Politics

Africa is a strange continent. It has always been, and probably will forever be. Here, nothing knows when to stop.

When things start happening, they go on and on and on... to a devastating end.

When drought knocks on this continent, it burns the air, the tree leaves, the grass and the soil.

And when it rains, the drops come large and violent, swelling and raging the rivers and sweeping away bridges and vehicles while flooding whole counties.

When we politic, we do so all year round, in joy and in anger, at home and at work, at the bar over a drink and in church with the Bible in hand.

Likewise, when rulers climb to the throne, they sit on them forever, unbowed by age and the pressure from the opposition.

Presidents for life, they are called. Here, Peter Oduor looks at African leaders who just won’t quit, come rain or sunshine, wins or losses.

Despite the obvious negatives though, they have done well in some areas, especially education and stoking national pride.

Name: Jose Eduardo Dos Santos

Country: Angola

The Bad: Dos Santos is about 70 years and some months now and since 1979 has been the president of the Republic of Angola under Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), a party that has ruled the country since independence.

In 1979, Dos Santos was popularly elected into office, and... well... that was the first and the last time he was ever elected into office.

The Good:

After years of civil strife, Angola is back on the road to economic and infrastructural recovery.

Its major roads, which had been affected by the war, have been marked for reconstruction and, boosted by oil exports, the Angolan economy performed well in 2012, registering a 7.4 per cent growth.

In a country of 10 cities, eight major sea ports and several airports, if Dos Santos runs things right, in the next few years his people will probably be well-placed on the economic maps of the world.

It should be noted, too, that despite the civil chaos, oil and diamond extraction has kept the country afloat, financing around 60 per cent of the country’s economy.

Between 2001 and 2010, Angola was praised for recording the world’s highest annual average GDP growth, at 11.1 per cent.

Name: Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo

Country: Equatorial Guinea

The bad: Born in 1942, Obiang took over the leadership of Equatorial Guinea via a coup in 1979, overthrowing his uncle and dictator Francisco Macias Nguema — whom he later had arrested, tried and executed by a firing squad.

The maverick leader has been accused of abuse of office several times.

For instance, he wants to move the country’s capital from Malabo to his village home of Oyala, his son Teodorin Obiang is his vice president, another son heads a ministry and his brother works as the country’s defense minister.

Talk about keeping it close to the heart!

The good: The country is small in size, so it has a small population... and oil.

Those fossils and small population make it the richest country per capita in Africa, and the country’s GDP per capita is ranked 69th in the world.

Under Obiang, Equatorial Guinea’s infrastructure has developed so much that 80 per cent of the roads are said to be covered in asphalt and airports have been put up in several areas.

Name: Paul Biya

Country: Cameroon

The Bad:

Now aged 80, Biya’s claws are still digging deeper into power.

Ever since he got into office in 1982, Biya has had sweeping executive and legislative powers, has been accused of being creative and innovative with national elections, takes occasional visits to Switzerland where he stays for periods of between two weeks and — hold your breath — three months, and of course that small matter of being branded one of the world’s most ruthless and vicious dictators still haunts him.

The Good:

To his credit, Biya is known to love education.

His regime has been credited with the growth of literacy levels in Cameroon, which currently stand at 67.5 per cent.

Although he has been in power all that time, he gave in to pressure in 1990 and allowed other political parties to operate in the country.

The per-capita GDP (purchasing power parity) of Cameroon, at $2,300 (Sh195,500), is one of the top ten in Africa and the country aims to become an emerging economy by 2035.

Name: King Mswati the Third

Country: Swaziland

The Bad:

Having climbed to the throne at 18, he so far has clocked 26-plus years as head of the Swazi monarchy.

His birth name, Makhosetive, means ‘King of Nations’, but it should have meant ‘King for Years’.

The husband to 13 (or 14) wives and father to 23 (or 24) children loves his life royal; from expensive luxury cars to shopping sprees for his women.

On democracy, he has no record. The trade unions in his country are frustrated and periodically banned, political parties are constantly under this ban or the other, and numerous political prisoners cool their heels in Swazi jails.

The Good:

Swaziland is known for its flourishing textile industry, which, together with sugar, makes the major exports of the country to the US and other Western nations.

