i r e c t l y by the P r e s i d e n t - f o r - l i f e .

One such t ~ i a l was held a t Bata in June 1974, fo l lowing an

unsuccessful a t t empt a t a coup d ' e t a t aga in s t Mac:las' government.

On 10 June, th e p o l i t i c a l pr i sone r s of Brigade A from th e Bata

publ ic gao l , who were members o f an o rgan i s a t i on c a l l e d "Crusade

ror the Libera t ion o f Equator ia l Guinea by C h r i s t " , planned to

oscape from th e gaol , overcome th e guards , occupy the town o f

Uota and u l t i m a t e l y s e i z e power. Thei r p lan wa s nipped in the

bud, and a Peop le ' s Mi l i t a ry Tr ibuna l was s e t up composed o f~ mi l i t a ry o f f i c e r s , a m i l i t a r y P r o s e c u t o r, a mi l i t a ry Defence

Counsel and a m i l i t a r y examining magi s t r a t e . None o f them

had an y l ega l t r a in ing o r q u a l i f i c a t i o n s . Th e t r i a l wasoxtremely b r i e f , an d the Tr ibuna l invoked as l e g a l t e x t s Law

No. 1 o f 18 October 1971 ( re fe r red t o , with comments, on p . 6 ) ,

Qnd, in the second p lace , th e Spanish Ordinary Penal Code and

l lpanish Code o f Mi l i t a ry J u s t i c e .

Of the 102 accused, 12 were pub l i c ly executed by f i r i n g

ll'Juad on 26 June 1974, having been condemned to dea th f(}rr r b e l l i o n , at tempted murder, offences aga in s t the secu r i t y o ft h e

Sta t e an d subvers ive propaganda. There were 10 a c q u i t t a l sAllcl the remainder were sentenced as accompl ices in the o ffencesIn 4ues t ion to 29 years an d 8 months imprisonment, 26 years an d11 months or 17 years an d 4 months.

In t h i s c a s e , n e i t h e r th e procedure adopted nor the composi-

1 l<>n o f the c o u r t complied with the p rov is ions o f th e 1973

' ' • > ~ l : ; t i t u t i o n .Ins tead a s p e c i a l m i l i t a r y t r i b u n a l was s e t up.

,, .. : : ta ted before , dur ing the l a s t 4 to 5 years before August 1979,



- 4 4 -

t h e r e were no p e n a l p r o c e e d i n g s w h a teve r i n E q u a t o r i a l Guinea

a l th o u g h p e r s o n s s u s p e c t ed o f p o l i t i c a l o r o t h e r c r i m e s c o n t i

nued t o be a r r e s t e d and h e l d i n c u s t o d y.

C o n s e q u e n t l y, t h e a l l e g a t i o n s a g a i n s t r-1acias and h i s

c o l l a b o r a t o r s o f i l l e g a l d e t e n t i o n and o f f a i l i n g t o g i v e th e

d e t a i n e e s a c c e s s t o due p r o c e s s o f l aw, t h e r e b y d e p r i v i n g them

o f e x e r c i s i n g t h e i r r i g h t t o a l e g a l d e f e n c e , may be c o n s i d e r e d

t o have been p r o v e d .

(d) Loo t ing and t h e f t by th e members o f Youth on t h e Harch

w i t h M a c i a s , and a b u s e o f a u t h o r i t y i n g e n e r a l

The P e o p l e ' s R e v o l u t i o n a r y M i l i t i a (Youth on t h e March)

were g u i l t y o f eve ry k ind o f a b u s e o f a u t h o r i t y , i l l e g a l d e t e n

t i o n , i l l - t r e a t m e n t , l o o t i n g and t h e f t o f p o s s e s s i o n s and

d a m ~ et o p r o p e r t y . One o f t h e accused r e c a l l e d a t t h e t r i a l

t h a t Macias had s a i d t o him, in r e l a t i o n t o some a c t s o f

e x t o r t i o n commit ted by t h e H i l i t i a , t h a t "a s t h e s e boys a r e n o t

p a i d , t h e y shou ld be a l l owed t o have some fun wi th t h e S p a n i a r d s

andt h e i r

p o l i t i c a l enemie s• • • " . The M i l i t i a was a l s o

i m p l i c at e d , t o g e t h e r w i t h members o f th e P r e s i d e n t i a l G u a r d , i n c e r t a i n

a s s a s s i n a t i o n s and t h e burn ing o f v i l l a g e s .

(e) D e l i b e r a t e burn ing o f tw o v i l l a g e s and f o r c i b l e t r a n s f e r

o f t h e i n h a b i t a n t s e l s e w h e r e

There was ample e v i d e n c e t h a t M a c i a s and s e v e r a l o f h i s

c o l l a b o r a t o r s were g u i l t y o f d e l i b e r a t e l y s e t t i n g f i r e t o t h ev i l l a g e s o f J a n g z ~i n t h e d i s t r i c t o f Mbin i , and o f M e l ~ n ,

in t h e d i s t r i c t o f r1ongomo. These e x t r a o r d i n a r y a c t s we,re

m o t i v a t e d by !>1acias' d e s i r e t o p u n i s h t h e peop le he c o n s i d e r e d

t o be h i s p o l i t i c a l enemies .

In Augus t 1975 , f o l l o w i n g a c h a rg e t h a t one o f t h e wives

o f th e fo rmer Vi c e - P r e s i d e n t o f th e R e p u b l i c - he had s e v e r a l -

had gone t o t h e v i l l a g e o f H a l ~ nt o buy "med ic ines (po i son ) t o



-45-

k i l l Macias" , Macias gave o r d e r s t o t h e C i v i l Governor o f R io

Muni t o burn th e houses o f 5 f a m i l i e s r e l a t e d t o t h e woman i n

4 u e s t i o n . He then announced p u b l i c l y , i n t h e c o u r s e o f a

r,peech made a t t h e i n a u g u r a t i o n o f a S t a t e work i n Hongomo, t h a t

they had been b u r n t and a t t h e same t ime gave sweeping o r d e r s

t o have t h e whole v i l l a g e b u r n t . Accord ing t o Macia s , h i s

r ea son had been t h a t t h a t whole p o p u l a t i o n "was i n v o l v e d i n

nubve r s ive a c t i v i t i e s " . In c a r r y i n g o u t t h e o r d e r , Governor~ l b e r t oNdongo Ayang (one o f t h e accused ) took a d i r e c t p a r t

