Jean-Baptiste Hachème

Who is Jean-Baptiste Hachème?

Major Jean-Baptiste Hachème was a Beninese military officer and politician. He was most active when his country was known as Dahomey. Of Fon origins, he entered the national political stage in 1963, when he quelled riots started by supporters of former president Hubert Maga. Henceforth he served under various government positions, including briefly the de facto head of Dahomey.

He was dismissed from the army twice, mainly due to his residence in the south. Hachème was brought back shortly thereafter on both occasions, being assigned small or largely non-functioning positions. Along with Alphonse Alley and Pascal Chabi Kao, Hachème was accused of planning a coup against President Mathieu Kérékou on February 28, 1973 and was imprisoned with 20 years of hard labor. He was released in 1984.