Top 10 African Dictators
Africa is a beautiful place, full of mystery and a genuine spirituality, inhabited by many people and enjoying various natural resources and various climate landscapes. Some of the most interesting cultures and political empires were forged in this continent, and though they never imprinted at a worldwide level on culture, their traces can still be found in the cultural blends today, like in the African American culture, or the Brazilian culture or more and more on some European cultures.
However, the “black continent” seems to be lacking nowadays the capacity to get out of the colonial era and find a way to live democratically, with respect for life and human rights, with corruption kept under permanent check and with violence, political and military, extinguished.
African nations are now gathering under the same flag – the flag of the United States of Africa, also known as African Union – in hopes that this continental state may help solve the major problems the Africans are facing wherever they live in Africa.
There are African countries who are on a real way to democracy, such as Kenya, which voted one of the most democratic constitutions in the history of Africa a few months back and has a leadership bent on implementing these constitutional provisions; there are countries like South Africa who have a civilization standard similar to those of the European countries, and now struggle for keeping corruption under control; there are countries like Nigeria who have a large population made of various ethnic groups; there are countries like Rwanda who are recovering from catastrophic genocides like the one in 1994.
Even so, Africa remains very vulnerable to abuse, and to arising to power of people that claim the entire decision-making right, leading to dictatorships that are many times very bloody and/or must end very bloodily.
The twentieth century was no doubt the century of abuse and disrespect for human life not only in Africa but in the entire world. Half of Europe sank into a dark age of ideological dictatorship that ended officially in the bloody revolution in Bucharest in 1989, when a demented African-like tyrant was shot in the aftermath of a trial that was also very much African-like; Asia sank into a similar dictatorship era that claimed the lives of 100 million people; Latin America knew a few dictatorships also, some of them violent, some of them incapable of resolving the problems of the people.
The European and Asian dictators killed for ideological convictions, all of them false; the Latin American leaders killed for the need to consolidate their power.
Many of the African dictators you will read about in this article had serious mental challenges, some of them killed for sport, some other didn’t kill at all but created a society where life was unbearable.
As much hard as it is to classify dictators we will try to see which are the one who make it to the top ten dictators of Africa, some of them toppled by popular movements, some removed by international interventions, and some even in power now, attempting to put on a new face, more human, more twenty-first-century like.
Muammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, also known as the “colonel Gaddafi” is the actual leader of the Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. He came to power as a result of the coup staged against the Libyan monarchy and King Idris in 1969.
Gaddafi imposed in Libya what was called “Islamism socialism,” based upon an Arab nationalism. In 1977, he changed the name of the country to “Jamahiryia,” which means a state “governed by masses.”
Gaddafi made a name for himself by antagonizing the Western countries, which brought him accusations of harboring and cooperating with international terrorists.
In 1978 Lebanese leader Imam Musa al-Sadr disappeared on his way to Libya. His death was blamed on the Libyan leader.
In the 1990s, Libya endured economic sanctions and diplomatic isolation as a result of the Pan Am Flight 103 which exploded over Lockerbie in Scotland. In the recent years Libya admitted involvement in the Lockerbie accident and offered to pay those who were involved in it.
Gaddafi is working hard to improve his image by affirming on the political international stage, by the visits he receives (high profile visitors like Nelson Mandela, Tony Blair, Silvio Berlusconi, Vladimir Putin and many other world leaders), and by the claims as an African leader within the African Union.
Still, the signs of dictatorship can be seen as he tolerates no comment that is against him, and the political trials are being held in private while torture is a regular means of extracting information.
you realy gt beautful stuf bt yo failure(deliberate ignorance) to include European n Americn dictators leaves an egg on yo faces especial if u are nt african(i mean black).a dictator, like african ones are usualy confined to their countries as opposd to their european n american counterparts.the later focuses on a lurid foreign policy:invadin/atackng sovereingn countries which z th worst gross human violation,bush n iraq.n african colonialism?slavery?who dd ths?n who does fact findng missions n poin fingers? Until thn
Dear Yelo, I assure you I had no intention of leaving blood thirsty dictators from Europe, Asia and America out, but this specific article is about African dictators. I will address the topic of the dictators from the rest of the world in another article. Thank you for you opinion.
Where is Isias Afwerki of Eritrea? He made a great comeback this year found Gold and Oil in their county, Plus ranked top 3 best come back cities, and Have made very many new business’s, Also ranked #1 or 2 most peaceful county in the world.
Source: Madote.com
Thanks Alex for you input. Maybe at an update of the top (God willing there will be no need for one) Isaias will find his place there.
Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia also one of the modern worest dectator in Africa, he is the responsible of murder of thausands of enosant.
plz don mess arround with africa’s big men. they are well known for the atrocities they have done in their trespective countries. especially the likes of bobo in zimbabwe.
bobo must be told what he needs to know. zimbabwe is not a one man’s country. everyone needs to have a say in the political affairs of his country.
meles is anaro nationalst& resist
These are a bunch of thieves and murders who doesnt think about the life of other people.
what kind of this ruthless killers im i seeing? the people who doesnt take rights of others.