In th e a c t i o n . A g roup o f s o l d i e r s and m i l i t i a f o r c i b l y t r a n s -

r e r r ed a l l t h e v i l l a g e r s (173 per sons ) and t h e i r b e l o n g i n g s t o

otnother p a r t o f t h e c o u n t r y f o r r e s e t t l e m e n t t h e r e . The v i l l a g e

was then b u r n t t o a s h e s . At t h e c l o s e o f t h e t r i a l , no doub t

remained a s t o th e f a c t s t h e m s e l v e s , b u t th e a l l e g a t i o n was n o t

proved t h a t t h e v i l l a g e r s ' p o s s e s s i o n s had been c o n f i s c a t e d as

w e l l . S u b s e q u e n t l y, some o f t h e v i c t i m s were a r r e s t e d andt ~ k e nt o Bata g a o l , where t hey were condemned t o 11 and 12 y e a r s '

Imprisonment b u t i t i s n o t c l e a r whe the r t h i s was done by a

n p e c i a l t r i b u n a l o r by Macia s . Th e fo rmer Vi c e - P r e s i d e n t him

n e l f , Miguel Eyegue , who had en joyed th e p e r s o n a l c o n f i d e n c e o f

Macias and was s t a n d i n g t r i a l w i t h him, d i d n o t e s c a p e t h e

whir lwind o f pun i shmen t and was condemned t o 12 y e a r s r i m p r i s o n

ment . A fe w months l a t e r , however, he. was· r e l e a s e ~by Macias

h i m s e l f a f t e r pay ing a l a r g e sum i n b a i l , and was c o n f i n e d t o

the i s l a n d o f Bioko .

In A p r i l 1976, fo l l owing an a c c i d e n t t o a h e l i c o p t e r o f t h e

N a t i o n a l Guard i n th e v i l l a g e o f J a n g z e , i n which th e p i l o t , a

r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f th e Governo r, anda woman

he had a r r e s t e d weren l l k i l l e d , Macias gave o r d e r s from h i s p a l a c e a t Bata fo r t h e

whole v i l l a g e t o be b u r n t down. Another r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f

lhe Governor was s e n t t o th e s p o t , c a l l e d t h e p e o p l e t o g e t h e r ,

o ~ n dt o l d them t h a t , by o r d e r o f t h e Head o f S t a t e " t h e v i l l a g e

" " l onge r e x i s t e d " , as i t had been d i s c o v e r e d t h a t t h e i n h a b i

l . t n t s p lanned t o f l e e t o Gabon. They were a l l f o r c i b l y t r a n s -

1.-rred t o a n o t h e r a r e a and f o r b i d d e n t o r e t u r n . The same day,

1 ' " ' v i l l a g e was f i r e d and b u r n t t o th e ground . In t h e c o u r s e



- 4 6 -

o f th e o p e r a t i o n ( in which a d i r e c t p a r t was p layed by t h e

accused S e rg e a n t Eduardo Nguema Edu, head o f t h e p r e s i d e n t i a l

bodygua rd , w i t h t h e h e l p o f h i s s o l d i e r s and t h e M i l i t i a ) r a d i o

an ima l s and v a r i o u s o t h e r o b j e c t s were s t o l e n . Many o f th e

v i c t i m s were t a k e n t o p r i s o n and s p e n t s e v e r a l months t h e r e .

( f ) P r e p a r a t i o n o f l i s t s o f p o l i t i c a l opponen t s t o be l i q u i d a t

v i o l a t i o n o f women by t h e M i l i t i a and Macia s ' s o l d i e r s

These c h a rg e s examined by t h e T r i b u n a l were n o t proved .

There were s imp ly i n d i c a t i o n s t h a t t h e y had o c c u r r e d .

(g ) D i s m i s s a l o f p u b l i c o f f i c i a l s and members o f t h e armed fore<

f o r p o l i t i c a l r e a s o n s w i t h o u t compl i ance w i t h t h e r e q u i r e

ments l a i d down i n t h e S t a t u e f o r P u b l i c S e r v a n t s

I t was p r o v e d , however, t h a t a l a r g e number o f o f f i c i a l s

and s o l d i e r s o f d i f f e r e n t r anks had been a r b i t r a r i l y d i s m i s s e d

on p o l i t i c a l grounds by Hac:Las and t h e C i v i l Governo r s . The

T r i b u n a l ment ioned t h e f i g u r e o f 1 ,289 government o f f i c i a l s and

751 s o l d i e r s , a l t h o u g h o n l y a fe w s p e c i f i c c a s e s were p r o v e d ,

t o g e t h e r w i t h t h e e x i s t e n c e o f a g e n e r a l p o l i c y o f d i s m i s s a l

w i t h o u t g i v i n g th e i n j u r e d p a r t i e s t h e b e n e f i t o f t h e s a f e g u a r d s

which t h e o r e t i c a l l y a t l e a s t were s t i l l i n v r c e . I t was e s t a b -

l i s h e d t h a t t h e p e r s o n s d i s m i s s e d had n o t s u p p o r t e d Macias i n

th e 1968 e l e c t i o n s o r had s u b s e q u e n t l y d i s a g r e e d w i t h h i s p o l i c i

The e x p l a n a t i o n g i v e n by Macias was t h a t , a s P r e s i d e n t o f th e

R e p u b l i c , he had th e power t o a p p o i n t and d i s m i s s h i s M i n i s t e r s

and o t h e r S t a t e o f f i c i a l s , and , a s M i n i s t e r fo r t h e P e o p l e ' sArmed F o r c e s , had been e n t i t l e d t o do t h e same i n t h e c a s e o f

t h e m i l i t a r y . I t i s h a r d l y n e c e s s a r y t o p o i n t o u t t h a t , under

t h e r u l e o f l aw, th e E x e c u t i v e i s a l s o l i m i t e d i n i t s powers and

s u b j e c t t o t h e l aw, and may n o t e x e r c i s e powers c o n f e r e d by t h e

C o n s t i t u t i o n and t h e law i n an a r b i t r a r y o r c a p r i c i o u s manner.

Even when t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n empowers t h e head o f s t a t e t o a p p o i n t

and remove o f f i c i a l s , t h i s power must be used i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h

t h e l aw. When t h e r e a p p e a r s t o be good r eason t o d i s m i s s an



- 4 7 -

o f f i c i a l , t h i s can be done on ly a f t e r t h e r e l e v a n t c a s e has been

made o u t and th e p e r s o n i n q u e s t i o n h as had an o p p o r t u n i t y t o

make a r e b u t t a l and p o s s i b l y t o a p p e a l t o th e c o u r t s a g a i n s t

h i s d i s m i s s a l . Per sons who f a i l t o r e s p e c t t h e s e norms a r e

e c t i n g i l l e g a l l y and i n c u r p o l i t i c a l and c i v i l l i a b i l i ~ yby so

d o i n g , b u t t h i s does n o t g i v e r i s e t o c r i m i n a l l i a b i l i t y .

