Which African Leader will stand by Uganda?
Without shame, the African Union yesterday, January 17 issued the most disgraceful statement ever in the history of elections. They said the Ugandan election on January14 was free and fair and security was guaranteed. The only disturbance was the internet shutdown and rains in some places while some machines were delayed for about an hour. And so, the AU would recommend improvement next time! Overall, the AU position is that the election was peaceful. Scandalous!
But so far, no African leader has spoken publicly about this sham election and the callous brutality unleashed by Yoweri Museveni against his own people before, during and after the elections. It is as if there is an unwritten code between these African leaders not to critique each other even in the face of blatant abuse of human rights and destruction of democracy.
What are these presidents afraid of? Surely, they cannot claim to be scared of that old man of a tyrant Yoweri Kaguta Museveni! Have these leaders not realised that they have all signed up to instruments that enjoin them to uphold human rights, democracy and good governance by holding each other accountable? Is it that they are in fact no different from Yoweri Museveni? How on earth shall Africa become respected around the world when most of its leaders are violent towards their own citizens while others look away?
But let’s look at who is who in Africa so that we get to understand why this shameless silence from these African leaders at the mayhem in Uganda perpetrated by one of them, Museveni.
In the first place, we have the African Union Chairperson, Pres. Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa who bears the foremost duty to speak out over the incidents in Uganda. But he has remained mute for reasons best known to him. One would have expected that South Africa would champion the cause of human rights and democracy on the continent given its unique experience of oppression under Apartheid. Ramaphosa has indeed failed Africa!
Of course, no one should expect anything better from Ramaphosa’s predecessor Pres. Abdul Fattah Al-Sisi of Egypt. Events in Egypt today indicate that Al-Sisi is a worse dictator than Mubarak and Museveni combined. Hence, as a man who overthrew a democratically elected president no one should expect this general to say anything in favour of Ugandans against Museveni. In fact, in 2019, Al-Sisi organised a sham referendum to change the term limit in the constitution so that he could serve until 2030.
Over in Cameroun is another dinosaur Paul Biya who has been president since 1982. It was in 2008 that his parliament removed the two-term limit to allow him to effectively be president for life. Over to Chad is another hapless dictator Idris Deby who has been in power since 1990. Again, he orchestrated the removal of a previous two-term limit out of the constitution in 2005. Funnily he introduced a new law that says the new term-limit begins in 2021; meaning Deby has potentially up to 2033 to be president. In neighbouring Congo is a familiar face, Denis Sassou Nguesso who has also removed term limits altogether in 2015, meaning he can continue to contest and most likely ‘win’ elections for as long as he wants!
In Djibouti, Pres. Isma?l Omar Guelleh has already served four terms after winning the April 2016 presidential elections. But before that he has caused a constitutional change that removed term limits altogether. Certainly, Guelleh, just like Biya, Al-Sisi and Deby, are not the men to speak to Museveni about democracy.
Then one comes over to West Africa where one will find both Alassane Ouattara of Ivory Coast and Alpha Conde of Guinea whose two-terms ended in 2020 but insisted on continuing to be president. Both leaders had already changed their constitutions through sham referendums in 2016 and 2020 respectively to re-calculate term limits to start in 2020 when they had already served two terms. Surely they dare not criticize Museveni.
We see a similar scenario in Rwanda where Pres. Kagame also staged a referendum to change the constitution in 2015 such that he would obtain a seven-year term and after which he will be entitled to another two five-year terms. Altogether, it means Kagame is set be president until 2034. In Togo, the son, Faure Gnassingbe came to power in 2005 to inherit the father Eyadema who died at the time. In 2019, Faure caused changes to the constitution to introduce two-term limits that would start counting in 2020. This means the 15 years he has already served would not count, therefore making him to remain in power until 2030 if he wins both the 2020 and 2025 elections.
The height of ridiculousness is in Gabon where presidential term limits were removed altogether thus paving way for Pres. Ali Bongo to rule indefinitely. Like in Togo, Bongo also succeeded his dead father, Omar Bongo who died in 2009 after ruling this oil-rich nation for 42 years. Before removing term limits in 2017, Gabon had a seven-year presidential term.
