Zophar Bohannon
His Excellency Zophar Bohannon | |
|---|---|
 Zophar Bohannon in 1946 | |
| 1st President of Rwizikuru | |
| In office 2 December, 1946 – 2 December, 1954 | |
| Vice President | Alistair Perry |
| Preceded by | position established (Percy Argall as Governor) |
| Succeeded by | Vudzijena Nhema |
| 3rd Chief Minister of Riziland | |
| In office 23 October, 1945 – 2 December, 1946 | |
| Preceded by | Jean-Louis Milhaud |
| Succeeded by | position abolished (himself as President) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Zophar Nisbet Bohannon 29 November 1895 Port Fitzhubert, Riziland |
| Died | 23 July 1971 (aged 75) Morwall, Estmere |
| Resting place | Civic Cemetery |
| Nationality | Estmerish (1895-1946) Rwizikuran (1946-1971) |
| Political party | Movement for the Advancement of Bahians in Riziland |
| Spouse | Katsiru Bohannon |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | Harcourt College, University of Morwall |
| Profession | Solicitor, politician |
Zophar Nisbet Bohannon (29 November, 1895 - 23 July, 1971) was a Rwizikuran politician who served as the final Chief Minister of the Colony of Riziland from 1945 to Rwizikuru's independence in 1946, and the first President of Rwizikuru from 1946 until 1954.
Born to two Freemen parents in 1895, Zophar Bohannon was a bright student, which led to him studying at the University of Morwall to become a solicitor. After being called to the bar in 1919, he returned to Riziland to serve as a solicitor. He would serve until 1936, when he established the Movement for the Advancement of Bahians in Riziland, which would become the dominant party representing the Freemen community, and the dominant party advocating for "independence within the empire."
In 1945, he became Chief Minister following the formation of a coalition between the United Party and the Movement for the Advancement of Bahians in Riziland. He would play an influential role in drafting the Rwizikuran constitution that would come into effect upon its independence, and on 2 December, 1946, following the departure of the Governor of Riziiland, Percy Argall, Zophar Bohannon became the first President of an independent Rwizikuru.
Under his presidency, his administration oversaw improvements to Rwizikuran infrastructure, including the construction of the Mugwaga motorway, close ties with its former colonial powers, particularly Estmere, and growing tensions with the Yekumavirira Liberation Movement in present-day Mabifia. He served the maximum two terms under the constitution at the time, and was succeeded in 1954 by Vudzijena Nhema.
After his presidency, he played a marginal role in Rwizikuran politics, although he was a critic of Nhema's government. In the mid-1960s, he migrated to Estmere due to his deteriorating health and increasing persecution of Sapientianists, and would die in Morwall in 1971 as a result of post-surgical complications.
Early life
Zophar Bohannon was born in Port Fitzhubert in 1895 to Bartholomew Bohannon, a Freeman civil servant, and to Humility Bohannon (nee Nisbet), a Freeman housewife who was the granddaughter of Cornelius Nisbet, and the great-great-granddaughter of Milton Nisbet, who was seen as the first leader of the Freemen community in Riziland. He was the fourth of six children, and the youngest son.
He was educated at the Charles Fitzhubert School from 1900 until 1906, when he began attending the James Parlow Grammar School (present day Shungudzemwoyo Nhema Grammar School). In grammar school, he was described as being "one of the best and brightest minds" in the entire colony, and thus was able to pass sixth form in 1913.
After completing sixth form, and passing his exams, he headed to Morwall, where he studied law at the Harcourt College at the University of Morwall. His tuition was paid by the Estmerish government as they wanted to "uplift native leaders." After gaining his Bachelor of Laws in 1916, he would work as an articled clerk, eventually being called to the bar in 1919 to practice as solicitor.
He would return to Riziland to work as a solicitor, with his "finest moment" being when he defended many of those arrested during the 1921 race riots at Port Fitzhubert at the lower courts. The riots were "a watershed moment" for Bohannon, with Bohannon later saying that "from that point forward, I knew my true destiny: to uplift my Bahian kith and kin."
This was only strengthened during the Great War, when Gaullica occupied Riziland: Bohannon's older brother, Jedidiah, would end up resisting the Gaullican occupiers alongside many Freemen. Zophar Bohannon, while sympathetic to his brother, and believing that "the Gaullicans would chain us Freemen just like they did to our ancestors on Imagua," did not participate in violent resistance. Instead, he secretly funded resistance organisations, which in 1932 led to Bohannon's arrest by Gaullican forces.