(h ) Abandonment o f t h e c a p i t a l by t h e P r e s i d e n t - f o r - l i f e dur ing

more than 5 y e a r s , and a cha rge brough t - a l t h o u g h n o t

d e s c r i b e d i n t h e s e t e rms - t o t h e e f f e c t t h a t he had

s y s t e m a t i c a l l y depr ived th e p o p u l a t i o n o f t h e en joyment

o f t h e i r p o l i t i c a l , economic , s o c i a l and c u l t u r a l r i g h t s

I t was a l l e g e d and proved t h a t t h e p o l i c y imposed by Mac1as

and fo l lowed by h i s c o l l a b o r a t o r s had v i r t u a l l y p a r a l y s e d t h e

economy, had l e f t t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n and p u b l i c s e r v i c e s

p r a c t i c a l l y i n o p e r a t i v e , and had i s o l a t e d th e c o u n t r y from

o t h e r s , t h e r e b y c a u s i n g g r a v e damage t o t h e p o p u l a t i o n . Although

t hese c h a rg e s w e r e proved , th e a c t s i n q u e s t i o n were n o t p e n a l

o f f e n c e s . They had p o l i t i c a l and p o s s i b l y c i v i l i m p l i c a t i o n s ,

h u t d id n o t g i v e r i s e t o c r i m i n a l l i a b i l i t y .

( i ) L a s t l y , a n o t h e r o f t h e c h a rg e s a g a i n s t Mac1as i n t h i s

s e c t i o n was t h a t o f v i o l a t i n g t h e 1968 C o n s t i t u t i o n and

o f having assumed d i c t a t o r i a l powers

In o t h e r words , Mac1as was cha rged w i t h hav ing adop ted and

lmposed d i v e r s e D e c r e e s , Decree-Laws , C o n s t i t u t i o n a l Laws,

l ' r e s i d e n t i a l D e c i s i o n s and a new c o n s t i t u t i o n a l t e x t which p u tan end t o t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and d e m o c r a t i c sys tem e s t a b l i s h e d

hy th e c o u n t r y on a c h i e v i n g i ndependence . T h i s cha rge was

P a s i l y proved upon th e enumera t ion o f th e d i f f e r e n t l e g a l

p r o v i s i o n s i n t r o d u c e d by th e reg ime d u r i n g th e 11 y e a r s i t

remained i n power ( p p . 6 - 8 ) . Vi o l a t i o n o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n ,

r e p e a l o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n approved by th e peop le i n a f r e e

re fe rendum and th e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f an a n t i d e m o c r a t i c sys tem

wi thou t c o n s u l t i n g t h e p e o p l e , i n whom s o v e r e i g n t y i s i n v e s t e d ,



- 4 8 -

" ' ' 11 ~ l ' l ' " l n t m e n tas P r e s i d e n t - f o r - l i f e and usurpat_ion o f a l l1 1 .. l ' " w r r s of the .government and i n s t i t u t i o n s are a c t s which

' ' " ' ' · • l ly car ry c r imina l l i a b i l i t y in c o u n t r i e s ~ u n d e rthe Spanish: ~ y : 1 t e mo f law , a s wel l as having p o l i t i c a l imp l i ca t i ons . Law

No. 1 / 7 1 , approved by Macias on 18 October 1971, al though i t i s

not appl icab le in t h i s case , i l l u s t r a t e s what are considered to

be punishable a c t s :

"Any person who per forms .ac t s designed to rep lace the

Government of the Republic of Equa to r i a l Guinea by another

government or to change i t without the consent of the

people , or by any o the r i l l e g a l means s h a l l be s ~ n t e n c e d

to dea th" ( a r t . 7 ) .

Spanish l e g i s l a t i o n , which was appl ied in the t r i a l , sanc

t i ons the type of conduct descr ibed above. The ques t ion of the

r a t i f i c a t i o n o f the new Const i tu t ion by the referendum in 1973

was not r a i s ed by the defence , bu t in my view Macias cannot

be excu lpa ted on t h i s ground s ince the referendum was held

without any freedom to campaign a g a i n s t the Cons t i t u t i on and

inci rcumstances where a l l c i v i l and p o l i t i c a l l i b e r t i e s were

denied and with no independent con t ro l over the vo t ing . At the

t r i a l , Macias merely sa id t h a t , as Head of S t a t e , he had suspended the Const i tu t ion an d dra f t ed another endors ing h isproclamat ion as P r e s i d e n t - f o r - l i f e .

* * * * * * *

The cons idera t ions s e t ou t in t h i s sec t ion were o f p a r t i c u li n t e r e s t s ince t he l e g a l bas i s of the Prosecu to r ' s case was the

Universal Dec la ra t ion of- Human Rights o f December 1948. TheDecla ra t ion e s t a b l i s h e s a number of ~ n d i v i d u a land c o l l e c t i v e

r i g h t s which S t a t e s s_,hould guaran tee to the i nhab i t an t s o f t h e i r

t e r r i t o r i e s . Despi te i t s ERiense importance and the ro l e i t has

played in the subsequent cod i f i ca t ion o f human r i g h t s a t the

i n t e r n a t i o n a l and na t iona l l e v e l s , the v io l a t ion of one or.more

o f i t s a r t i c l e s i s not in i t s e l f a breach of the law l i a b l e to



- 4 9 -

punishment . For such v i o l a t i o n s t o be p u n i s h a b l e , t h e a r t i c l e s

of t h e D e c l a r a t i o n o r t h e a c t s d e f i n e d in them must have been

i n c o r p o r a t e d by S t a t e s i n t o t h e i r c r i m i n a l l aw. E q u a t o r i a l

Guinea neve r d i d t h i s . l t loreover, contemporary p e n a l law s t i l l

a c c e p t s a s one o f i t s most i m p o r t a n t p r i n c i p l e s t h a t o f n u l l a

poena s i n e l e g e , which p r e v e n t s t h e s a n c t i o n and pun i shme n t o f

o f f e n c e s t h a t a r e n o t cove red by law e x i s t i n g a t t h e t i me o f t h e

o f f e n c e s .

The l e g i s l a t i o n o f E q u a t o r i a l Guinea - which i n any c a s e

wa s v i r t u a l l y n o n - e x i s t e n t , as we have seen - d id n o t i n c l u d e

th e s p e c i f i c o f f e n c e o f " s y s t e m a t i c v i o l a t i o n o f human r i g h t s " .

