Top 5 African leaders who have refused to step down
Africa is on the verge of another crisis, another crisis which risks reducing a whole country of two million people to ashes, Gambia is in crisis because of one, Yahya Jammeh.
Yahya Jameh
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Yahya Jammeh
Gambia went to polls last year and democratically elected, Adama Barrow of the United Democratic Party effectively ending Jammeh’s hold to power.
Jammeh seized power on July 22 1994, after leading a bloodless coup which topped the then president of Gambia, Sir Dawda Jawara. Since then he has ruled Gambia with an iron fist, shutting down all the media, imprisoning and torturing his opponents and effectively running the country’s economy to the dogs.
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The absurd thing is that after the 2016 presidential elections were announced, Jammeh initially accepted the results and conceded defeat, only for him to turn back and refuse to accept the same results and calling for another elections.
This absurdity goes a long way to show just the sheer unpredictably, giant sized egos, teenage tantrums and how full of themselves some African dictators are.
President-elect Adama Barrow is supposed to be inaugurated this Thursday on 19th and has said the inauguration ceremony must go on as stipulated by the Constitution.
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have issued Jammeh one last warning, declaring he has until midnight of Wednesday, January 18 to leave office for the swearing in of his successor, Adama Barrow failure to which unstipulated actions will be taken, including sending a force to forcefully remove him from power.
His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr. Yahya Abdul-Aziz Awal Jemus Junkung Jammeh Naasiru Deen Babili Mansa is however not alone in the list of African leaders who since coming to power have refused to leave office.
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Robert Mugabe
Since coming to power on March 4th 1980, Robert Mugabe has refused to leave office and declared only God will remove him from office.
The 93 year old veteran leader was initially a well beloved leader, after all he had fought for Zimbabwe independence, driven to exile and even imprisoned under Ian Smith’s Rhodesian colonial government.
Things however took a turn for the worst after Mugabe rein in office, he started crushing his dissents, nationalizing private corporations/companies and abandoning the rule of law, choosing iron will instead, the results? He transformed the bread basket of Africa into a bucket case.
His second wife, Grace Mugabe (nicknamed grabbing grace) on the other hand gained influence running Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU PF) like it her local women ‘merry go round’
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Going on shopping spree in Paris, shopping designer fur coats as Zimbabweans back home do with sky rocketing inflation.
One, Pastor Patrick Mugazda was arrested this week for prophesying that Mugabe will die this year and is currently behind bars.
Grace Mugabe is currently positioning herself to take over from ailing Mugabe.
Yoweri Museveni
Museveni is a classical case of ‘power going into one’s head’ from 1981 – 1986, Museveni led rebellions to toppled the brutal and horror regime of Idi Amin Dada then followed by toppling Milton Obote.
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After seizing power in 1986 he helped bring stability to the war torn Uganda, in the mid to late 1990s, Museveni was celebrated by the west as part of a new generations of African leaders.
However with his continued stay in power, Museveni has presided over suspension of the constitution, conducting a brutal crush campaign against his opponents who are arrested and imprisoned at his whim.
Human rights is near nonexistent in Uganda. His Wife, Janet Museveni after being elected Member of Parliament for Ruhaama County, later on served as minister under different ministries including education
Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Museveni’s son early this year was appointed Senior Presidential Adviser for Special Operations, a move seen by many experts as a preparation to eventually succeed him as President.
Joseph Kabila
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The president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Joseph Kabila, was due to end his term in December 2016, but refused to step down plugging conflict prone, congo into another crisis.
Kabila extended his office term by months saying there is currently no proper voter’s register, a task he was supposed to overview since coming to power in 2006.
Under a new draft agreement reached by political parties following protest on the streets which resulted in tens of Congolese being shot by police, Kabila is supposed to step down after elections held before the end of 2017, but again knowing how ‘sweet power’ is he may just pull a Yahya Jammeh stunt again.
Pierre Nkurunziza
The ball dribbling president of Burundi is another victim of being in power for too long. After being elected by parliament in 2005 as president he was again elected in a huge win in 2010.
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However when his presidential term elapsed in 2015 he refused to cede power as stipulated by the constitution which limits a president to only two term.
Nkurunziza in his defense claimed the first term does not count since he was elected by Parliament not the people, the fact that he had served the stipulated 10 years as president did not matter.
A crisis soon ensued where he was even briefly toppled before again resuming office, dozens of people protesting his stay in office were gunned down.
On July 2015 He vied for a third term and won another five term in office in an election marred by violence and a boycott by the opposition.
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