Simon Samba (29 March 1929 - unknown) was a Central African politician who served as MP for Bimbo from 1964 to 1966 and Aka Pygmy leader.

Life

An Aka, Samba was born in Sakpa on 29 March 1929.

Political career

At first, Samba served as canton chief. He then became the mayor of Kpale commune and joined

MESAN The Movement for the Social Evolution of Black Africa (; MESAN) was a political party in the Central African Republic. In its original form, it was a nationalist party that sought to affirm Black people, black humanity and advocated for the inde ...

. In 1964, he participated in the

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

as an MP candidate representing Bimbo from the MESAN party and was elected.

David Dacko David Dacko (; 24 March 1930 – 20 November 2003) was a Central African politician who served as the first President of the Central African Republic from 14 August 1960 to 1 January 1966 and as the third President of the Central African Repub ...

appointed Samba as a member of Central African Order of Merit Council on 26 June 1964. Later, he resigned from his position as mayor of Kpale on 30 September 1964. As a Dacko's associate, he granted his land to Prosper Mounoumbaye for shooting training and advised Dacko to be careful with Bokassa.

Arrestment

During the

Saint-Sylvestre coup d'état Saint-Sylvestre may refer to: * Saint-Sylvestre, Quebec * Saint-Sylvestre, Ardèche, France * Saint-Sylvestre, Haute-Savoie, France * Saint-Sylvestre, Haute-Vienne, France See also * Pope Sylvester I, honored in the Catholic Church and the Eas ...

, Jean-Claude Mandaba arrested Samba in Sakpa on 1 January 1966 at 5 am and imprisoned him at Ngaragba Prison. He was put into the same cell with other Dacko's close colleagues. In September 1966, Samba and his son were transferred to the guardroom. Bokassa freed Samba and Leopold from imprisonment on 13 October 1969. He died in an unknown year.

Honors and recognition

On 1 December 1964, Samba was awarded Commander

Order of Central African Merit The Order of Central African Merit is the highest civil decoration of the Central African Republic. It was instituted on 20 June 1959, with the Grand Officer class being added on October 13, 1961. It is awarded for special merit in the humanitari ...

. A monument to commemorate Simon Samba was erected in Bimbo and was inaugurated by Henri-Marie Dondra on 7 December 2020.

References

Bibliography

* *{{cite book , last1=Baccard , first1=André , title=Les Martyrs de Bokassa , date=1987 , publisher=Editions du Seuil , location=Paris 1929 births People from Bimbo Members of the National Assembly (Central African Republic) Movement for the Social Evolution of Black Africa politicians Central African Republic prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of the Central African Republic