N e v e r t h e l e s s , t h e m a j o r i t y o f t h e a c t s r e f e r r e d t o i n t h i s

s e c t i o n c o n s t i t u t e i n t hemse lves v i o l a t i o n s o f s p e c i f i c a r t i c l e ~

o f t h e Span i sh Pena l Code, which wa s invoked i n th e t r i a l . On e

example i s t h a t o f t o r t u r e , and c r u e l , inhuman and degrad ing

t r e a t m e n t o r pun i shmen t , which a r e cove red by t h e Pena l Code i n a s

much a s i t s a n c t i o n s t h e i l l - t r e a t m e n t o f d e t a i n e e s , ha r sh c o n d i

t i o n s no t p e r m i t t e d by law and t h e b o d i l y i n j u r y r e s u l t i n g t h e r e -

f rom. (A r e c e n t Span i sh law h as r a i s e d t h e s e a c t s t o th e l e v e l

o f a s p e c i a l c r ime o f t o r t u r e ) . The same a p p l i e s t o fo rced

l abou r o f a k ind n o t env i saged by l aw, i n t h a t t h e p e r s o n i s

forced t o do someth ing he i s n o t r e q u i r e d t o do by law and i s

nub jec t ed t o i n a d m i s s i b l y h a r s h c o n d i t i o n s . I t i s a l s o t r u e

o f i l l e g a l and a r b i t r a r y d e t e n t i o n and i l l e g a l s e n t e n c e s ; o f

l o o t i n g , t h e f t , damage t o p r o p e r t y and t h e abuse o f a u t h o r i t y ;

th e d e l i b e r a t e burn ing o f p e o p l e ' s homes and t h e i r a r b i t r a r y

d e p r i v a t i o n o f th e r i g h t t o l i v e i n a p a r t i c u l a r p l a c e ; t h e

v i o l a t i o n and r e p e a l o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n and i n t r o d u c t i o n o fnew laws w i t h o u t fo l l owing t h e p r o c e d u r e s e s t a b l i s h e d by t h e

l e g a l sys t em.

However, we c a n n o t say t h e same o f o t h e r a c t s , which were

no t p e n a l o f f e n c e s , a l though they w e r e r e p r e h e n s i b l e and d id

• J rea t harm. In t h i s c a t e g o r y a r e t h e wrongfu l d i s m i s s a l s o f

J•ubl ic o f f i c i a l s , t h e d e n i a l o f p o l i t i c a l , economic , s o c i a l and

· · u l t u r a l r i g h t s and t h e abandonment o f t h e c a p i t a l . There



-so-

" ' ' ' ' " ' " " t lu• v i o l a t i o n o f t h e p r i n c i p l e s l a i d down i n Convent"ion" ' ' · , , , . , " ' th a I n t e r n a t i o n a l Labour O r g a n i s a t i o n o f June 1957 ,

" " ' ' " ' n h o l i t i o n o f f o r c e d l a b o u r ( to w h i c h , in an_¥ e v e n t ,

t:•plnt . . r i a l Guinea was n o t a p a r t y ) . These a c t s a r e n o t open

I • • pun i shmen t . Any consequences can o n l y be o f a p o l i t i c a l o r

· · i v i l n a t u r e .

In r e l a t i o n t o a l l t h e s e m a t t e r s b o t h t h e P r o s e c u t o r and

T r i b u n a l r e f e r r e d t h r o u g h o u t t o a s i n g l e o f f e n c e , " t h e s y s t e m a t i

v i o l a t i o n o f human r i g h t s " . Thi s ~ s a n o t h e r a s p e c t o f th e

Malabo t r i a l which l e d me t o d e s c r i b e i t a s " s u i g e n e r i s " . On e

o f th e d e f e n c e c o u n s e l d id say t h a t a l t h o u g h t h e c o n d u c t o f t h e

accused had been open t o condemna t ion , t h e y had n o t s p e c i f i c a l l y

v i o l a t e d any p e n a l l aw. U n f o r t u n a t e l y , he d id n o t deve lop t h a t

i d e a any f u r t h e r .

In s h o r t t h e r e were e r r o r s i n t h e l e g a l c l a s s i f i c a t i o n o f

th e o f f e n c e s cha rged a g a i n s t t h e a c c u s e d . They were c o n v i c t e d

o f a "c r ime" hav ing no l e g a l b a s i s , b u t a t t h e same t ime t h e

e v i d e n c e c l e a r l y e s t a b l i s h e d t h a t t hey had been r e s p o n s i b l e fo r

many g r a v e o f f e n c e s w i t h which t hey were n o t s p e c i f i c a l l y c h a rg e

(F ) Treason

I t r e m a i n s t o rev iew t h e l a s t c h a rg e b r o u g h t a g a i n s t Macias

f o r hav ing r e s i s t e d t h e u p r i s i n g which over th rew him, one which

t h e armed f o r c e s c o n s i d e r e d t o be t h e most i m p o r t a n t . Macias

was accused o f having b e t r a y e d h i s n a t i v e l and and o f having

caused a c i v i l war which had l e d t o t h e d e a t h o f dozens o f h i scoun t rymen . The c h a rg e was based on two f a c t s :

(a) On 3 Augus t 1979 a m i l i t a r y u p r i s i n g o c c u r r e d fo l l owed by

t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f t h e Supreme M i l i t a r y C o u n c i l , which t h a t

same day s e n t a t e l e g r a m t o t h e t hen Head o f S t a t e i n fo rming

him t h a t , i n view o f h i s m a n i f e s t i n a j i l i t y t o l e a d t h e c o u n t r y

i n an h o n o u r a b l e and d i g n i f i e d manner, t h e Armed F o r c e s had

d e p osed him, b u t t h a t t h e y g u a r a n t e e d h i s comple t e s a f e t y and



- 5 1 -

t h a t o f h i s f ami ly i f he remained i n h i s n a t i v e town and accep ted

h i s d e p o s i t i o n . Macias r e s i s t e d t h e u p r i s i n g and opposed i t

m i l i t a r i l y w i t h t h e s u p p o r t o f t h o s e t r o o p s who remained l o y a l

t o him.

A ug u s t .

Thi s l e d t o some f i g h t i n g a t Njema, n e a r B a t a , on 8

The s i t u a t i o n was r a p i d l y brough t under c o n t r o l by

t h e f o r c e s o f t h e Supreme M i l i t a r y C o u n c i l , and a l l t h e s o l d i e r s ,

o f f i c e r s and m i l i t i a who had begun by fo l l owing t h e d i c t a t o r

d e s e r t e d him and e i t h e r g a v e t hemse lves up o r c r o s s e d i n t o Gabon.

On 18 Augus t Macias was found wander ing a l o n e i n t h e j u n g l e nea r

t h e f r o n t i e r w i t h Gabon and was t aken p r i s o n e r .

At t h e t r i a l Macias con tended t h a t he had n o t e n t e r e d i n t o

combat (which i s n o t t r u e ) , and t h a t he c o u l d have d e s t r o y e d

roads and b r i d g e s b u t had r e f r a i n e d from d o i ng s o . As t o t h e

t e l eg ram s e n t by t h e Supreme M i l i t a r y C o u n c i l , he c l a imed t h a t

i t had been d e l a y e d . H is d e f e n c e c o u n s e l p l e a d e d , q u i t e r i g h t l y ,

t h a t a Head o f S t a t e was n o t o b l i g e d t o a c c e p t h i s d i s m i s s a l

s imply because a t e l eg ram had been s e n t t o him, and t h a t was n o t

s u f f i c i e n t r eason fo r c o n s i d e r i n g t h a t he had caused a c i v i l . w a r .

