The case against Baltasar “Bello” Ebang Engonga – great-nephew of President Obiang of Equatorial Guinea, currently incarcerated after private footage of him appeared online – is far more complex than it first seems.
What, then, would the original Balthazar-a biblical Magi of Christian legend, one of three-think of his namesake? Myrrh is the embalming scent and sensual ointment that speaks simultaneously to sorrow and pleasure: it was the offering made by the African king of the New Testament gospels as he followed the star to the cradle of the baby Jesus.
He may have formed the opinion that Baltasar Ebang Engonga, whose recorded sex encounters have been widely shared online from Dakar to Nairobi and Lagos to Cape Town, was nothing but a libertine who had disgraced his reputation. A licentious, morally bankrupt rogue, a crazed epicurean. Lewd, immodest, vagrant, bawdy.
An extravagant and cunning man who ruins marriages for the pure joy of seduction and victory. He certainly is a worshipper of Priapus, the god of male fertility, and if there are sex therapists in Equatorial Guinea, he should avail himself of them. He is not, however, a criminal. And therein lies the problem with this situation.
By issuing a furious press release denouncing the assault on the nation’s “moral and ethical values” and worldwide reputation, the government of Equatorial Guinea attempted to hide this evident reality. Both his mother, the first lady, and vice president Teodorin Nguema Obiang Mangue condemned the depravity displayed by the guy known as “Bello,” or “handsome one,” whose crazed sexuality,
Who decided to publish the private lives of hundreds of women, even when doing so would result in some of them considering taking their own lives? There is a possibly extremely high-level-or far-reaching-answer to that question. Obviously, it won’t be asked.
Of course, there are the women themselves, who – despite their apparent consent to having been videotaped for purely private purposes – this Web voyeuristic extravaganza degrades them into mere characters in a satyr sex show. Without question, they are the victims.
All that is needed is to read a few dozen of the hundreds of online reactions: Most of them hail the accomplishments of “Uncle Balthy,” who has become a superhero deserving of a spot in the Guinness Book of Records. Almost all of them lash out against the “Balthized” ladies – half witches, half nymphomaniacs and above all unfaithful. More or less all of them are written by males.
As you may see, a lady is never someone you should rely on! In the opinion of one Cameroonian influencer, “she’s only faithful to herself,” while the Ivorian internet user says, “the lesson of this story is to check your girl’s phone once a week.”
A Catholic priest from Nigeria becomes horrified at the interest of his flock with the scandal and bursts out from the tidal wave of smug laughter and brash machismo unleashed by “Bellogate.”
Posting in a sermon on X that went viral, he added, “You who watch the videos and pass them on are no different from the people who made them.” Then he politicized his warning by implying that it is the wealthy and influential men, like Baltasar, that have the most extramarital partners. Class conflict-the cause of adultery?
Politics :Consumed by cravings and feelings
Father Kevin Ugwu rebukes the prevalent connection between politics and sex in various African political contexts. He claims that, in various African capitals like Malabo, Yaoundé, and Kinshasa, one condition of political position is expected to be sexual promiscuity. For ministers, merchants, and government servants, marital faithfulness is seen as abnormal to an extent that it raises suspicion. Sexual freedom like this is accepted as a public face of privilege and power, and having many spouses or mistresses is a significant expression of success.
Ugwu also gives attention to the effects of AIDS and also the religious moralizing that have made the elite guiltily feel ashamed of their sexual transgressions. Certainly, there has been some moral criticism where extra-marital affairs are still widely accepted. He uses the example of the former South African President Jacob Zuma to depict the power linked so frequently to sexual behavior.
Zuma’s contention that his having sex was in defense of his political position represents a greater cultural perception that political survival takes precedence over personal transgressions. Equally, the public usually dismisses accusations of sexual wrongdoing against influential individuals, such as Ousmane Sonko, saying they are politically motivated plots.
The rise of social media and global voyeurism has brought with it new varieties of scandal and exposure. As Ugwu points out, the carnality that underpins political authority is best illustrated by a political figure, Engonga, who shamelessly engaged in brazen sexual practices.
In this context, the men in positions of power are often considered embodiments of fatal attraction and destructive force, much like historical figures who used this position to seduce and humiliate others. Ultimately, Ugwu argues that power and sexuality are interconnected through narcissism and a desire for control, where power is a sexual stimulant that distorts interpersonal relations along with public imagination.
