Raphaël Nzabakomada-Yakoma (1944–1985) was a Central African writer, historian and academic, known for his work on the Kongo-Wara rebellion. In 1975, Nzabakomada-Yakoma joined MESEN and was a former collaborator of the Bokassa regime until his exile in April 1979.
Early life and education Raphaël Nzabakomada-Yakoma was born in 1944 in Baboua, Ubangi-Shari, French Equatorial Africa (present-day Central African Republic). Nzabakomada-Yakoma spoke Sango and French.
In 1972, Nzabakomada-Yakoma graduated from the then Université de Paris X with a Master's in Teaching. In 1975, Nzabakomada-Yakoma was awarded a PhD in History from the Université Paris Diderot. According to Jean-Paul Ngoupandé, Nzabakomada-Yakoma was the first to be awarded a History PhD focused on the history of the Central African Republic. The historian Catherine Coquery-Vidrovitch was Nzabakomada-Yakoma's doctoral advisor.
As a student Nzabakomada-Yakoma was a member and vice-president of the (UNECA), a section of the Black African Students Federation in France. During the 1969 UNECA delegation to Bangui, Nzabakomada-Yakoma narrowly avoided arrest during a crackdown on students by Jean-Bédel Bokassa following Alexandre Banza's failed coup d'état.
Career Upon the completion of his PhD in 1975, Nzabakomada-Yakoma joined MESEN. Becoming part of Bokassa's inner circle, Nzabakomada-Yakoma was appointed by Bokassa to the ″Bureau Politique de MESAN″.
From 1972 – 1982 Nzabakomada-Yakoma was a lecturer at the University of Bangui. In 1976, Nzabakomada-Yakoma was appointed the Dean of the Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences. Following the 1979 student uprisings, and the subsequent massacre of students in Bangui, in early April Nzabakomada-Yakoma was arrested and dismissed from his Deanship by Bokassa. Nzabakomada-Yakoma fled to the city of Zongo in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Nzabakomada-Yakoma remained in exile until Bokassa was overthrown in the 1979 Central African coup d’état.
Returning to the University of Bangui in 1982, Nzabakomada-Yakoma was the Principal of the Department of History and Conference Master until his death in 1985. In late 1985, Nzabakomada-Yakoma died at the following an illness. Nzabakomada-Yakoma is buried in the village of Bimon, near Mbaïki.
Legacy In 1986, Nzabakomada-Yakoma's doctoral thesis was posthumously published by Editions L'Harmattan. Retitled as ″L'Afrique centrale insurgée : la guerre du Kongo-Wara, 1928-1930″, the publication is considered one of the most complete studies of the Kongo-Wara rebellion.
Publications Nzabakomada-Yakoma, Raphaël (1986). L'Afrique centrale insurgée : la guerre du Kongo-Wara, 1928-1930. Paris: Editions L'Harmattan. ISBN 2-85802-650-5.
Unpublished theses Nzabakomada-Yakoma, Raphaël (1972). Le Coton en République Centrafricaine, 1920-1964 : Une contribution à l'histoire économique et sociale de la R.C.A. Nanterre: Université de Paris X. Master's thesis.
Nzabakomada-Yakoma, Raphaël (1975). La Guerre de Kongo-Wara, 1928-1931 : un chapitre de la résistance anticoloniale en Afrique équatoriale. Paris: Université Paris Diderot. Ph.D. thesis.
See also Kongo-Wara rebellion 1979 Ngaragba Prison massacre
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