To my mind , t h e P r o s e c u t o r was i n e r r o r on t h i s p o i n t by

c o n f i n i n g h i m s e l f t o a l l e g i n g t h a t Macias was "a war c r i m i n a l "

and wa s be ing judged a s s u c h . Moreover, he d i d n o t d e m o n s t r a t e

th e t r u t h o f h i s a l l e g a t i o n s . The T r i b u n a l a l s o was i n e r r o r

in c a l l i n g upon th e d e f e n c e t o prove t h a t Macias had n o t caused

a c i v i l wa r. I t was f o r t h e P r o s e c u t o r t o prove t he cha rges

made a g a i n s t t h e accused , n o t t o e x p e c t th e d e f e n c e t o prove

t h a t he was i n n o c e n t .

(b ) A l e t t e r s igned and s e n t by Macias on 4 Augus t 1979 t o t h e

Head o f S t a t e o f a ne ighbour ing c o u n t r y ask ing f o r m i l i t a r y

a s s i s t a n c e from abroad t o p u t down t h e u p r i s i n g . The l e t t e r

was t o t h i s e f f e c t ( though n o t t e x t u a l l y e x a c t ) : -

"Dear B r o t h e r ,

In view o f t h e t i e s o f f r i e n d s h i p , good n e i g h b o u r l i n e s s

and f r a t e r n a l a f f e c t i o n be tween o ur c o u n t r i e s , and o f t h e



I t may p e r h a p s be accep ted t h a t i n t h e e x c e p t i o n a l c i r c u m -

s t a n c e s p r e v a i l i n g i t would have been somewhat a r t i f i c i a l t o have

c r e a t e d a n o t h e r s p e c i a l c o u r t a s an a p p e a l c o u r t , though i f a

s u f f i c i e n t l y q u a l i f i e d a p p e l l a t e c o u r t had been. a v a i l a b l e i t migh

have avo ided t h e a p p a r e n t j u d i c i a l e r r o r s r e l a t i n g t o th e c h a rg e s

o f g e n o c i d e , v i o l a t i o n o f t h e U n i v e r s a l D e c l a r a t i o n o f Human

R i g h t s and t r e a s o n . ~ 1 o r es e r i o u s i s t h e f a c t t h a t Macias and

th e o t h e r s condemned t o d e a t h were execu ted w i t h i n h o u r s , n o t

a l l o w i n g t ime fo r p e t i t i o n s fo r c lemency t o be made on t h e i r

b e h a l f .

To a s s i s t t h e r e a d e r in fo rming h i s own judgment abou t t h e

c a s e , Dr A r t u c i o has d e s c r i b e d in th e f i r s t p a r t o f h i s r e p o r t

th e n a t u r e o f t h e Macias reg ime and t h e c o n d i t i o n s p r e v a i l i n g i n

t h e c o u n t r y a t t h e t ime o f t h e t r i a l .

T h i s c a s e a p p e a r s t o th e I n t e r n a t i o n a l Commission o f J u r i s t s

t o be one o f u n u s u a l i n t e r e s t , be ing one o f th e r a r e o c c a s i o n s

upon which a c r u e l and barba rous d i c t a t o r has been brough t be fo re

th e b a r o f j u s t i c e t o answer fo r h i s c r i m e s . The p r e s e n t S u p r e ~

H i l i t a r y C o u n c i l o f E q u a t o r i a l Guinea a r e t o be commended fo r

having exposed t h i s t r i a l t o t h e s c r u t i n y o f an i n t e r n a t i o n a l

l e g a lo b s ~ r v e r .

Thi s compares f avourab ly wi th some r e c e n tsummary t r i a l s o f fo rmers r u l e r s in o t h e r c o u n t r i e s .

Thi s i s a r e p o r t a b o u t a t r i a l , and p o l i t i c a l i m p l i c a t i o n s

a b o u t th e f u t u r e o f B q u a t o r i a l Guinea shou ld no t be read i n t o i t

I t i s to o e a r l y y e t t o say whether t h e p o s i t i v e s t e p o f conven-

ing t h e S p e c i a l M i l i t a r y Tr i b u n a l and o f b r i n g i n g Macias and

some o t h e r s t o a c c o u n t marks a r e a l t u r n i n g p o i n t i n t h e h i s t o r y

o f E q u a t o r i a l Guinea . What c a n n o t be i gno red i s t h a t l a r g enumbers o f r e f u g e e s who f l e d from t h e o p p r e s s i o n o f Hac ia s a r e

n o t y e t w i l l i n g t o r e t u r n t o E q u a t o r i a l Guinea from a f e a r t h a t

t h e commitment o f th e government o f L t . - C o l o n e l Teodoro Obiang

Nguema t o democracy and human r i g h t s may be weaker t han t h e

ho ld ing o f t h e open t r i a l migh t s u g g e s t . These f e a r s a r e hard

s u r p r i s i n g a s L t . - C o l o n e l Obiang was Vi c e - H i n i s t e r o f Defence a



Mil i t a ry Governor of the Province of Bioko up to th e t ime of h iscoup. As Dr Artuc io remarks , only a few o f those g u i l t y ofcrimes in the Macias e ra have been t r i e d and the Supreme Mil i t a ry

Counci l i s not ye t w i l l i ng to t o l e r a t e p o l i t i c a l a c t i v i t y. There

are a l so concerns among e x i l e s from Equa to r i a l Guinea about th e

background o f those who hold power today.

The I n t e r n a t i o n a l Commission of J u r i s t s wishes to place on

record i t s g r a t i t u d e to th e I n t e r n a t i o n a l Univers i ty Exchange

Fund fo r i t s f i nanc i a l suppor t for Dr A r t u c i o ' s observer miss ion .

In t e rna t iona l Commission of J u r i s t s

In t e rna t iona l Univers i ty Exchange Fund

GenevaNovember, 1979.

N i a l l l-1acDermotSecre ta ry -Genera l

Lars-Gunnar ErikssonDirec to r



- 52 -

s i t u a t i o r i c r e a t e d by t h e d e s i r e o f L t . - C o l . Obiang Nguema

t o s e i z e power, I a ~ p e a lfo r your a s s i s t a n c e and f o r th e

m i l i t a r y i n t e r v e n t i o n o f y o u r c o u n t r y i n s u p p o r t o f t h e

l e g i t i m a t e f o r c e s o f t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l go v e rnme n t .