Political career
Early political career
After the end of the Great War in 1935, Bohannon was released from prison, and he briefly returned to work as solicitor. The following year, he left law behind, and entered politics, establishing the Movement for the Advancement of Bahians in Riziland (MABIR) with Duncan Morrison with the aim of "self-governance and independence within the Estmerish Empire."
In 1937, Estmere granted self-government to the Colony of Riziland, with the establishment of a legislative council headed by a Chief Minister. Bohannon decided to run for a seat as a MABIR candidate on one of the eight seats allocated to "natives" in Riziland proper.
Zophar Bohannon would win a seat in the Legislative Council, as well as six other legislators from MABIR. However, they were sidelined by the Sotirian Democratic Party and Conservatives, who together with Archibald Sinclair from the Riziland Liberal Party, were able to form a coalition government. However, as Leader of the Official Opposition, Zophar Bohannon would become one of the more dominant figures within the Legislative Council, wishing for "inclusion of the native majority at the seat of government," and criticising Sinclair for "his efforts to tie himself to the whites, when he should uplift our fellow blacks."
By 1941, however, Bohannon faced a challenge from Samhuri Ngonidzashe of the Rwizikuran National Movement from the left, with Ngonidzashe campaigning on "immediate independence" and attacking the Freemen for "their collaboration with the northerners." Despite these challenges, Bohannon was able to win his seat with relative ease, although MABIR fell from 7 to 4 seats.
As the SDP and Conservatives were unwilling to form a coalition with the New National Party, and there would be a tie if the existing coalition were maintained (albeit with the Conservatives as the senior partner), MABIR was approached to join the coalition. Zophar Bohannon refused, but offered to support the government in "matters of supply and confidence." This allowed for the coalition to stay intact.
During his second term at the Legislative Council, Zophar Bohannon supported Riziland's entry into the Solarian War, supported giving weRwizi co-official status to Estmerish and Gaullican, but did not support universal healthcare, saying that "having free healthcare would mean there would be no funding, which would lead to our hospitals falling into neglect." In 1945, when the SDP and the Conservatives merged to form the United Party, Zophar Bohannon expressed concerns that "the whites are banding together to protect their privileges and halt any chance for a regime friendly to Estmere."
The following year, elections were held, which saw MABIR win six seats, while the United Party won five. As the United Party viewed the New National Party as being too far to the right, and MABIR viewed the Rwizikuran National Movement as being too far to the left, both parties formed a "grand coalition" which would shape Rwizikuran politics for the next several years.
Chief Minister
On 23 October, 1945, Zophar Bohannon became the third Chief Minister of Riziland as a result of the agreement between MABIR and the United Party, succeeding Jean-Louis Milhaud. The agreement sought to ensure that "the rights of the varungu shall be respected in the post-independence period," and that they would be able to stay in an independent Riziland.
His priority as Chief Minister was to focus on ensuring that the mandates of Kigomba and East Riziland were to be integrated into "an independent Riziland," and to oversee a "seamless transition to independence." Thus, he began drafting a constitution, as he anticipated that Estmere would "be more than willing to end its committment to Riziland," and sought to establish an "outpost of democracy in Bahia."
In 1946, the Community of Nations agreed to attach the mandates of Kigomba and East Riziland to an independent Riziland, while Estmere began preparations to give independence to Riziland. In a nod to the Rwizikuran National Movement, he chose to rename Riziland to Rwizikuru, even as he sought to ensure that Rwizikuru would be "not a Rwizi Rwizikuru, but a Rwizikuran Rwizikuru." Thus, over the summer, as the finishing touches were made to the constitution, Bohannon began to prepare for its post-independence future.
On 26 August, 1946, he presented the finished constitution to a vote in the Legislative Council. After it passed with eleven votes in favour to three against, with the two legislators from the Rwizikuran National Movement abstaining, Zophar Bohannon scheduled elections for 24 September, and dissolved the Legislative Council sine die.
Thus, Zophar Bohannon would run against Samhuri Ngonidzashe of the Rwizikuran National Movement, while in an effort to be conciliatory to the varungu community, he appointed Alistair Perry, the erstwhile leader of the United Party, as his running mate. While Samhuri Ngonidzashe campaigned on constructing a "socialist Rwizikuru in accordance with Bahian traditions," Zophar Bohannon campaigned on "building upon Rwizikuru's prosperity for the good of all Rwizikurans."
His efforts to appeal to minority communities who felt threatened by Ngonidzashe's "veRwizi chauvinism" meant that on election day, MABIR won 93 of the 150 seats in the National Assembly, while Bohannon himself won the Presidency with 53% of the vote.
Thus, in the next two months, Zophar Bohannon prepared for the independence celebrations, while simultaneously appealing to the Freemen, Mirites, and varungu to "give Rwizikuru a chance," as he feared that their exodus could lead to Rwizikuru "being set up to fail." Most of these communities heeded Bohannon's call and supported Bohannon's leadership.
