By Daniel Wuor Joak
Salva Kiir Mayardiit (AP).
February 28, 2014(Nyamilepedia) — I wish some of our present African rulers should read the world history and thoroughly reflect on it in their daily situations before venturing into the most costly business – dictatorship. Dictatorship is no longer sellable in our today world. Basically, almost all countries nowadays are embracing democracy as the only viable and cheapest way for people to get their democratic rights through ballet box and not use of guns and intimidation. But some leaders claim to be democrats while at the same time pursuing wrong policies to suit their selfish gains. No sensible leader can claim to be democratically elected president while condoning human rights violations, corruption, tribalism, nepotism, breach of constitution, disregard of institution’s ethics, hindering collective participation of party members, intimidation of suspected government opponents etc. In western countries where democratic values are considered as effective tools to govern their people democratically, whereas any of their leaders found practicing abuses of power at any rate he or she automatically be impeached and accounted for abuse of public office. Africa continent is not an island; we are part of global world in which our leaders should behaves humanly and respect the rules of law without any exception.
Once Emperor Julius Caesar, according to the world history, was regarded as one of the worst dictators during the Roman Empire, which reigned over 50% of the present world. He had everything that a ruler could acquire from his subjects including gold, lands and slaves as his sole property. Due to his dictatorial tendencies, where he mistreated his subjects gruesomely for quite a long time, Emperor Caesar was finally murdered by his own people after they fed-up with his tyranny rule. When he died, all the Roman Empire celebrated his death joyously and that empire crumbled afterwards.
King Luis XVI of France was regarded as the most rustles monarchy in the world that gave less priority to human life and believed entirely in material comports during his autocratic rule. The French farmers took law into their own hands after they fed-up with his despotic rule and immediately executed the king along with his dear wife, the Empresses. King Luis XVI was the last king of France and never crowned any King again in that country, and eventually the France was officially declared as Republic up to this date.
General Napoleon Bonaparte was one of the tough French generals who ruled most of Central Europe including parts of Russia, Great Britain, Southern Europe and North Africa with iron fist. General Napoleon always believed in war all his entire live time and not peace. He invaded all these places mentioned above and successfully conquered them where he eventually proclaimed himself as the Emperor of France and his newly conquered territories. It was the British force that dismantled his kingdom by capturing him in the battlefields at Waterloo, England and finally detained him at St Alana in Latin American where he met his untimely death there in the hands of his British captors.
Peter Alexander III, (Tsar) the Emperor of Russia, was one of the brutal dictators who at one point named a city after his name while still alive. Leave alone killings and enslavement of his subjects, he used to send the unwanted individuals to most notorious places like Siberia where temperatures used to drop to 50 degrees below zero during the winter time in Europe as part of punishments. But farmers, known as Bolsheviks, in 1918 finally killed the Tsar with all his family members, and this marked the Russian Revolution under Vladimir Lenin who later introduced Communism rule in the Soviet Union and the rest of the world subsequently.
Adolf Hitler – a man who caused the Second World War which resulted to death of over 50 million lives all over the world. He was a German ruler who rose through democratic process in a parliamentary system but later turned the worst European ever dictator and killer. His dreams were to conquer the all world including Africa with the army not less than 10 million or more. He almost conquered Europe and some parts of Africa with the help of another Italian dictator Benito Mussolini from 1940 – 1943, when Italy invaded Ethiopia and conquered it. Both Adolf Hitler and Mussolini were either hanged or committed suicide when the whole world ganged up against them. The death of these two dictators had indeed brought permanent peace in Europe but their sad stories still lingering in the minds of billions of European, Americans, Asians and Africans who lost their loved ones in several millions during the second world war. But at last they died miserably and nobody wants to remember them as heroes simply because the two dictators had caused untold miseries to all world in terms of human and material loses.
Idi Amin Dada – he was one of the African bush dictators who had destroyed his country Uganda and went as far as invading his neighboring country, Tanzania, without justifiable reasons to warrant invasion. Amin killed more than two million Ugandans and caused war with their neighbor Tanzania. The Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere deposed Idi Amin from power in 1979. Idi Amin escaped to Saudi Arabia afterwards, but denied honorable funeral in his own country when he died in exile in Saudi Arabia, by the current President Yoweri Museveni. His remains still in Saudi Arabia where he was laid to rest but will only be brought back “God knows” if President Musenevi’s rule ends in the future.
Samuel K. Duo – former Liberian President who staged a military coup against democratically elected President William Tulbor whom he assassinated in 1980. President Samuel Duo ruled Liberia with iron fist for a period of 8 years in which he killed several hundred of thousands Liberians who did not like his autocratic style of leadership. Finally, a guerrilla movement was formed by two rebel leaders Prince Johnson and Charles Tailor, who eventually captured President Duo alive, and victimized him to death by feeding him with parts of his body before he succumbed to death. This was the most painful death a president could encounter from his subjects.
