1 – Robert Mugabe
The name of this individual may not need an introduction. Mugabe has dominated Africa for decades and, for many, embodies the very worst behavior of leaders on the continent. Born in 1924, Mugabe began his working life as a teacher. He later became involved in Zimbabwean politics, as publicity secretary for the country’s National Democratic Party. He went on to co-found the Zimbabwe National Union (ZANU) which became the ZANU Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF). He was driven by anger at British colonialism of Rhodesia and advocated a black-led state.
Mugabe was a prominent leader of the guerrilla campaign against the government led by Ian Smith which had, unilaterally, declared independence from the United Kingdom. After exile in Mozambique, Mugabe returned to Rhodesia and led his ZANU-PF party in elections to become prime minister of Rhodesia in 1980. ZANU-PF’s 63% of the national vote in the election was tarnished by claims of serious voter intimidation during the campaign.
From the very early days of Mugabe’s reign, a new leadership elite formed at the top of Zimbabwean society among which corruption was rife while many Zimbabwean citizens existed in poverty. In 1987, Mugabe became President. He now had a stranglehold over the whole of the government and he was determined to keep it that way. The 2000 election was marked by reports of violence, rapes, beatings and voter intimidation by ZANU-PF. European Union observers concluded that the elections were neither free nor fair. ZANU-PF won just a percentage less than the rival party Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), meaning it did not have the majority needed to effect constitutional change.
Later in 2000, to maintain political control, Mugabe deliberately wrecked the Zimbabwean economy by seizing the land of white farmers. Though Zimbabwe’s High Court ruled that the land invasions were unlawful, they still continued and Mugabe vilified the country’s judges. Shortly afterwards, opposition parties in Zimbabwe led an attempt to impeach Mugabe, but the then Speaker of the House, a Mugabe loyalist, halted the attempt.
In the 2008 presidential elections, ZANU-PF won marginally less of the popular vote than the MDC. But Mugabe refused to leave, declaring that “only God” could make him go and unleashing a wave of violence to keep him in power. His rival Morgan Tsvangirai of the MDC pulled out of the election but Mugabe had no choice but to share power with him. In 2013, Mugabe’s party won the election with 61% of the vote but it was not considered free or fair. Accusations of vote fixing were rife and ZANU-PF members exploited people’s weaknesses offering food and clothing to voters in exchange for support.
Mugabe’s reign ended in November 2017 when the Zimbabwean National Army forced him from office. In the midst of impeachment proceedings, Mugabe resigned with immediate effect, though not before he had secured an exit package consisting of exemption from prosecution, a cast-iron assurance that his business interests would not be touched and a payment of at least $10 million. He is currently living in luxury.