West Africa gives cause for hope
Citizens have voted out well-entrenched leaders in a democratic surge in part of the continent, writes Tony Leon
To update Pliny the Elder’s well-worn phrase in my imperfect schoolboy Latin, perhaps it is now apt to write Ex Africa Occidens aliquid novi — Out of West Africa always something new. This modernisation is due to two remarkable election results recently in Gambia and Ghana. The small West African state of Gambia ousted its dictatorial president, Yahya Jammeh, who made other African strongmen seem unimaginative in their posturing and excesses. He locked up one opposition leader earlier in 2016, withdrew his country from the Commonwealth and International Criminal Court, and, amid practising witchcraft, claimed to have invented a herbal cure for AIDS. And while President Jacob Zuma has claimed that his party will govern "until Jesus comes", his Gambian counterpart provided a quantification with a different deity. Jammeh vowed to "rule for a billion years if Allah wills it". Whether or not he did, the people of hard-pressed Gambia had other ideas and elected by a wide margin unfavoured...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.