General Mobutu Sese Seiko – he was a former Zaire ruler who turned dictator after he assassinated the Prime Minister Fredrick Lumumba in 1960s, which sparked a civil war in Zaire, was installed by his French and American allies to fight against expansion of communism in Africa, particularly in Congo Brazzaville and Angola where Soviet and Cuba agents were active there. Mobuto looted the country wealth including diamonds and gold and at the same time killed thousands of his political opponents without mercy. He hided wealth worth over 10 billions USD dollars in foreign banks in Europe and Middle East. His reign was brought to an end in 1997, by rebel’s movement headed by Laurent Desire Kabila. President Mobutu went to exile in Morocco where he died and burred there. His remains are still in Morocco but former President Laurent Kabila returned some of his looted wealth back to the country.
Nicolas Caucasco – former Romanian dictator who made the worst records in keeping small children in solitary confinements where some of his cruel doctors used them as genie pigs for experiments. President Caucasco killed hundreds of thousands of Romanians under his despotic rule. His tyranny regime was overthrown through mass demonstrations, organized by civil population throughout the country in 1989, where he and his wife were summarily executed by firing squad by demonstrators and army deserters who supported the fall of communism in Europe.
Saddam Hussein – the former President of Iraq, who ruled Iraqis people with iron fist. He killed millions of Iraqis by fomenting an eight years old war between Iran and his country when he invaded Iran in 1980. President Saddam killed the minority Kurds civilians mostly women and children in their thousands by using poison gas against them in 1988. He also entered into war with America and European allies twice following the invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and again in 2003, and finally was captured by American Marines where he was handed over to Iraqis administration and hanged for all crimes he had committed against them. He and three of his sons died miserably simply because President Saddam adamantly refused to relinquish power. He did not want to leave behind 25 Presidential Palaces, which he built for himself until he met his untimely death, unfortunately in a pit hole like a rat and not in the palace.
Hosni Mubarak –the former President of Egypt, who ruled Egypt following the assassination of Anwar Sadat in 1981. He ruled Egypt for 30 years and wished to continue ruling them by force until he was finally forced out from office by masses through mass demonstrations at Tahrir Square in Cairo. The whole world pleaded for his going to exile and settle peacefully with his family. Unfortunately, out of greed he refused their advises and was eventually caught red handed and locked up behind bars for life with his two sons.
President Muamar El Gadhafi – former president of Libya who ruled that country for over 40 years from 1969 – 2012. He was one of well known and merciless dictators in the whole world second only to North Korea dictator Kim Jong Il. He was able to provoke everybody on earth including the US government, which is the most feared country in the world. Gaddafi repeatedly resorted on terrorism as to deterrent his potential enemies by using terrorists worldwide to hijack planes and streamers of his enemies and killed whatever number of passengers on boards. He continued with that reckless business for a number of years before American’s government decided to get rid of him once and for all. Rebel forces aided by American and their NATO allies finally overthrew Gaddafi’s government in 2012. He was captured and summarily executed by the rebels. Gaddafi died the same painful death like his friends Saddam Hussein and Samuel Duo of Liberia who was forced by his captives to feed himself with parts of his body.
This message is directed specifically to our little dictator in the Republic of South Sudan who may not be aware of the consequences of being too intransigent to accept reality of life. Surely, people of South Sudan have fed-up of his autocratic rule and therefore they need a change in which he should step aside and give them a chance to choose who to lead them freely during the interim period. Burning churches, killing patients in hospitals, massacring civilians in their tens of thousands, razing towns to grounds, bringing foreign troops to fight along side against the rebels, denying civilians food and shelters, forcing innocent civilians to UNMISS compounds in Malakal, Bentiu, Bor, Juba & using cluster bombs against civilians targets etc. All these things will not serve the final demise of President Salva Kiir from South Sudan’s leadership. He must go willingly by all means or else he will end up like other dictators who sadly died before him if he wishes to insist for long. The people of South Sudan have suffered a lot during the previous civil war between SPLA and other Southern movements in the past against successive Khartoum regimes.
Daniel Wuor Joak
Executive Director
African Centre for Human Advocacy (ACHA)
ACHA is dealing with Democracy & Development, Human Rights, Transparency, Accountability, Rule of Law and Advocacy throughout the Africa Continent.
The author is former MPs from (SSLA) and Minister of Education, Science & Technology, Upper Nile State
He can be reached through these e-mail addresses: dwjoak21@hotmail.com or acha1@outlook.com
