Once again, an African leader desperate to elongate his tenure in office has succeeded in tinkering with the constitution to ensure that his sit-tight ambition comes to fruition. In an obvious aberration and a negation of all acceptable democratic norms, Yoweri Museveni has used his cronies in the parliament to pass a law that would, probably, guarantee him Uganda’s presidency for the rest of his life.
The Ugandan example has shown how African countries continue to make a mockery of themselves in the comity of nations by claiming to practise democracy when indeed their actions portray the worst form of despotism. At 73, Museveni would have been more than 75 years old – the statutorily allowable age to vie for the presidency in that country – by the next presidential election in 2021. But in a seemingly pre-emptive strike, he made sure that the age barrier was removed.
To do so, the crude method of intimidating and hounding the opposition was employed. Not only were some legislators opposed to the constitutional amendment on age cap suspended for alleged “unruly behaviour” in parliament, security men suspected to be soldiers from an elite military unit entered the chamber and violently ejected 25 “enemy” parliamentarians, to ensure an unhindered passage of the amendment. This was despite the fact that the ruling party had a comfortable majority in the parliament.
Although quite despicable, Museveni’s latest action is not altogether surprising for a man who has already put in 31 years as the president. Assuming office in 1986, after participating in ousting the independence president, Milton Obote, and the notorious despot, Idi Amin, Museveni has already served five terms as president, having first amended the constitution to make it possible for a third term in 2006.
It is indeed disconcerting that the so-called African leaders have continued to be caught in this infamous web of tenure elongation beyond what their countries’ constitutions permit. Museveni is only one in a long list of African sit-tight autocrats that include the likes of 84-year-old Paul Biya of Cameroon; 75-year-old Teodoro Nguema Obiang of Equatorial Guinea; 74-year-old Denis Sassou Nguesso of the Republic of Congo; 80-year-old Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria and 73-year-old Omar al-Bashir of Sudan.
The list is by no means exhaustive as African leaders are ready to use all manner of subterfuge to realise their ambition. Earlier in the year, Paul Kagame was able to run for a third term in Rwanda after a 2015 constitution amendment paved the way for him to do so. So also did his neighbour, Pierre Nkurunziza, spark a civil disorder as he bullied his way through an amendment and a widely boycotted election of 2015. Some leaders have even tried to build a dynasty, by either having their wives or their children as successors. Joseph Kabila, who succeeded his father, Laurent, has since refused to call an election at the expiration of his tenure, citing lack of funds.
Unfortunately, the danger in continuing to have sit-tight leaders on the continent is that some of them grow too old and senile, becoming a liability to their countries. Not only do they lack fresh ideas, even some of those ones who started well later lost their lustre. A good example is Museveni himself. Once hailed as progressive, he is now enveloped in corruption, nepotism and intolerance of opposing views. In his recent appointments, he made his wife, Janet Kataaha, a cabinet minister, while promoting his son, Muhoozi Kainerugab – whom many believe is being groomed to take over from him – to the position of a major general in the army.
The former president of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, 93, only let go of his tight rein recently, after ruling since independence in 1980. He was booted out by the military to forestall a veiled attempt to position his wife as his successor. But before leaving, he had turned his country, once a veritable food basket, into a miserable basket case. The economy is now in a complete shambles, where millions of Zimbabwean dollars cannot buy a loaf of bread.
Africa has to rise above these crude and self-serving leaders, if she is desirous of moving with global trends. Described as the last frontier because of her potential for greatness, the continent, however, continues to be blighted by bad leadership. With the exception of some very few from countries like Ghana and South Africa, African leaders deliberately misconstrue democracy for a monarchy, with absolute powers. With such leaders in power, it is hardly surprising that the lot of the continent has been conflicts everywhere. Poverty and eradicable diseases have made the continent a home.
Unfortunately, the raping of the continent is usually perpetrated by the leaders in cahoots with the legislature whose members, ironically, parade themselves as representatives of the people. This is why the people should no longer leave the business of governance completely in the hands of these “elected” opportunists. This was amply demonstrated in Burkina Faso in 2014 when the people set fire to the parliament building as legislators were preparing to amend the constitution to allow Blaise Compaore, who had already spent 27 years at the helm of affairs, to extend his tenure.
Usually, the tyrants paint a messianic picture of themselves, claiming that only they can hold the country together. But, as demonstrated by the ouster of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt after 29 years; Muammar Gadaffi in Libya after 40 years; and Jose Eduardo dos Santos who ruled Angola for 38 years, nobody can claim to have the magic wand to rule over a people in perpetuity. So, the people of Uganda, or any other country, as the case may be, should be able to claim their country from impostors and opportunists who parade themselves as leaders.
