He rose amongst the ranks of the Central African Armed Forces to become a general, and was away for military training when Jean-Bédel Bokassa carried out his coup d'état in 1965.
Between 1965 and 1967 he received military training in the École supérieure de l'Intendance in Paris and was thus not present in the Central African Republic (CAR) during the Saint-Sylvestre coup d'état of Jean-Bédel Bokassa in 1965.
[2] Beginning in January 1979, discontent amongst high school (lycée) and university students in Bangui, the Central African capital, led to a series of demonstrations and riots.
This culminated in what is known as the Bangui children's massacre: on 18–19 April 1979, Central African authorities arrested hundreds of young students from their homes at night and placed them in the Ngaragba Prison.
He stated that he had carried out a fact-finding trip to Bangui and gathered eyewitness testimonies, and could confirm that the children's massacre had taken place, and that a death toll of 100 "would not be an exaggeration".
[2] On 11 September 1979, Bangui declared the creation of a Republic of Ubangui and the formation of a provisional government-in-exile from a hotel in Paris,[4]: xl thus placing himself as a potential successor to Bokassa.
[7] In October 1992, Bangui decided to put himself forward as a candidate for the upcoming presidential election, but as he did not deposit the mandatory application fee of 5 million francs, his candidacy was never registered.