Our f o r c e s a r e f i g h t i n g 12km away from Bata and i n t e n d

t o occupy i t . I am l e a d i n g them, and a l l t h e i ~ t e r i o ro f

th e c o u n t r y i s unde r my c o n t r o l . We r e s p e c t human r i g h t s . •

The T r i b u n a l r ~ s e r v e dt h e r i g h t n o t t o name t h e c o u n t r y t o

which t h e l e t t e r was s e n t on t h e g ro u n ds t h a t i t was a s t a t e

s e c r e t . However, i t i s known t h a t t h e l e t t e r neve r l e f t

E q u a t o r i a l Guinea and so d i d n o t r e a c h i t s d e s t i n a t i o n .

Both t h e P r o s e c u t o r and T r i b u n a l viewed th e f a c t o f t h e

l e t t e r a s e v i d e n c e o f t h e c r ime o f t r e a s o n , s i n c e a f o r e i g n

power was asked t o i n t e r v e n e m i l i ta r i l y i n an i n t e r n a l c o n f l i c t

caused by M a c i a s ' r e f u s a l t o a c c e p t h i s d e p o s i t i o n . M a c i a s ,

fo r h i s p a r t , a s s e r t e d h i s r i g h t t o s en d t h e l e t t e r and ask fo r

h e l p i n c r u s h i n g a r e b e l l i o n .

In my o p i n i o n , from t h e f a c t s g i v e n , t h e c h a rg e o f t r e a s o n

was n o t proved and s t i l l l e s s t h a t o f be ing a war c r i m i n a l ,

which i n an y c a s e was r e j e c t e d by t h e T r i b u n a l .

* * * * * * *

The S t a t e P r o s e c u t o r f i n a l l y r ead o u t t h e a r ~ a i g n m e n t ,i n

which he r e c a p i t u l a t e d t h e c h a rg e s a g a i n s t t h e accused andt h e e v i d e n c e o b t a i n e d , and on t h a t b a s i s a s k e d fo r t he fo l lowing

s e n t e n c e s t o b e p a s s e d :

1 . f o r F r a n c i s c o Macia s , t h e d e a t h p e n a l t y ;

2 . f o r P a s t o r NsueS a l v a d o r Ondo E laF o r t u n a t o NsogoEduardo Nguema Ede

Bienven ido Micha Nsue30 y e a r s ' impr i s o nm en t



- 53 -

3. fp r Miguel EyegueNorber to Nsue MichaAlber ta Ndongo Ayang

1 y e a r ' s imprisonment.

Defence counsel for Macias ' co l l abo ra to r s (10 accused) madea long plea r e f e r r i n g to the re ign of t e r r o r t h a t preva i l ed

dur ing the 11 years of Macias ' government and the sys temat ic

v io l a t ions o f human r igh t s t h a t had taken place during t h a t

t ime . He a l s o s t a t e d t h a t , while he had been impressed by the

tes t imony given by the witnesses , th e persons he was defending

were merely l i n k s in a cha in of hor ro r. A ll o f them had ac ted

in obedience to Macias ' orde r s , and exper ience ha d shown t h a t

no one could r e fu se to obey h is orde r s withou t being k i l l e d ,imprisoned or pre jud iced in some way. Consequent ly, i t had

been impossible for Macias ' co l l abo ra to r s to re fuse to obey th e

orders they were given. In view of t h a t , he asked the Tribunal

to invoke ex tenua t ing c i rcumstances , which were g r e a t e r fo r someand l e s s fo r o t h e r s .

Macias' defence counse l , who, s u b j e c t to h is f a i l u r e to

pre sen t c e r t a i n l e g a l arguments,performed h is d i f f i c u l t taskwith g r e a t courage and s k i l l , argued in h is c lo s ing p l ea t h a t h isc l i e n t was g u i l t y only of a c t s o f omiss ion , not of s p e c i f i coffences provided fo r in c r imina l law. He s t r e s sed the po in t

t h a t other o f f i c i a l s ( the eo-defendants) were respons ib le fo r

such s p e c i f i c cr imes as murder, t o r t u r e , i l l - t r e a t m e n t and

i l l e g a l a r r e s t , and t h a t each one could be held l i a b l e only fo r

what he ha d done. Macias ha d been th e Head o f Sta t e and not

a pr i son warder. He concluded by asking fo r h is a c q u i t t a l .

Macias himse l f , who, a t th e reques t o f h is counse l , ha d

prev ious ly been allowed to make long s ta tements which were

undoubtedly in tended to be h is p o l i t i c a l valed ic tory message

to th e people fo l lowing th e t r i a l , r ecap i tu l a t ed a l l the works

and grea t s e rv i ce s he considered he ha d performed for the bene

f i t of th e people o t Equator ia l Guinea, including th e explusion

of the Spanish co lon ia l t roops , the cons t ruc t i on of housing,



(

- 54 -

b r i d g e s and r o a d s , t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f S t a t e c o n t r o l ove r

th e r u r a l p l a n t a t i o n s , t h e c r e a t i o n o f S t a t e s t o r e s and th e

i n c u l c a t i o n o f a r e v o l u t i o n a r y e d u c a t i o n . He wen.t so f a r a s

t o s t a t e , i n r e p l y t o t h e cha rge o f embezz lement o f p u b l i c

funds , t h a t he had s p e n t th e money i n q u e s t i o n on commiss ion ing

s t a t u e s o f h i m s e l f t o be p l a c e d i n t h e S t a t e banks , and on

r e p r o d u c t i o n s o f h i s pho tog raph t o be hung i n a l l t h e e d u c a t i o n a l

e s t a b l i s h m e n t s . The f a c t t h a t he had n o t done so e a r l i e r was ,

i n h i s v iew, an o m i s s i o n .

In s h o r t , he den ied a l l t h e c h a rg e s made a g a i n s t him,

s t a t i n g t h a t i t was u n j u s t t o ho ld him t o accoun t fo r t r i v i a l

m i s t a k e s , which were made by e v e r y o n e , w h i l e o v e r l o o k i n g h i s

p o s i t i v e ach ievemen t s a s f a t h e r and l e a d e r o f th e N a t i o n . He

ended h i s s t a t e m e n t by a s k i n g t o be p a r d o n e d , t o be p e r m i t t e d

t o r e t u r n t o h i s n a t i v e town and t o be g i v e n back a l l th e a s s e t s

o f which he had been d i v e s t e d , as he was o v e r 60 y e a r s o f age

and was to o o ld t o become i nvo lved i n p o l i t i c s a g a i n .

