Africa will never take its rightful place at the top table of the world's nations while ancient autocrats stop it from moving into the 21st century.
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has signed constitutional amendments extending the presidential term. Picture: iStock
In post-independence Africa, tragically, many countries have followed the archaic ways of the past, where one chief, or one king, presided for as long as he was able to draw breath.
That’s why it was no surprise to see Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa going down the same “President for Life” road as he did this week, with the constitutional changes that allow him to extend his term as head of state.
Although the extension takes him through only to 2030, he will be nearing 90 then – another geriatric dictator enforcing his will through blood and iron.
His opponents have criticised the constitutional changes as a “coup”… and they are not far wrong.
Mnangagwa, only the second head of state in that benighted country for the past 46 years – he succeeded Robert Mugabe – has continued his ruling Zanu-PF party’s roughshod ride over democracy.
The tsunami of economic refugees fleeing the imploding economy in Zimbabwe has had its own bloody consequences in South Africa, as anger about illegal immigrants has reached boiling point in recent months.
Africa will never be able to take its rightful place at the top table of the world’s nations while the ancient autocrats stop it from moving into the 21st century.
