 President Bokassa declared himself President for Life in 1972, and named himself Emperor Bokassa I of the Central African Empire (as the country was renamed) on 4 December 1976.A year later, Emperor Bokassa crowned himself in a lavish and expensive ceremony that was ridiculed by much of the world.In April 1979, young students protested against Bokassa's decree that all school attendees would need to buy uniforms from a company owned by one of his wives.