Presidency
On 2 December, 1946, Zophar Bohannon was sworn in as the first President of Rwizikuru, succeeding outgoing Governor Percy Argall. Later that day, he opened the National Assembly for the first time in Port Fitzhubert, declaring his intention to create a "Rwizikuran Rwizikuru, not a Rwizi Rwizikuru."
Zophar Bohannon's main priority was to construct infrastructure "to deepen the connections between the districts of Yekumavirira and East Riziland with the rest of Rwizikuru," with his idea being the construction of a motorway to connect Port Vaugeois (in present-day Mabifia) with Sainte-Germaine (present-day Mambiza, Garambura). Another of his key priorities was to "incorporate all Rwizikurans into the Rwizikuran fabric," with much of his efforts focusing on encouraging Freemen, Mirites, and varungu to "contribute to Rwizikuran society."
However, from the start, he faced opposition to his rule, particularly in Yekumavirira, where Alai Abyodu Tsalar started the Yekumavirira Liberation Movement, with the aim of giving Yekumavirira increased autonomy. Zophar Bohannon initially opposed Tsalar's demands, particularly as he feared that acquiesing to these demands "would lead to the unraveling of the Rwizikuran nation."
In 1950, Bohannon was re-elected for a second term, as the Movement for the Advancement of Bahians in Riziland was still able to maintain control over the National Assembly, even as it won fewer votes than Ngonidzashe's Rwizikuran National Movement, as it garnered 82 seats to the Rwizikuran National Movement's 68. This allowed for Zophar Bohannon to continue with his agenda, even though Samhuri Ngonidzashe had 51% of the vote compared to Bohannon's 46% of the vote.
In 1951, he made an agreement with Tsalar that guaranteed that Kirobyi would be used as a language of instruction at infant schools in Yekumavirira. The following year, Zophar Bohannon would open the first section of the Mugwagwa motorway from Sainte-Germaine to Port Graham via Port Fitzhubert, which Bohannon hailed as a "great triumph for all Rwizikurans," and hoped that the "motorway would help integrate our country."
By 1953, Bohannon began preparations for his own succession: although he was very popular among the Mirites, Freemen, and varungu, and relatively popular among many minority groups such as the Balisa, Bohannon was becoming unpopular among the veRwizi majority, who viewed Bohannon and the MABIR as being "too closely linked with the colonial period." While Alistair Perry had been Zophar Bohannon's trusted successor, Bohannon began expressing concern that the nomination of a varungu nominee "would scare many Rwizikurans off [from the MABIR]." Due to his age and the term limits set out in the Rwizikuran constitution, Bohannon was not going to run for a third term in office.
Thus, in 1954, at the MABIR leadership convention, his Vice-President Alistair Perry ran against Mudiwa Dangarembga, with Zophar Bohannon controversially endorsing Dangarembga, which Perry saw as a "grave betrayal" on Bohannon's part. Despite Zophar Bohannon's support of Mudiwa Dangarembga, and Dangarembga's support among most veRwizi members of MABIR, Alistair Perry won the leadership convention, and was selected to be MABIR's presidential nominee. To placate Dangarembga's supporters, Perry named Dangarembga as his running mate.
When the writ was dropped on 2 August, 1954, Zophar Bohannon campaigned for Alistair Perry's electoral campaign, with Bohannon attacking Vudzijena Nhema for "his unrealistic policies" and "determination to make Rwizikuru into a veRwizi ethnostate that will oppress its minority populations." Despite Bohannon's efforts to get Perry elected, Vudzijena Nhema would win on 24 September, 1954, with 62% of the vote to Perry's 38% of the vote, while MABIR lost 67 of its 82 seats. That night, Zophar Bohannon announced his "permanent retirement from Rwizikuran politics," and praised the results as a sign that "Rwizikuru's democratic traditions are holding strong."
Retirement and death
On 2 December, 1954, Zophar Bohannon formally passed the powers of the Presidency to Vudzijena Nhema of the Rwizikuran National Movement, and left the Presidential Palace for the last time, with Bohannon handing power peacefully to Nhema.
Bohannon would return to his house at Port Fitzhubert, where he would live for most of the rest of his life. While he did comment on political affairs, being very critical of Nhema amending the constitution to ban political parties from being represented in the National Assembly, and for establishing the United Bahian Republic in 1960, as well as criticising the removal of Estmerish from the curriculum, Zophar Bohannon was otherwise uninvolved politically.
