Dr Félix-Roland Moumié was an anti-colonialist Cameroonian leader and pan-Africanist, who was assassinated in Geneva on 3 November 1960 by an agent of the French secret service, following official independence from France earlier that year. Moumié is remembered as one of Africa’s most notable figures for his staunch resistance to colonialism and his vision for pan-African unity.
Born on November 1, 1925, in the small village of Foumban in what was then French Cameroon, Félix-Roland Moumié was raised in a period marked by colonial oppression. Despite the challenges of the time, he managed to pursue higher education, eventually getting a medical degree. His medical training, however, did not detach him from the political struggles of his homeland. Instead, it propelled him into a leadership role within the Union des Populations du Cameroun (UPC), a nationalist political party that sought to free Cameroon from French colonial rule.
The UPC, founded in 1948, became the central part of the anti-colonial struggle in Cameroon. Under the leadership of figures like Ruben Um Nyobé and Félix-Roland Moumié, the party called for immediate independence, the unification of British and French Cameroon, and social reforms. They also opposed tribalism and its instrumentation by colonialism as a factor of division. The UPC’s demands were met with brutal repression by the French colonial administration, leading to violent conflict and ultimately the assassination of its president Ruben Um Nyobé.
After the assassination of Ruben Um Nyobé by French forces in 1958, Félix Moumié assumed leadership of the UPC. Under his command, the UPC intensified its efforts, shifting from peaceful protests to armed resistance. The French government, recognizing the strategic importance of Cameroon, saw the UPC as a threat. France feared that if it lost Cameroon to a left-wing independence movement like the UPC, it could trigger a domino effect, leading to the loss of its other colonies in West and Central Africa. For Paris, Cameroon was not just a colony—it was the frontline in the Cold War struggle for influence in Africa.
To this end, the French High Commissioner, Roland Pré, initiated a purge within the Cameroonian judicial system, removing magistrates who were perceived as too lenient in their repression of the UPC. Cameroonian law enforcement agencies and organizations controlled by the french administration were also mobilized to prevent UPC public meetings and speeches.
The conflict between the UPC and the French colonial forces was brutal. Hundreds of Cameroonians lost their lives, and many more were displaced as the French government employed severe counter-insurgency tactics, including mass arrests, torture, and extrajudicial killings.
Despite the increasing danger to his life, Moumié continued to rally international support for the Cameroonian cause, traveling across Africa and to the Eastern Bloc, where he sought aid for the UPC’s struggle.
Cameroon officially gained independence from France on January 1, 1960, with Ahmadou Ahidjo installed as the country’s first president. However, many saw Ahidjo as a puppet of the French government, continuing to serve French interests rather than embodying the UPC’s vision for a truly independent and unified nation. The UPC, marginalized and persecuted, continued its struggle under increasingly difficult conditions.
Moumié’s leadership of the UPC made him a prime target for the French government, which viewed him as a direct threat to their colonial interests. In October 1960, while in Geneva, Switzerland, he was assassinated by an agent of the French secret service (SDECE) posing as a journalist. The agent, later identified as William Bechtel, befriended Moumié under the guise of conducting an interview. During their meeting, Bechtel laced Moumié’s drink with thallium, a highly toxic chemical, while his accomplice, a blonde woman, distracted Moumié. Soon after, Moumié fell gravely ill and died on November 3, 1960, at the age of 35.
After he was pronounced dead, Moumié’s body was taken to Conakry, Guinea, embalmed and put into a sarcophogus. To this day, the Cameroonian government has not permitted his burial in his homeland.
On December 15, 1960, after investigations, the Swiss government issued an international arrest warrant for William Bechtel. Although he was eventually arrested in 1974, he was released shortly afterward, reportedly due to pressure from the French government.
Despite clear evidence of the French government’s involvement, no one has ever been charged with his murder to this day.
Sources:
https://www.jeuneafrique.com/122578/politique/comment-f-lix-moumi-a-t-empoisonn/