Under Mswati, the external debt of the country has reduced to a not-so-huge figure over the past 20 years, leaving the internal debt to be little if not negligible.

Back in 2006, Swaziland’s external debt was 20 per cent less than the GDP of the country and, for some years now, Swazi primary school children have been enjoying free primary education.

Name: Robert Mugabe

Country: Zimbabwe

The Bad:

Mugabe suffered for Zimbabwe as he led a guerrilla movement against White minority rule.

He was jailed for 10 years for his political ambitions, and when he was released in 1974, the locals saw him as their hero.

That is why, in December 31, 1987, he sauntered into office quite easily. But today, critics say, Zimbabwe suffers because of this liberator.

At 89, he has a universally appalling human rights record; he understands democracy differently from most people and does not hesitate to curtail it.

Since he got into office some 26 years ago, Harare has overseen the forceful displacement of White land owners, a ruthless crushing of any opposition, a visceral loathing of the West (by the president), and a staggering economy.

The Good:

Despite terrible inflation, the International Monetary Fund was quoted in 2010 as saying that Zimbabwe was on a buoyant economic health.

Two years later, the European Union initiated trade partnerships with several countries on behalf of Zimbabwe.

On education, Zimbabwe has one of the highest literacy levels in Africa, with some figures putting it at between 90 per cent 92 per cent.

Name: Yoweri Kaguta Museveni

Country: Uganda

The Bad:

He could be aged 68 or 69, for no one knows his exact age — just like no one knows when he will call it a day.

His record for the past 26 years in office is the kind that bad military-run state movies are made of.

He rules by the gun and entertains nothing in the form of criticism.

Like all the other dictators, Museveni has been accused of being a nepotist whose relatives (sons and wife included) enjoy state wealth backed by government positions and offices.

The Good:

The education sector in Uganda is among one of the most vibrant in East Africa, with many Kenyans studying across the border.

Uganda was recorded as having a 66.8 per cent literacy rate by 2002, and has a strong mobile phone network system.

Kampala is also reasonably open to business with neighbouring countries, and the country has made great strides towards oil exploration and full commercialisation.

Also, under Museveni, Uganda’s war against HIV/Aids has been relatively successful, with infection rates now lower than they were in the 1980s.

Name: Blaise Compaore

Country: Burkina Faso

The Bad:

Burkina Faso is one of the poorest nations in Africa, and Compaore has led it since 1987, when he turned against his close friend Thomas Sankara in a coup and ended up murdering him to climb into power.

Born in 1951, Blaise is a former military man who rose to the rank of a captain in the Voltaic Army before taking over office.

The Good:

Whereas Compaore is high-handed against the media, the cinema industry is actually doing well and forms an integral part of the West African film industry.

He is also lauded within the region for his efforts at mediating between Mali forces and the rebels of the North, but these two are probably the only positives about his leadership as he scores badly in almost all the other spheres.

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OTHER LEADERS RECEIVING BARBS

Mohammed VI (Morocco):

In power from 1999. Under him, Morocco saw the reduction of the executive powers of the King, who now shares power with a government-based Parliament.

Across the border, Abdelaziz Bouteflika (Algeria), in power from 1999, runs a Parliament with a large number of women.

Paul Kagame (Rwanda):

In power since 2000, several international bodies have praised him for his firm (almost dictatorial) approach to leadership.

Under him, Rwanda has remained peaceful and more open towards business from other countries.

In sub-Saharan Africa, Kigali is one of the easiest places to do business in.

Ismail Omar Guelleh (Djibouti):

Guelleh has been powerful in the health sector.

The life expectancy in Djibouti is higher than that of most African nations, at 62 years.

He has also worked at reducing child mortality rates with some visible success, and scores well in trade.

Idriss Debby Itno (Chad):

For a country ranked the seventh poorest in the world, with 80 per cent of its population living below the poverty line as indicated by the UN Human Development Index, Chad has little positives about it.

Yahya Jammeh (Gambia):

He took power in a July 1994 military coup, was elected President in 1996 and re-elected in 2001, 2006, and 2011.

His government is known for its progressive approach towards gender equality, starting with ‘free’ education for girls to having a female vice president.

But he has also been accused of gross human rights violations, including the execution of nine prisoners in August last year despite international lobbying.

Omar Al-Bashir (Sudan):