Bokassa, Bloody African Dictator Accused Of Cannibalism, Dies At 75

BANGUI, Central African Republic - Jean-Bedel Bokassa, one of Africa's most ruthless dictators who was accused of slaughtering and eating his enemies, has died. He was 75.

Radio Notre Dame, the nation's private Roman Catholic radio station, said Bokassa died of a heart attack yesterday in Bangui, the capital.

But word of Bokassa's death spread quickly, and by midmorning today several thousand mourners had gathered outside a hospital where Bokassa's body lay.

Bokassa had been in poor health since October 1995, when he suffered a brain hemorrhage.

The army lieutenant colonel declared himself "emperor" after seizing power Jan. 1, 1966, six years after the country gained independence from France.

Bokassa used the country's resources - particularly diamonds - to increase his fortune while the living standard of his 3.4 million subjects stagnated.

France backed Bokassa for years, in part because of its interest in the country's uranium trade. But his human-rights abuses increasingly alienated his benefactor.

In 1979, 100 schoolchildren were slaughtered after complaining about their school uniforms.

Later that year, Bokassa was ousted by French troops.

Bokassa spent the next seven years in exile in France and Ivory Coast. When he returned to Central African Republic in 1987, he expected a warm welcome. Instead, he became the first deposed African chief of state tried for murder, torture and cannibalism.

Prosecutors claimed Bokassa's palace was filled with evidence of atrocities, including the frozen body of a schoolteacher hanging on a freezer hook and mounds of human flesh prepared for roasting.

Bokassa's former cook testified that he prepared meals with human flesh and watched his boss eat them "with relish." Other witnesses testified Bokassa enjoyed fooling visiting foreign dignitaries by serving up his opponents as roast beef.

He denied the allegations.

Bokassa was convicted of murder and sentenced to death, although he was acquitted of cannibalism charges. The sentence was commuted to 20 years in prison, and he was freed in September 1993.

Bokassa had numerous mistresses and wives and at least 54 children.