The region called Bougainville is made of several islands in the Pacific Ocean. Geographically, they are part of the Solomon Islands archipelago, but during colonial times, Bougainville was lumped in with Papua New Guinea. The Bougainvillians have little in common with the rest of Papua New Guinea, however, and fought their own war for independence, which by treaty is supposed to be accomplished in 2027. But a man named Noah Musingku appears to be throwing a wrench into the plans, since he has declared himself king of his home village of Tonu, which he calls the Kingdom of Papaala. Musingku has a lot of local support, since he is able to provide services that the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) could not afford.
Musingku is able to do that because of the Ponzi scheme he ran in the 1990s, called U-Vistract, which was a combination get-rich-quick investment scheme and prosperity gospel cult. He made at least $232 million from U-Vistract before he retreated to Bougainville and declared himself king. Musingku has been in seclusion in his heavily-secured compound since he was shot in 2006, but has been busy consolidating his power by issuing his own currency and promoting himself as a religious leader. But the story is much more bizarre in the details, since the people of Bougainville have never been treated fairly by any governing authorities. Read about Noah Musingku, who goes by His Majesty King David Peii Upeii 2nd, at the Guardian. -via Damn Interesting
(Image credit: Daniel Liévano)
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