Ahmed Koulamallah (11 February 1912 – 5 September 1995) was a prominent politician in Colonial Chad. He was the estranged son of the

sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

of Baguirmi and the charismatic leader of the

Tijaniyyah The Tijjani order () is a Sufi Tariqa, order of Sunni Islam named after Ahmad al-Tijani. It originated in Algeria but now more widespread in Maghreb, West Africa, particularly in Senegal, The Gambia, Gambia, Mauritania, Mali, Guinea, Niger, ...

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

brotherhood Brotherhood or The Brotherhood may refer to: Family, relationships, and organizations * Fraternity (philosophy) or brotherhood, an ethical relationship between people, which is based on love and solidarity * Fraternity or brotherhood, a male ...

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

. He entered in politics founding in 1950 the Independent Socialist Party of Chad (''Parti socialiste indepéndent du Tchad'' or PSIT), connected to the

French Section of the Workers' International The French Section of the Workers' International (, SFIO) was a major socialist political party in France which was founded in 1905 and succeeded in 1969 by the present Socialist Party. The SFIO was founded in 1905 as the French representativ ...

(SFIO), reconstructed as Chadian section of the

African Socialist Movement African Socialist Movement (, MSA) was a political party in French West Africa. The MSA was formed following a meeting of the Section française de l'Internationale ouvrière (SFIO) federations of Cameroon, Chad, the French Congo (now the Repub ...

(''Mouvement Socialiste Africain'' or MSA). Koulamallah campaigned in different times and places as a member of the Baguirmi

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

, a radical

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

leader, or a militant

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

fundamentalist Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that are characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishin ...

. He picked most of his adherents from the

Chari-Baguirmi Chari-Baguirmi may refer to: * Chari-Baguirmi Prefecture, one of the 14 prefectures of Chad, 1960–1999 * Chari-Baguirmi Region Chari-Baguirmi () is one of the 23 provinces of Chad. Its capital is Massenya. It is composed of part of the former ...

and Kanem

prefectures A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...

. In regards to the main political partes, the conservative

Chadian Democratic Union The Chadian Democratic Union (, UDT) was a political party in Chad. History The party was established in Fort Lamy in 1945. Following the General Council elections, members of the Chadian-French Progressive List (which had won 7 seats), Repu ...

(UDT) and

Chadian Social Action Chadian Social Action (, AST) was a political party in Chad. History The party was founded in 1953.Chadian Progressive Party The Chadian Progressive Party (, PPT), known as the National Movement for the Cultural and Social Revolution (, MNRCS) for the last two years of its existence, was the first African political party in Chad. It was a regional branch of the African ...

(PPT), Koulamallah played a generally disruptive role in the middle. Defeated in the 1957 elections for the Territorial Assembly, he remained in the opposition until he allied himself in 1959 with

Gontchomé Sahoulba Gontchomé Sahoulba (16 October 1909 – 1963) was a Chadian politician who played a prominent role during the decolonization in Chad. Born in 1909, he was a Moundang chief of Mayo-Kebbi, in what was then the French colony of Chad. Political ...

forming the Chadian Popular Movement (''Mouvement Populaire Tchadien'' or MPT), which following a

motion of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...

presented on 11 February 1959, was instrumental in causing the downfall of

Gabriel Lisette Gabriel Francisco Lisette (2 April 1919 – 3 March 2001) was a Chadian politician who played a key role in the decolonization of Chad. Biography Of African descent, he was born at Portobelo, Panama, Portobelo in Panama on 2 April 1919. He bec ...

and the PPT government. Sahoulba succeeded Lisette as President of the Provisional Government, forming a government of which he was the only southern Chadian. This exclusion of the south generated high resentment, and brought Koulamallah to ally himself with Lisette against Sahoulba; as a result, a new motion of no confidence was approved with 35 votes against 30, and a new government was formed by Koulamallah on 13 March 1959. The first day he brought all the ministers, Muslims or non-Muslims, to the mosque to pray thanks; and established

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

would be the working language of the government. Also for this his government survived only eleven days, as yet another motion of no confidence overthrowed the government with 42 votes out of 52. Following this he was again relegated to the opposition, while the PPT, now led by

François Tombalbaye François Tombalbaye ( '; 15 June 1918 – 13 April 1975), also known as N'Garta Tombalbaye, was a Chadian politician who served as the first President of Chad from the country's independence in 1960 until his overthrow in 1975. A dictator ...

, who became the first president of independent Chad on 11 August 1960. In January 1962 all political parties were banned, except the PPT; and in September 1963 all the opposition leader were arrested. Koulamallah escaped with the help of his Baguirmian relatives, crossing the

Chari River The Chari River, or Shari River, is a long river, flowing in Central Africa. It is the main source of water of Lake Chad, which is located at the junction of four countries: Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon. Geography The Chari River flows f ...

and passing in

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

. But only a few days later he was arrested by the Cameroonian authorities, and extradited to Chad where he was immediately jailed. He remained in prison till 1971, and again from 1972 till 1975, when Tombalbaye was overthrown by a coup. He died in 1995.

References

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External links

Itinéraire d'un enfant rebelle
a
Ialtchad.com

Wandja Alifa
a
Tchad Forum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koulamallah, Ahmed 1912 births 1995 deaths Independent Socialist Party of Chad politicians Muslim socialists Islamic socialism African people of Yemeni descent