Democracy & Governance

With the inauguration of the President-elect of The Gambia scheduled for 19 January 2017, the situation in that country is of grave concern to us, as it is to many fellow Africans.

The Centre for Human Rights makes the following calls:

This is a historic week in the world as far as democratic transitions are concerned.

Only death can end both the spell to bewitch and the prerogative to dominate - and sometimes even death can snuff out power from a tyrant. The killing of a tyrant is especially designed to echo the leader’s vices (Jammeh is a narcissist, killer, bigot and misogynist).

It is really a curse for any country to be saddled with a morally bankrupt political leadership.

As families and friends and peoples heartily exchange the customary best wishes for the New Year, west Africa’s most notorious Murdering Inc., genocidist Nigeria, is already putting final touches to the launch of its New Year’s early bloodbath episode.

Gambian dictator, Yahya Jammeh, has been in power for nearly 23 years. As a 29-year-old army officer, he overthrew the country’s first president, Dawda Jawara, in a bloodless coup on July 22, 1994. In 1996, he won the first of four successive elections to serve as president of the republic.

Four years ago, the Jubilee administration mesmerised Kenyans with fantastic images of mega-infrastructure, bullet trains and space age airports, iconic stadiums, bewildering interchanges and blooming deserts.

A sensation of living inside an endless series of memes is the surreal experience that South Africans shared in 2016.

Change has come to Ghana. Following Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, fellow septuagenarian President Akufo-Addo has come to office on the back of a campaign messaging centred on change.

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