It therefore appears self-perpetuation in power is a hobby for the African President! Even in countries that are the most recent victims of self-perpetuation in power such as the Gambia, they now have a president, Adama Barrow who is seeking to repeat the same crime as his predecessor, the Despot Yaya Jammeh. Originally set to lead a three-year transitional government, when he won the 2016 elections, Barrow immediately changed to five years as provided by the constitution. But before citizens could try to understand him, Barrow began to now talk about 15 years in power! Only God knows where and how the Gambia will end.
One could notice the same trend in Zimbabwe where Pres. Mnangagwa is observed to be employing the same tactics of his predecessor Mugabe, just to secure his power. He has been oppressive against the opposition already and if the trend continues one could expect another long serving leader in Harare!
So far there are no presidential term limits in many African countries such as the Gambia, Eritrea, Libya, and Somalia. There is also no term limit for prime minister in Morocco, Mauritius, Ethiopian, Lesotho, Eswatini, and Cape Verde. Many leaders have either removed or reset term limits, while others are under watch as to their true intentions such as Macky Sall of Senegal or Muhammadou Buhari of Nigeria!
However, there are a few countries with term limits that have been respected by previous leaders so far quite well. These include Senegal, Nigeria, Ghana, Botswana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Namibia, and Tanzania. The question is, why is it that the current leaders of these countries could not address the situation in Uganda? Is it because they also intend to change sooner or later? Surely, they cannot claim the principle of sovereignty as the barrier.
As a continent that had suffered slavery, apartheid, colonialism and dictatorship over the past 500 years, it needs leaders who will not condone any form of self-perpetuation in power by anyone. Hence these leaders have both a moral and political obligation to speak out against their peers who flout the basic norms of democracy and elections. Tyranny is not an internal matter of states. Rather tyranny is a threat to peace in the continent and therefore each and every leader has a duty to stand against authoritarianism in any country.
The African peace and security infrastructure under whose auspices are built early warning mechanisms for the purpose of the prevention and management of crisis require that the African Union and individual leaders speak up against their peers who threaten peace in their countries. The basic norm upon which this infrastructure is built is the promotion of democratic practices, good governance and respect for human rights.
This is what is also in line with the objectives and principles of the Constitutive Act of the AU. Therefore, why should the AU and African leaders stay mute and away from misleaders who undermine the Constitutive Act, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights as well as the Charter on Democracy, Election and Governance among other instruments of the continent.
After all, African people generally prefer presidential term limits of not more than two. Results from Afrobarometer surveys in 34 African countries show that there is strong support for presidential term limits among citizens across almost all countries. For example, in the Gambia alone, Afrobarometer survey in 2018 indicted that 85% of citizens prefer two-term limit for president. Therefore, how is it difficult that AU and African leaders fail to restrain themselves in power.
Stand up against self-perpetuation in power and authoritarianism in Africa. Museveni Must Go!
Independent Scholar
3 年Peace Brotha Madi! Nangadef! Happy African History Month from USA. You are, of course, correct about the useless African Union. African leaders are puppets to US/UK/France. We all know this. But if Museveni is backed by an annual budget of nearly one billion US dollars then who is really doing the dictating? It suggests to me that the real dictators are in France, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Also, we can go all the way back to the founding of OAU in the 1960s when non-intervention was written into the by-laws as a way to undermine Kwame Nkrumah's effort to form a united African government. That said, we the grassroots, are slowing waking up. Change will come from below. Victory is Certain. May our Ancestors never abandon ???
Working with Parliamentarians on Energy Transition From Fossil Fuels to Renewable Energy Sources.
3 年What an excellent piece Madi, however this is a clear indication of double standards in the continent. It's a cabal or a boys club that has taken shape and no one dares point a finger at Yoweri. It's a shame.
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3 年Happy birthday
Case Manager - Behavioral Health Services
3 年Dictators don't criticize dictators. The AU is just a ceremonial club where the so-called leaders meet to chit chat.
Telecom Specialist / Author Memoir of a Gambian child and Facts figures of the Gambia from colonial Era: Available at Amazon.com & all major Bookstores.
3 年Non of them should stand by him. Very power hungery jackass.