Africa is a continent where democracy is nominal rather than practical. Autocracy and tyranny seem to be the form of government they understand better. More recently, good governance in Africa is gaining ground, albeit at a very slow pace. African leaders are becoming more democratic and accountable to their citizens, showing greater respect for human rights and civil liberties. Likewise, the hard governments are gradually disappearing and being replaced by better ones. But the truth remains, the bad eggs still linger – and there are still a number of them. An African proverb says that if the wind blows, the anus of the fowl would be exposed. I go to this platform to expose what will hopefully be the last group of worst African presidents. Here we go!
9. Uhuru Kenyatta – Kenya
The Presidency of Uhuru Kenyattabegan on April 9, 2013 after being sworn in as4. President of Kenya. He was the successor of Mwai Kibaki. During his inaugural address, Uhuru promised economic transformation through Vision 2030. Kenya’s case for democracy is interesting. Its political leaders have endangered the country’s fate in the name of Western-style democracy in order to actually satisfy their short-sighted interests. In his first term as President, he had very poor performances in almost every area of government. Today Uruhu Kenyatta failed to live up to expectations. Under his watch, Kenyans feel increasingly insecure and hopeless about the future as insecurity, tribalism, corruption, public debt, etc.
8. Abdelaziz Bouteflika – Algeria
Algeria’s President Abdelaziz Bouteflika is sometimes referred to as the invisible president and therefore deserves to be on a list of the worst African presidents. The 80-year-old leader suffered a stroke in 2013 and has rarely been seen in public since. This has led to persistent doubts about his health among people and the cancellation of some vital responsibilities. For example, in 2017 a visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel was canceled at short notice. The president has barely spoken to his people since 2012, and with Bouteflika refusing to back down, there is a conspicuous power vacuum in Algeria.
7. Jacob Zuma – South Africa
South Africa, which has the second largest economy in Africa, is said to be one of the countries where the citizens have a moderate standard of living if not because of bad leadership. President Zuma’s administration has fallen in scandal after scandal over the years, and the country’s economy is not growing despite the president’s endless promises. In South Africa, as in many other African countries, the judicial system is rigged to favor and protect those at the top. Corruption is highest, the President may take the lead. The fragile education system fails to get some of the most basic things right. Industrial strikes, nepotism and tribalism are becoming a burden for the poor masses.
6. Alassane Dramane Ouattara – Ivory Coast
It is no exaggeration to say that associating Ouattara’s government with democracy is taboo! Mr Ouattara’s presidency is seen as bloody after he seized power and how he wielded it. Without the strong support of the Western powers, to mention France in this regard, he could not have assumed the presidency. French forces, along with the United Nations, helped to overthrow Laurent Gbagbo, the former Ivorian president who was accused of being a dictator after denying defeat when he handed the November 2010 presidential election to the then-opposition leader-turned-president of Ivory Coast, Alassane Dramane Ouattara.
5. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo – Equatorial Guinea
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo is Africa’s longest-serving ruler. He has ruled Equatorial Guinea, a tiny, oil-rich West African country, since August 1979, when he overthrew his uncle Francisco Macías Nguema in a bloody coup. Equatorial Guinea is one of the continent’s largest oil producers and has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world. However, this does not necessarily mean prosperity for the population. He presides over the country with a whopping $30,000 per capita income (by sub-Saharan African standards), but most of the oil revenues are gobbled up by his family and inner circle. As a result, 70 percent of the country’s 680,000 people live below the poverty line with little access to clean water and other basic necessities.
Obiang is a savage dictator known as the country’s “Chief Torturer” who has defied all oppositions and powers. He has been consistently re-elected since 1979 with at least 90% of the vote. The opposition is severely hampered by the lack of a free press to express opinions. Around 90% of all opposition politicians live in exile, 550 anti-Obiang activists have been unfairly imprisoned and several killed since 1979. Some time ago, state radio in Malabo referred to Obiang as the “god of the country” and claimed that he had “all power over people and things”. Meanwhile, the president’s first son, Teodorin Obiang (who will succeed his father), is spending millions of dollars to fund his lavish lifestyle. These include luxury real estate in Malibu,
4.Muhammadu Buhari – Nigeria
Nigeria’s President Muhamadu Buhari may have won the 2015 election with the slogan “change” and a promise to fight corruption, but it’s not just his health that’s failing him – he’s proven to be one of Africa’s worst presidents. The President has not succeeded in the fight against corruption with too few convictions. The country is more divided than ever with the resurgence of the IPOB movement. The health of the President has also prompted multiple death rumors to erupt and numerous conspiracies to arise about what exactly is going on in the corridors of power.
Despite statements that Nigeria is made up of one multiple households, it still has a hard time tending to their needs. Fuel shortages persist in a country that is one of the major suppliers of crude oil to the international market. President Buhari seems to have failed on almost all fronts and has in fact launched a political revolution in the country, denying him the possibility of a second term in 2019.
3. South Sudan – Salva Kiir
The youngest country in the world has been at war since birth, he’s one of Africa’s worst presidents. South Sudan has rarely seen moments of peace as President Salva Kiir and his deputy continue to quarrel for leadership while the people suffer. There is a saying that when fighting elephants, the grass suffers and this could be the best explanation for the situation in South Sudan. While the leadership remains in turmoil and the rebels continue to clash with soldiers, South Sudan’s citizens are displaced, hungry and unable to find safety in their own country. Women are raped, children are malnourished and the President and his cohorts continue to enrich themselves despite their suffering.
2. King Mswati III – Swaziland
The last absolute monarch of sub-Saharan Africa, Mswati obviously wields absolute political and royal power with as many selfish interests as possible. Mswati has been criticized for his lavish lifestyle while his people go hungry: nearly 70 percent of the country’s citizens live on less than $1 a day and 40 percent are unemployed. Despite the suffering of the Swazi, King Mswati has shown little concern or interest. He lives lavishly, using his kingdom’s treasury to fund his expensive tastes in German cars, world-class vacation trips, and women. Mswati is a prolific polygamous male. While his country suffers, he preoccupies himself with marriage and sexual pleasure. He currently has 27 children by his first 14 wives and future wives. According to lore, he can only marry his fiancées after they have conceived, proving that they can bear heirs. Until then, they are called Liphovela, or “brides.” He goes to the savage and ignoble extent of kidnapping ladies just to make them his wives.
But his gross mismanagement of his country’s finances is now having dire economic consequences. Swaziland is in a severe financial crisis. The kingdom’s economy is collapsing and pensions have been halted. In June last year, the king asked South Africa for a financial bailout and the country is at an impasse, recently announcing its withdrawal from the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.
See: 5 richest kings in Africa
1. Omar Al-Bashir – Sudan
Omar Al-Bashir is currently at the helm of the worst African presidents right now. He seized power in a bloodless military coup in 1989 against the government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi – a government democratically elected by the Sudanese people. Shortly after taking power, al-Bashir dispersed all political parties in the country, dissolved the country’s parliament and shut down all privately owned media. His reign was marked by a civil war in which over a million people were killed and several million displaced. Al-Bashir remains wanted by the International Criminal Court for inciting crimes against humanity, particularly directing and financing acts of violence against South Sudan. A diplomatic Wikileaks cable, known to be corrupt, has revealed that al-Bashir likely transferred $9 billion from his country to his private bank accounts in the UK. He is a cruel dictator who has been accused of several dehumanizing atrocities including genocide, war crimes, human rights abuses, etc.