Tuesday, January
1, 2003
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Judging from what has just happened in the tiny Western African
state of Togo, we, Kenyans, should count ourselves lucky.
A day after President Moi gracefully handed over the instruments
of power to opposition leader Mwai Kibaki in an epoch-making ceremony,
Togo Strong Man Gnassingbe Eyadema forced through a constitutional
amendment to allow him to rule for life.
The irony is that Mr Eyadema is already Africa's longest-serving
ruler (35 years), having staged a coup back in 1967 and stolen an
election in 1998 by abruptly cancelling a ballot count that did
not favour him.
Yesterday's amendment, made solely by members of his party after
the opposition boycotted elections in October - citing blatant rigging
- means he is one of the few remaining political dinosaurs on the
continent.
The others are Libya's Muammar Gaddafi and Gabon's Omar Bongo.
But at least, these two do not even go through the pretence of holding
democratic elections.
What Mr Eyadema has done has pushed Africa back to a bygone era
when life presidencies were the norm. It is time the rest of the
continent actively discouraged this trend. For it nurtures megalomaniacs.
There are many ways in which Africa can do this. African countries
are integrating fast economically, and their leaders can easily
shut the door on the likes of Eyadema.
And so, as we, in Kenya, bask in the euphoria induced by a successful
election in which the majority's will prevailed, let us pay credit
to Moi who could have caused trouble but instead agreed to retire
in defeat.
Let us, at the same time, spare a thought for those fellow Africans
who are unable to free themselves from the shackles of dictatorship.
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