Marien Ngouabi was born in 1938 at the village of Ombellé, Cuvette Department, in Kouyou territory to Dominique Osséré m'Opoma and Antoinette Mboualé-Abemba.

On 14 September 1953, he went to study at the Ecole des enfants de troupes Général Leclerc in Brazzaville[2] and in 1957, he was sent to Bouar, Oubangui-Chari (now the Central African Republic).

Known for his leftist views, in April 1966 Ngouabi was demoted to the rank of soldier second class when he refused to be posted again at Pointe-Noire, after rebelling against the army's inflexibility in politics and voicing strong criticism to the president.

In the fall of 1971, students that went on strike in Brazzaville and Pointe Noire were severely repressed by the authorities.

There is some speculation that the French financed several coups in order to remove Ngouabi in power.

During the same month, Ngouabi denounced another attempted Diawara coup and arrested 45 people, including Pascal Lissouba and Sylvain Bemba, Minister of Information.

The bodies of Diawara, Ikoko and Bakekolo were toured around Brazzaville and exhibited by Ngouabi in person during a popular gathering held at the Stade de la Révolution.

On March 23, Lieutenant General Pierre Kinganga, in exile in Kinshasa in neighbouring Zaire since his alleged June 1969 coup attempt, disembarked in Brazzaville at the head of a commando attempting to overthrow the regime.

His body and that of his command members who fell with him remained exposed for a long time in front of the radio building.

After the events, Marien Ngouabi denounced the involvement of the CIA and President Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo) in the coup.

The Political Bureau was expanded to 10 members, to the benefit of Ambroise Noumazalaye and Captain Sassou N'Guesso.