It is said that Africa breeds dictatorship. This may not be true but when you look closely, you would see that Africa has actually produced some of the most brutal and ruthless dictators. The regime of some of these men was characterized by terror, horror, bloodshed and chaos. The surprising thing was that some of these dictators held their countries achieve economic prosperity while some destroyed everything their countries struggled to achieve.
Paul Kagame – Rwanda
In 2000, Paul Kagame took over power in the trouble country of Rwanda. He took over power through a guerrilla movement that helped the country end its genocide. What has Kagame done for his country? He has been able to save his country from the shackles of poverty but he has been accused of oppression of opponents and human right abuse.
Gnassingbé Eyadéma
Gnassingbé Eyadema was in power for 38 years. He took over power through a military coup which was bloody. He died in power and his son, Faure took over as the President of Togo.
Eyadema was the one who pioneered military coup d’etat in Africa. He organized a presidential election and ended up cancelling it. He was legendary as a human right abuser.
Hastings Kamuzu Banda
Malawi had Hastings Kamuzu Banda as a dictator. He ruled for 31 year before he was pushed out in 1993, when he went for a brain surgery in South Africa. Banda led Malawi to its independence and fought against colonialism.
Unfortunately, he made Malawi a very poor country.
Charles Taylor
Charles Taylor was called the “tyrant of death.” He was one man who committed heinous crimes in human history and was guilty of violence to life, terrorism and lots.
General Sani Abacha
Sani Abacha’s notorious deeds are still mentioned even after death. He looted Nigeria so much that the money to be recovered that are slashed in different banks are still huge. He annulled an election and was trying to be a life president until he died. His five years regime was characterized by terror and human abuse.
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi
Gaddafi took over power in a bloodless coup that made him almost a god in his country. Libya saw him in power for 42 years, that helped the country to witness a massive growth economically. There was free health care, good living condition and free education that helped the country to become advanced and well developed.
Idi Amin Dada
The story of African dictators cannot be complete without the mention of Idi Amin Dada of Uganda. He was so terrible that he fled his country to Libya and later to Saudi Arabia. He was in power for eight years. Rumour has it that he was a cannibal and this drove fear in the heart of his enemies. He mismanaged his countries funds and was instrumental to the death of thousands in Uganda.
Does this mean that we don’t have good presidents in the country? Of course not! There are a lot of great leaders that Africa has produced.