The Coronation of Jean-Bédel Bokassa
Witness History
BBC
4.5 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 4 December 2018
⏱️ 9 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Jean-Bédel Bokassa crowned himself Emperor of the Central African Republic in a lavish ceremony on the 4th of December 1977. He'd already been President for several years since taking power in a military coup - but he wanted more. Janet Ball has spoken to one of his sons, Jean-Charles Bokassa, and to a French journalist, about the events of that day. Photo: Jean-Bédel Bokassa, stands in front of his throne after crowning himself. 04 December 1977 in Bangui. (Credit: Pierre Guillaud/AFP/Getty Images)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Choosing what to watch night after night the flicking through the endless |
| 0:06.8 | searching is a nightmare we want to help you on our brand new podcast off the |
| 0:11.8 | telly we share what we've been watching |
| 0:14.0 | Cladie Aide. |
| 0:16.0 | Load to games, loads of fun, loads of screaming. |
| 0:19.0 | Lovely. Off the telly with me Joanna Paige. |
| 0:21.0 | And me, Natalie Cassidy, so your evenings can be a little less |
| 0:24.9 | searching and a lot more auction listen on BBC sounds you're listening to |
| 0:30.5 | the witness podcast on the BBC World Service with me Janet Ball. |
| 0:35.0 | I'm taking you back to December 1977 and the extravagant coronation of Jean Badele |
| 0:42.0 | Bekather as Emperor of the Central African Republic. |
| 0:46.0 | I've been speaking to one of his sons Jean-Chase Boccasa and French journalist Bernard Edinger |
| 0:52.4 | about their memories of that day. |
| 0:57.0 | To his friends, he's Emperor Jean Badell Boccasa the first. |
| 1:01.0 | To his enemies Papa Bach. |
| 1:03.4 | Today he's inspecting the Imperial Guard. |
| 1:06.6 | A BBC TV documentary from 1977 |
| 1:10.7 | follows the preparations for the coronation of Jean Bedell Bekassa as emperor |
| 1:16.4 | just like his hero Napoleon Gona part. The coronation of Bekassa was to be no normal event. |
| 1:24.0 | His son, Jean Charles, was 19 at the time. |
| 1:27.0 | It was an exceptional event. |
| 1:30.0 | Not everyone can come themselves It was an exceptional event. |
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