Monja Jaona

Monja Jaona was born in September 1910 in Amboasary, in the semi-arid southern Androy region. Imprisoned by the French colonial administration following the 1947 Malagasy Uprising for his anti-colonial activities, he emerged as the undisputed political voice of the rural southern peasantry.

In 1958, Jaona founded the Mouvement National pour l'Independance de Madagascar (MONIMA). In April 1971, he led the historic peasant rebellion against French-backed head taxes and cattle levies, an uprising whose violent repression ignited the student strikes that brought down the Tsiranana regime in May 1972. Serving as Mayor of Toliara and elder statesman, he was universally revered for his ascetic simplicity and incorruptibility.