Djoumbé Fatima, the famous queen in Comoros who ruled from the young age of five till her death

Today is exactly 43 years Comoros declared independence after an independence referendum was held in 1974.

Three of the islands making up Comoros voted for independence, but a fourth island, Mayotte, voted to stay with France.

Wishes of good health and happiness for the government and people have since been pouring in for Comoros.

As part of the celebrations, it wouldn’t be out of place to look at the contributions and achievements of one of the famous queens, Djoumbé Fatima, the last ruler of Mohéli before colonization by France.

She was the queen of the autonomous island from the age of five until her death.

Her father and mother were both members of the Merina Royal family that was based in Madagascar.

Fatima ascended the throne when her father, Ramanataka died, even though her mother and her stepfather, who was a close adviser to her father, ruled as regents for some years.

During Fatima’s rule, French were eager to gain influence and develop their presence on Mohéli.

As such, the French provided a governess for her known as Madame Droit when her mother divorced.

The French further arranged for her coronation at the age of 12, in 1849.

Two years later, Fatima expelled the governess and married Saïd Mohammed Nasser M’Kadar, who was a cousin to Zanzibar’s sultan.

M’Kadar ruled with her as prince escort until the French ousted him in 1860.

Fatima remained in power and married two sultans in succession. She made commercial agreements with a French trader in 1865 but rescinded this two years later.

She also renewed her ties with Zanzibar, and renounced the throne for her son.

Fatima was later restored to the throne when the French returned in 1871. She ruled till her death without any disturbance.