Bonifacio Ondó Edú

Bonifacio Ondó Edú-Aguong,[4] a member of the Fang people,[5][6] was born in 1922,[1][lower-alpha 2] in Evinayong, Spanish Guinea.[6] Ondó Edú married Edelvina Oyana, also a member of the Fang people,[2] and the two were the parents of a large family. Ondó Edú has been described as "of profound religious-Catholic convictions."[6]

During the 1950s, emerging groups of African nationalists began pushing for independence from Spain. However, after the murder of several independence leaders such as Acacio Mañé Ela and Enrique Nvo and the arrests of 24 others in 1959, many nationalists chose to flee into exile and continue the movement abroad, including Ondó Edú. He founded the party Unión Popular de Liberación de Guinea Ecuatorial (UPLGE) ("People's Liberation Movement of Equatorial Guinea") in Libreville, Gabon, in October 1959.[7]

On 15 December 1963, Spain held an autonomy referedum, with 62.5% of eligible Equatoguinean voters voting yes for autonomy.[8] [9] That same year, Spain began allowing open political activity in Equatorial Guinea, which led to several Equatoguinean political parties being formed.[10] Ondó Edú's UPLGE became the moderate Movimiento de Unión Nacional de Guinea Ecuatorial (MUNGE) ("National Unity Movement of Equatorial Guinea"), in November of that year.[9]

Francisco Macías Nguema, Ondó Edú's provisional deputy and winner of the 1968 election. It is speculated that Macías Nguema ordered the execution of Ondó Edú in 1969.

When Spanish Guinea was granted autonomy in 1964, a provisional council was created to govern the country. Ondó Edú became the Prime Minister (or President) of the council on 1 January 1964.[9] His Deputy (or Vice President) was Francisco Macías Nguema of the political party Idea Popular de Guinea Ecuatorial (IPGE).[3][9][11] The council included politicians from Spanish Guinea's various ethnic groups, including Fang, Bubi, and Ndowe people.[12]

In foreign policy, Ondó Edú established good relations with Gabon and its president Léon M'ba (also a Fang). He visited Libreville in May 1965, and was given a warm reception, being referred to as the "President of Equatorial Guinea" by the local press.[13]

Ondó Edú was his party's presidential candidate in the 1968 general election.[8] He campaigned as a moderate who supported continued ties with Spain after independence, while his main opponent, Macías Nguema, was vocally critical of further Spanish involvement in Equatoguinean affairs post-independence.[14] Ondó Edú had the support of then-Deputy Prime Minister of Spain Luis Carrero Blanco,[15] the wider Spanish government, businessmen, the middle class, and various local ethnic groups. His official symbol was a gazelle.[16] In the first round, he received 31,941 votes (34.84%). In the second round, he received 40,254 votes (37.08%). In both rounds, he came in second to Macías Nguema, who won 36,716 votes (40.05%) in the first round and 68,310 votes (62.92%) in the second round.[8] Macías Nguema ultimately won the elections.[17]

On 11 October 1968, Ondó Edú was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella The Catholic by Minister of Information and Tourism Manuel Fraga on behalf of the Spanish government.[18]

On October 12 1968, Ondó Edu transferred power to president-elect Macías Nguema.[19] Fraga signed Equatorial Guinea's Declaration of Independence later that day, officially making the country independent from Spanish rule.[20][21] Equatorial Guinea became the 44th independent African nation.[22]

After the end of his term, Ondó Edú, fearing for his life, fled into exile in Gabon.[15] Macías Nguema, who quickly began establishing a dictatorship, requested that Gabonese President Omar Bongo extradite Ondó Edú back to Equatorial Guinea, but Bongo refused. However, the Spanish government complied, and forcibly returned Ondó Edú to the country.[23] He was arrested upon his return, and according the Equatoguinean government's official account, he committed suicide on March 5, 1969.[15] However, according to one account, Ondó Edú was tortured in Black Beach prison for ten days by Mariano Mdemendongo, a member of the national guard, before finally being executed.[24] His wife was also reportedly killed on Macías Nguema's orders the same year he was.[25][26]

• Delmas, Adrien; Bonacci, Giulia; Argyriadis, Kali (2020). Cuba and Africa, 1959-1994: Writing an Alternative Atlantic History. Wits University Press. ISBN 9781776146338.
• Iyanga Pendi, Augusto (2021-02-05). Historia de Guinea Ecuatorial (in Spanish). Nau Libres. ISBN 9788418047411.
• Liniger-Goumaz, Max (1979). La Guinée équatoriale: un pays méconnu (in French). L'Harmattan. ISBN 9782858021321.
• Lipschutz, Mark R.; Rasmussen, R. Kent (1986). Dictionary of African Historical Biography (2nd ed.). University of California Press. ISBN 0520066111.
• Mitchell, Robert C.; Morrison, Donald G.; Paden, John (1989-07-17). Black Africa: A Comparative Handbook (2nd ed.). Palgrave Macmillan UK. ISBN 9781349110230.
• Scafidi, Oscar (2015). Equatorial Guinea. Bradt Travel Guides. ISBN 9781841629254.
• Uwechue, Ralph (1991). Makers Of Modern Africa: Profiles in History (2nd ed.). Africa Books Limited. ISBN 0-903274-18-3.