Will Africa ever have another Mandela?

This week, Nelson Mandela, one of the world’s most revered statesmen, marked his 90th birthday by calling for the rich to do more for the poor. “There are many people in South Africa who are rich and who can share those riches with those not so fortunate who have not been able to conquer poverty,” the Nobel Peace Prize Winner said. After many years in jail, Mandela emerged to become the country’s first black president and played a leading role in the drive for peace in other spheres of conflict. On Friday, his predecessor as president, FW de Klerk, described Mandela as one of the greatest figures of the last century. De Klerk, who was awarded the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize along with Mr Mandela, said the former president was a born leader with the assurance, the humility and the grace of a true natural aristocrat. Many Africans expected that after spending 27 years in jail Mandela would rule South Africa for life upon his release. But he shocked many African leaders when he stepped down after only five years in office. Most African leaders rule their countries with impunity. They cling to power until death. Those who leave power are too often hunted for the rest of their lives because of heinous crimes committed against their own people while in office. Many accumulate wealth and build castles as ordinary people wallow in poverty and die of starvation. In Zimbabwe, the opposition has described President Robert Mugabe as an evil tyrant. He has ruled the country 28 years. Uganda, from 1971 until 1986, endured reigns of terror by Idi Amin and Milton Obote. They were removed from power forcibly and fled into exiled where they died. In Rwanda, former President Juvenal Habyarimana in 1973 seized power in a military coup. He ruled Rwanda essentially as a dictator for more than 20 years. He forced many Rwandans into exile, at one point claiming Rwanda was too small to accommodate more nationals. Former Ugandan President Godfrey Binaisa once said on May 12 1980 that it was too hard for an African leader to quit power willingly because entebbe ewooma (the presidential seat is sweet). Will Africa have more Manderas? Contact: Ssuuna2000@yahoo.co.uk