This abandoned mansion belonged to once a ruthless dictator Jean-Bédel Bokassa,the former president of Central African Republic. 
He served almost eleven years (1 January 1966 – 4 December 1976) as president (the last four years as president for life). For almost three years he reigned as self-proclaimed Emperor of Central Africa, though the country was still a de facto military dictatorship
When Ubangi-Shari gained its independence as the Central African Republic in 1960, the new president David Dacko, who was his distant cousin, invited Bokassa to head the armed forces.
In 1966, Bokassa used his position to oust Dacko and declared himself president. He then began a reign of terror, taking all important government posts for himself.
He personally supervised judicial beatings and introduced a rule that thieves would have an ear cut off for the first two offenses and a hand for the third.
In December 1976, in emulation of his hero Napoleon, he appointed himself emperor of the Central African Empire, with a coronation ceremony in 1977 costing US$20 million ($80 million today), practically bankrupting the country.
In 1979 he had hundreds of schoolchildren arrested for refusing to buy uniforms from a company owned by one of his wives. Bokassa was reported to have personally supervised the massacre of 100 of the schoolchildren by his Imperial Guard.
In 1971, Bokassa promoted himself to full general, and on 4 March 1972 declared himself president for life.
By that time France supplied his regime with financial and military backing. In exchange, Bokassa frequently took Giscard on hunting trips in Central Africa and supplied France with uranium, which was vital for France's nuclear energy and weapons program in the Cold Warera.
The "friendly and fraternal" cooperation with France—according to Bokassa's own terms—reached its peak with the imperial coronation ceremony of Bokassa I on 4 December 1977
The French Defence Minister sent a battalion to secure the ceremony; he also lent 17 aircraft to the new Central African Empire's government, and even assigned French Navy personnel to support the orchestra.The coronation ceremony lasted for two days
After a meeting with Gaddafi in September 1976, Bokassa converted to Islam and changed his name to Salah Eddine Ahmed Bokassa, but in December 1976 he converted back to Catholicism.
In September 1979,French forces overthrew his government while he was on an official visit to Libya and the former president whom he had overthrown reinstated. He fled to Ivory coast.
During Bokassa's seven years in exile, he wrote his memoirs after complaining that his French military pension was insufficient. He revealed that he used to share women with then France president who was a frequent visitor to Central African Republic.
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