A longtime resident in the Dominican Republic, former Haitian President Henri Namphy chose to be buried here. Namphy was 85 years old at the time of his death and had been diagnosed with cancer. The general lived in exile in the Dominican Republic after being ousted in September 1988 by Prosper Avril, only two years into his government.
He had asked to be buried in the Dominican Republic. His tomb is located at the Cristo Redentor public cemetery in northern Santo Domingo.
His friend Carl Denis, told Listin Diario journalists, that Namphy had never returned to Haiti, disgusted at the turn of affairs in that nation. “He strived to give Haiti a good Constitution but they insisted on having a bad one. In short, many of the things he wanted to do, he could not, because there was always a destructive opposition and that thoroughly displeased him and drove him to self-exile here [in the Dominican Republic], where he lived out his final years peacefully,” said Denis.
He said that Namphy saw with great regret what has happened in Haiti and how that country continues to fall apart. “He disliked the situation in Haiti, extraordinarily. Let me tell you one thing: while your country has improved, our country has declined since 1986. The difference is not that we stay at ground level, but that we continue to go lower,” he observed.
Namphy first moved to Puerta de Hierro in northern Santo Domingo, and then to the mountain town of Jarabacoa, where he passed away. He is survived by his wife Altagracia Marte, his two daughters Martine Namphy, who lives in Martinique, and Melissa Namphy, who has lived in the Dominican Republic since she was eight.
Namphy was president of Haiti for the temporary government after the military coup that overthrew dictator Jean Claude Duvalier (Baby Doc), putting an end to 30 years of Duvalier dictatorship. He was replaced by Leslie Manigat on 7 February 1988.
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Miami Herald
2 July 2018
