Jean-Luc Mandaba

Who was Jean-Luc Mandaba?

Jean-Luc Mandaba was Prime Minister of the Central African Republic from 25 October 1993 to 12 April 1995 under president Ange-Félix Patassé.

Mandaba, a former health minister, was forced to resign as prime minister pre-empting a threatened vote of no-confidence in Patassé's government following accusations of corruption and incompetence. After the second army mutiny of 1996, he and Jean Serge Ouafio set up the 'Karako' militia forces, which Patassé then brought into the military to balance the predominance of southern Yakoma in the armed forces inherited from the Kolingba era.

After attending a dinner to celebrate the first anniversary of Patassé's second term on 21 October 2000, Mandaba suddenly felt sick and died at home of a heart attack. His family claimed that Mandaba was in fact poisoned at the dinner party, as he supposedly was thought to plan a coup to overthrow Patassé. Their suspicion was strongly supported when his 31-year old son Hervé died under similar circumstances a few weeks later.