A Failed Promise

Sinanda was a Timangan. He came from a small group of people living in central Bamanga. All the other groups were larger in number than the Timangans. For years the Timangans had been attacked and treated very badly.

The Timangans were a warlike people but, until Sinanda rose to power, they had no real leadership. Over the years, they had joined the Bamangan army in their thousands. But even when Sinanda became a colonel, most of the other Timangans were ordinary soldiers. Very few had become sergeants and only one or two Timangans had become officers. People from the other groups who joined the army also did the jobs they were good at. The Gamman government appointed Gammans as commanders and officers. The Managas ran the administration and the Bamans were to be found in the workshops and technical services.

When Sinanda became king, he retired many of the officers and men from the other groups. He got rid of many of the Gammans and the Managas. Most of the people did not think there was anything wrong with this.

Bamanga had been ruled for over a hundred years by the Gammans. The country was still poor and the only people who seemed to benefit from the Gamman rule were the Gammans. The last Gamman king was to be Fernando the Third.

When Sinanda realized that he was feared and respected by both the other officers and the men, he began to plot the overthrow of Fernando the Third. He held secret meetings with officers he could trust.

Slowly he persuaded more and more of them that it would be good for everyone in the country if Fernando was deposed and Sinanda became king.

Finally Sinanda had gathered together a battalion of officers and men he could trust. Most of them were Timangans, although there were some Managas and Bamans. They agreed that they would have to storm the palace and capture Fernando. He would not give up the throne any other way.

Sinanda moved his men until they were all placed in two barracks near the palace.

One night, when everyone slept, the battalions attacked the palace. Fernando's men fought more bravely than Sinanda had expected, and the palace was heavily fortified. The fighting went on all that night and most of the next day. Dozens of soldiers on both sides were killed in the fighting. At last Sinanda's men broke through the last line of defence and the palace was theirs.

They found Fernando hiding under a huge table in one of the cellars. One of Sinanda's special service units took him into the forests of Bamanga. He had never been heard of since then.

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After the overthrow of Fernando the Third, Sinanda began his reign as if he meant to improve the country and give everyone a better chance to have a good life. Since he had no royal blood in his veins, the people of

Bamanga believed that he would understand their difficulties and try to make them happy.

In his first speech to the people of Bamanga he said, "People of Bamanga! The tyrant Fernando has been overthrown! There will be no more suffering... no more unemployment. Every man will be able to buy meat and a measure of rice to feed his family.

When Fernando was king, you could not afford to take your children to school ... The teachers were not paid their salaries ... We will change all this. There will be no more oppression ... There will be no more oppression of Timangans."

''Bamanga belongs to all of us- Timangans, Managas, Bamans and Gammans. Good people of Bamanga, the future belongs to all of us. What we decide to do is up to us. I promise you a happier life, more food, more clean water, more education, more everything. I will stop now because I am not a man of many words.'' It was only few people there that realized that Sinanda had grown bored with the speech.

The people cheered happily and threw hats, sticks and anything else they could find into the air. They marched through the streets, singing and waving the lag of Bamanga.

"Down with tyrants! Long Iive Sinanda!'"

"Now,'' they said, "now we can enjoy life."

Bur it was not long before Sinanda began to forget all about his promises. At first he only laughed when he heard that his people were still suffering. He did not care if many Bamangans could not even afford one meal a day. Soon he became angry if anyone mentioned suffering and shortages.

It grew worse. Anyone who complained of hardship was taken away by drunken soldiers and was never heard of again.

Now Sinanda started to make changes in the country. The first thing he did was to dismiss everyone from the public service and the government who was not a Timangan. The old government ministers were sacked and all the new ones came from Timanga. The Chief of Police and all the regional commanders were Timangan.

He closed the parliament buildings and appointed a new cabinet to help him run the country. All the members were Timangan. All his personal staff came from Timanga - cooks, stewards, drivers, gate-keepers.

"When I surround myself with my own people, I feel safer,'' he said.

Sinanda now started a campaign of terror against all the men who had served Fernando the Third. He arranged for the kidnapping and killing of the Chief Justice of Bamanga and all the other judges. Army officers disappeared, never to be seen again. Senior Managing directors and leaders of business disappeared or were found dead in their cars or houses. The killings went on and on. Nothing seemed to satisfy Sinanda except more blood.