The v e r d i c t

On 29 September 1979 , a t 12 noon, t h e S p e c i a l M i l i t a r y

Tr i b u n a l h e l d i t s c l o s i n g s e s s i o n . C a p t a i n Oy6 Rechesa ,

P r e s i d e n t o f t h e T r i b u n a l , i n a d d r e s s i n g t h e p e o p l e , wor ld p u b l i c

o p i n i o n , i n t e r n a t i o n a l o r g a n i s a t i o n s and th e p r e s s p r e s e n t i n

th e h a i r , e x p l a i n e d t h e c o u r s e o f t h e p r o c e e d i n g s , r e f e r r i n g t o

t e x t s such a s t h e U n i v e r s a l D e c l a r a t i o n o f Human R i g h t s . On

b e h a l f o f t h e T r i b u n a l , Advoca te Lui s Maho Sikacha , t hen r ead

o u t t h e v e r d i c t r eached by t h e T r i b u n a l and t h e r e s p e c t i v es e n t e n c e s . These were more s e v e r e t han those r e q u e s t e d by th e

P r o s e c u t o r i n c l u d i n g , a s they d i d , seven d e a t h s e n t e n c e s i n

p l a c e o f one which had been r e q u e s t e d . The s e n t e n c e s were :

s e n t e n c e o f d e a t h and c o n f i s c a t i o n o f goods and

p r o p e r t y f o r :

F r a n c i s c o Macias NguemaP a s t o r NsueSa lvador Ondo E laF o r t u n a t e Nsogo



- 55 -

Eduardo Nguema Ed uMiguel EyegueBienvenido Micha Nsue

s e n t e n c e o f 14 y e a r s , 4 months and 1 day i n p r i s o n ,

and ano r d e r

t o i ndemni fy a l l m a t e r i a l damage caused

t o t h i r d p a r t i e s and t o r e t u r n a l l goods and p r o p e r t y

i l l e g a l l y a c q u i r e d , f o r :

N o r b e r t o Nsue MichaA l b e r t a Ndongo Ayang

s e n t e n c e o f 4 y e a r s , 2 months and 1 day i n p r i s o n ,

f o r :

Roman t.fba Ed uTobfas Nvulu

Th e p u b l i c i n a t t e n d a n c e , who had fo l l owed t h e u n f o l d i n g

o f t h e t r i a l , g r e e t e d t h e s e n t e n c e wi th e n t h u s i a s t i c demons t r a

t i o n s o f a p p r o v a l . The s e s s i o n ended a t 13.15 h o u r s .

There was no r i g h t o f a p p e a l a g a i n s t t h e s e s e n t e n c e s . The

S p e c i a l M i l i t a r y Tr i b u n a l was a t t h e apex o f t h e sys tem o f

m i l i t a r y j u s t i c e . As a r e s u l t , t h e r e e x i s t e d no h i g h e r c o u r t

c a p a b l e o f r ev i ewing i t s d e c i s i o n . A l s o , no o p p o r t u n i t y was

g iven t o t h e d e f e n d a n t s , o r t o o t h e r s on t h e i r b e h a l f , t o seek

c lemency o r pa rdon from th e h i g h e s t s t a t e a u t h o r i t i e s . F o r,

l e s s t han 5 hour s l a t e r , a t 1800 hour s on t h e same d a y, F r a n c i s c o

Macias and t h e s i x o f h i s c o l l a b o r a t o r s condemned t o d e a t h were

execu ted by f i r i n g squad a t t h e Blackbeach p r i s o n . T h e i r

b o d i e s were handed ove r t o t h e i r r e l a t i v e s , who b u r i e d them a t

th e l-ialabo c e m e t e r y.

CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS

The f i r s t o b s e r v a t i o n i s t h a t g i v e n t h e t r u l y e x c e p t i o n a l

s i t u a t i o n found i n t h e c o u n t r y, i t would n o t be p o s s i b l e nor

f a i r t o a p p r a i s e t h e t r i a l i n Malabo based on a compar i son

wi th t r i a l s i n deve loped c o u n t r i e s , which p o s s e s s an o l d

t r a d i t i o n o f l e g a l p r a c t i c e , a c o h e r e n t l e g a l sys tem and



- 56 -

c•xperlenced j udges and a d v o c a t e s . To do t h a t would be t o d e p ~ r t

from r e a l i t y , d i s r e g a r d i n g t h e s p e c i f i c c i r c u m s t a n c e s su r round ing

t h i s s u i g e n e r i s t r i a l .

Having s a i d t h i s , i t must be p o i n t e d o u t , h o w e v e r, t h a t a

s e r i e s o f i r r e g u l a r i t i e s were no ted d u r i n g t h e t r i a l .

In no rma l t i m e s , two o f t h e members o f t h e t r i b u n a l would

be l i a b l e t o d i s q u a l i f i c a t i o n fo r having themse lves be ing p e r -

s e c u t e d by t h e p r e v i o u s r eg ime . The S t a t e P r o s e c u t o r was

r e l e a s e d from p r i s o n i n Augus t 1979 . Appo in t i ng t h e t r i b u n a l

was a d i f f i c u l t t a s k i n a s m a l l c o u n t r y where fe w peop le were

n o t a f f e c t e d by p o l i t i c a l r e p r e s s i o n , i n t e l l e c t u a ~be ing a

f r e q u e n t t a r g e t .

The t r i a l was l i m i t e d t o on ly a fe w o f t h o s e r e s p o n s i b l e

f o r t h e r eg ime o f t e r r o r . Yet , accord ing t o d e n u n c i a t i o n s

made i n t h e p a s t and i n t h e o p i n i o n o f s e v e r a l p e r s o n s t h a t

I met i n Malabo , numerous o t h e r members o f t h e Mac{as g o v e r n -

ment were a l s o r e s p o n s i b l e fo r v a r i o u s c r i m e s . Moreover, th e

c h a rg e s r e l a t e d t o a s s a s s i n a t i o n s , t o r t u r e and i l l e g a l d e t e n t i o n st h a t o c c u r r e d mos t ly dur ing the e a r l y y e a r s o f th e Macias gove rn

ment . I t i s common knowledge t h a t i n more r e c e n t y e a r s th e

r e p r e s s i o n had n o t e a s e d . As f a r a s t h i s o b s e r v e r was a b l e

t o a s c e r t a i n , t h e r e a r e no p l a n s t o b r i n g t h o s e r e s p o n s i b l e

f o r t h e s e o t h e r c r imes t o t r i a l .

The S t a t e P r o s e c u t o r a t t e m p t e d t o f o r c e Macias t o c o n f e s s

h i s g u i l t , a l t h o u g h a d e f e n d a n t shou ld n o t be made t o g i v ee v i d e n c e a g a i n s t h i m s e l f o r t o admi t h i s g u i l t .

be i n v i t e d t o c o n f e s s .

He may s i m p l y

Obvious e r r o r s were made i n th e l e g a l d e s i g n a t i o n o f s e v e r a l

o f t h e c r i m e s . Thi s was t h e c a s e w i t h r e g a r d t o g e n o c i d e ~

r i g h t s and t r e a s o n . ~y s t e m a t i c v i o l a t i o n o f human

There e x i s t e d no h i g h e r c o u r t t o which an a p p e a l c o u l d bemade. The T r i b u n a l was i t s e l f t h e h i g h e s t c o u r t o f t h e m i l i t a r y



- 57 -

j u s t i c e system. In view of th e circumstances surrounding the

t r i a l , t h i s omiss ion could have been remedied only by es t ab l i sh inga spec i a l appeal cour t . In the absence of more highly q u a l i f i e dj u r i s t s , such a cour t would in prac t i ce have been a l a rge ly formal

one, lacking th e necessary q u a l i t i e s o f independence and l ega l

s k i l l .