Following the 1963 coup when Vudzijena Nhema was removed by the Rwizikuran military while Nhema was attending an AESE conference, Bohannon decried "the use of force to change the government," although he did agree with the military that Nhema "hindered the country's development," and hoped the military would restore democracy.
In January 1964, a coup overthrew Pierre-Ardachir Niyonzima as the military viewed him as being too radical. When the military offered Zophar Bohannon to serve as a civilian President, Bohannon declined, saying "I have done my service to this country." This led to the military establishing a National Salvation Council, led by Izibongo Ngonidzashe.
As his health deteriorated, and as Sapientianism was cracked down by the junta, Zophar Bohannon left Port Fitzhubert in 1966 for Morwall, with Bohannon spending the rest of his life in a small apartment with his wife.
Zophar Bohannon would die from post-surgical complications after an operation to remove his inflamed gallbladder on 23 July, 1971. He was subsequently repatriated to Rwizikuru, where a full state funeral was held. Following the ceremony, Zophar Bohannon was interred at the Civic Cemetery in Port Fitzhubert in a "grave neither modest nor lavish."
Personal life
Family
Zophar Bohannon met his wife, the 19-year old veRwizi Katsiru Towungana in 1921 when she was arrested during the Port Fitzhubert riots. Taking a liking to her, Bohannon "fell in love" with Katsiru, and married in 1923. They would remain "happily married" under Zophar Bohannon's death in 1971, with Katsiru dying in Morwall in 1988.
Together, they had three children: two sons, Solomon Bohannon, who was born in 1924 and died in 1931 from malaria, and Henry Bohannon, who was born in 1926 and died during the Mabifian-Rwizikuran War in 1969, and a daughter, Verity Hawkins, who was born in 1928 and died in 2002 in Port Fitzhubert. At the time of Zophar Bohannon's death in 1971, he was survived by his daughter; three grandchildren from Henry Bohannon (two grandsons: Moses and Reason, and a granddaughter, Ester), and four grandchildren from Verity Hawkins (three granddaughters: Charlotte, Amity, and Humility, and a grandson, Cyrus), as well as a great-grandson from Charlotte Nichols, Adam.
Unlike his relationship with his wife, his relationship with his children and grandchildren was distant, with Zophar Bohannon focusing more on work than his own family: even after he retired from law and from politics, he still rarely spent time with his own children. Henry Bohannon in particular noted that "my father would only take notice of me whenever I achieved something important, and otherwise ignored me." After marriage, Zophar Bohannon would rarely meet with his grandchildren, only interacting with them "at most, once a year on Nativity." Bohannon privately noted in his diary that he "never liked children."
Language
Zophar Bohannon spoke Estuary Creole as a first language, and learnt Estmerish in school. He also learnt some weRwizi "because the school expected us to prosleytise to the natives," although he would learn more weRwizi later in life to be fluent, although he spoke with an "Estmerish accent." During the Great War, he learnt some Gaullican "to understand the guards [at my prison] and to explain myself to them."
Political views
Zophar Bohannon's political views were generally conservative: Bohannon wanted to preserve "the existing economic situation in the country," with Bohannon fearing that "any change to the economy would be to Rwizikuru's detriment." Under his leadership, he maintained the existing economic system "with very few changes," and took no action to alter the economic situation in the country.
Socially, he wanted to preserve "our traditional values," although most biographers argue that he meant preserving Freemen values, with a biographer saying that Bohannon had "the quintessential Freemen attitude towards the native population" of paternalism and believed that "the only way for Rwizikuru to be free is to shed the chains that bind the natives to their systems and hold them back from modernity." This has led some to conclude that Bohannon might actually be a classical liberal.
Religion
Zophar Bohannon was baptized in the Embrian Communion, with his name coming from the Old Testament, which means rising early. He was outwardly devout, with Bohannon making a point to attend "every service" since he was a child, and following the traditions within the Embrian Communion.
However, Zophar Bohannon was from the early 1920s onward, heavily involved in the Sapientianist movement, with Zophar Bohannon having been documented as attending jungle lounges in both Port Fitzhubert, and later, Morwall, on a regular basis. According to a fellow member, Zophar Bohannon "believed in reincarnation," and sought to become a Fangolii, although Bohannon "only joined because as he rose to the upper echelon, he felt the need to join the movement."
Honors
Domestic honors
- File:RwizikuruFlag.PNG - Anogamuchira iyo Kurongeka kweTembo, 1946
- File:RwizikuruFlag.PNG - Anogamuchira iyo Kurongeka yeMeriti, 1946
Foreign honors
- Template:Country data Estmere - Member of the Order of the Marinians, 1945
- Template:Country data Estmere - Cross of the Commonwealth, 1946