Early Phase
Before independence the region of Chad was part of the French Equatorial Africa (as well as modern day Congo, Central Africa, and Gabon.) The first pioneers in the region were Max Kinyerezi who settled in what was then French Equatorial Africa (specifically in the area later part of Republic of the Congo), and Samson Mungono in the Belgian Congo (some other parts of which later became part of Chad); both arrived in 1953 from expansion of the Bahá'í Faith in Uganda in the same trip that delivered Enoch Olinga to British Cameroon. The Bahá'ís organized these and neighboring areas into the regional National Spiritual Assembly of central and eastern Africa in 1956 - including Uganda, Tanganyika, Kenya, Belgian Congo, Ruanda-Urundi, French Equatorial Africa, Zanzibar, Comoro Is, Seychelles and Chagos Archipelago. However once Chad was politically independent none of the territory specific to Chad had a Baha'i in it until 1961. The first Bahá'í in Chad was Cleophas K. Vava in what was then called Fort Lamy, the capital. About November 1962 the national spiritual assembly of Central and West Africa was claiming over 14,000 people almost all of whom were not in Chad. The situation changed little when the regional assembly associations were changed in 1963 to align Chad with Uganda and other central African countries. Early pioneers were Dempsey and Adrienne Morgan arrived in December 1967. The first native Chadian Bahá'í, Ernest Nbouba, converted early in 1968. By Ridván 1968 there were 7 Chadian Bahá'ís and two pioneers so a local assembly was elected. By 1969 the community had jumped to almost 1200 Bahá'ís and thirteen assemblies among 63 localities Bahá'ís were to be found in. There are anecdotes of a student returning home from Cameroon where he had heard of the religion and converted in Chad at the beginning of summer 1970. When he moved to Bongor in October to continue his studies he successfully spread his new religion among his fellow students and the growth extended into the city to become an area of six assemblies and over 125 Bahá'ís by April 1971.
Read more about this topic: Bahá'í Faith In Chad
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