No oppor tun i ty was given fo r the defendants , or anyone e l seto p e t i t i o n th e m i l i t a r y counc i l fo r clemency. S u ff i c i e n t t ime

should always be allowed before execut ing a death sentence toenable such p e t i t i o n s to be made, inc lud ing , in a p o l i t i c a l case

of t h i s na tu re , p e t i t i o n s from ou t s ide the count ry. I t should

be r eca l l ed t h a t th e r i g h t of appeal in c r imina l ca se s and th e

r i g h t to seek pardon or commutation of a death sen t ence , a r eguaranteed under a r t i c l e s 14(5) and 6(4) of th e I n t e r n a t i o n a lCovenant on C i v i l and P o l i t i c a l Rights .

In sentencing Hacias ' accomplices to dea th , the Tr ibunal

exceeded the sentences requested by the Sta t e Prosecu tor, who

i s to be considered as ac t ing on beha l f of soc i e ty and th evict ims of th e cr imes ( u l t r a p e t i t a ) .

I t would perhaps have been pre fe rab l e i f the Tr ibuna l ha d

been a pure ly c i v i l i a n one. The f a c t t h a t the major i ty o f the

members were m i l i t a r y o f f i c e r s gave the c o u r t the cha rac t e r o f

a mi l i t a ry t r i b u n a l . In the view of the I n t e r n a t i o n a l Commis-s ion o f J u r i s t s the j u r i s d i c t i o n o f m i l i t a r y t r i b u n a l s should,

save under a proclamat ion of m a r t i a l law, be r e s t r i c t e d to

crimes which a re a l leged to have been committed by members o f

the armed forces and a re s p e c i f i c a l l y m i l i t a r y off ences , i . e .

ones which cannot be committed by c i v i l i a n s or a re not normally

considered as cr imes when committed by them (e .q . dese r t i on ,insubord ina t ion) .

The main drawback of m i l i t a r y t r i buna l s l i e s in th e f a c tt h a t the r i g i d i t y of the mi l i t a ry hiera rchy, with i t s permanent

subord ina t ion to au thor i ty,makes i t unusual fo r the judges.1nd prosecu to r s , who f requen t ly lack l e g a l q u a l i f i c a t i o n , to



P r e s s - r e l e a s e

3 0 / 9 / 7 9

- 60 -

IC J OBSERVER'S COMMENTS ON

MACIAS TRIAL

APPENDIX

Immedia te

D r. A l e j a n d r o A r t u c i o , t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l Commiss ion o f J u r i s t s

o b s e r v e r a t t h , ~ Hac ia s t r i a l f rom 24 t o 27 S e p t e m b e r i n

E q u a t o r i a l Guinea and t h e o n l y l e g a l o b s e r v e r , makes t h e

fo l lO\J ing comments pend ing p u b l i c a t i o n o f a f u l l e r r e p o r t :

1 . The m i l i t a r y t r i b u n a l was composed o f 3 m i l i t a r y members

and 2 c i v i l i a n s , t h e l a t t e r \ t i t h a p p r o p r i a t e l e g a l q u a l i f i

c a t i o n s . The two m a j o r e t h n i c g r o u ps o f E q u a t o r i a l Guinea

v e r e r e p r e s e n t e d on t h e t r i b u n a l . ' fhe t r i a l o f t-1acias and

10 a c c o m p l i c e s was h e l d i n p u b l i c and t h ousands o f p e o p l e

f o l l m t e d t h e p r o c e e d i n g s t h r o u g h l o u d s p e a k e r s i n t h e s t r e e t s .

2 . T h e r e w as a b u n d a n t a nd c o n v i n c i n g e v i d e n c e t h a t m u l t i p l e

m u r d e r s h a v e been commit ted on d i r e c t o r d e r s o f M a c ia s .

Embezz lement o f p u b l i c f u n d s h a s been e q u a l l y \>tell e s t a

b l i s h e d .

3 . T h e r e w e r e o t h e r c h a r g e s however which d i d n o t r e s t o n

any s o u n d l e g a l b a s i s . F o r exam p l e , E q u a t o r i a l Guinea

had n o t r a t i f i e d t h e Genoc ide Co n v e n t i o n o r embodied

G e n o c i d e i n i t s n a t i o n a l law a t t h e t im e t h a t t h e a l l e g e d

o f f e n c e s w e r e commi t t ed . O t h e r c h a rg e s were p u r p o r t e d l y

based o n a r t i c l e s o f t h e U n i v e r s a l D e c l a r a t i o n o f Human

R i g h t s , w h i c h does n o t i n i t s e l f g i v e r i s e t o a ny o f f e n c e

i n c r i m i n a l l aw.

4 . As a l l l e g a l p r o c e s s had b e e n s u s p e n d e d f o r many y e a r s

bo th t h e p r o s e c u t i o n an d t h e d e f e n c e l a wye r s w e re , i n e v i

t a b l y , somewhat i n e x p e r i e n c e d .

/



- 61 -

5 . Macias and h i s accompl i ce s however were r e p r e s e n t e d by

l awyer s and t h e y were g i v e n a l l o p p o r t u n i t y t o examine

w i t n e s s e s and t o comment upon t h e i r t e s t i m o n i e s .

Macias had been w e l l - t r e a t e d i n p r i s o n .

6 . The IC J o b s e r v e r was r e c e i v e d by t h e head o f s t a t e , who

made an a p p e a l f o r immedia te m a t e r i a l a s s i s t a n c e by t h e

i n t e r n a t i o n a l community, a s t h e c o u n t r y i s i n d e s p e r a t e

need o f food , med ica l s u p p l i e s and o t h e r e s s e n t i a l

commodi t i e s . He d e c l a r e d h i s i n t e n t i o n t o r e t u r n t o

democracy "as soon a s p o s s i b l e " , b u t s a i d t h a t no p o l i t i c a l

a c t i v i t y cou ld be a l l owed u n t i l t h e economy o f t h e c o u n t r y

was working a g a i n . A ll e x i l e s were f r e e t o r e t u r n , b u t

must a c c e p t t h e s e c o n d i t i o n s .

\7 . Th e o b s e r v e r was s a t i s f i e d by i n f o r m a t i o n from many

) s o u r c e s t h a t a l l p o l i t i c a l p r i s o n e r s \- 'ere in_ f a c t r e l e a s e d

immed ia t e ly a f t e r t h e Augus t coup .

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