Top 10 Worst Dictators In Africa's History

Throughout the annals of history, humanity
has always tried to free itself. Africa has an
eternal dance of people who were
revolutionary who freed their people, those
that became the modern day messiah’s only
to enslave the very people that they were
bound to save. Here is a list of 10 saviours
who eventually turned into tyrants.


Charles Taylor

The first of many is Charles Taylor.
Charles’s full name is Charles McArthur
Ghankay Taylor and he was the 22nd
president of Liberia. Charles ruled for eight
years from 1997-2003. Taylor was born on
January 28 1948 in a small town near
Monrovia Liberia. Before he became the
president of Liberia, Charles was a leader of
a rebel group known as The National
Patriotic Front of Liberia. Charles Taylor was
accused of being a war time criminal who
committed several atrocities and crimes
against humanity, this is due to his
involvement in the Sierra Leone Civil War
that occurred between 1991 and 2002,
Charles Taylor was eventually found guilty
at the International criminal court of justice,
The Hague in 2012 for all eleven charges
ranging from terror, Conscripting or enlisting
children under the age of 15 years into
armed forces or groups, or using them to
participate actively in hostilities, Violence to
life, health and physical or mental well-being
of persons, in particular cruel treatment and
in May of that year, he was sentenced to 50
years in prison. He is regarded as one of the
worst dictators of Africa of the 21st century


Paul Biya

Paul hails from Cameroon and was born in
February 13 1933. Politics was always in
Biya’s blood, and he has managed to be
president for several terms, he has been
the President of Cameroon since 6 November
1982. Biya has many critics for his lack of
public appearances, but Biya wields his
sweeping powers like a tyrant. He rules with
his authoritarian fist that lets him essentially
push any policies that he deems necessary.
Though not the worst of the worst, Biya is
one of the best known examples of
authoritarianism. “Tyrants, the World’s 20
Worst Living Dictators”, by David
Wallechinsky, ranked Biya together with
three others mainly in sub-Saharan
Africa: Robert
Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Teodoro Obiang
Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea,
and King Mswati of Swaziland. He was also
ranked 19th in Parade Magazine’s Top 20
list of “The World’s Worst Dictators”


Robert Mugabe

Uncle Roo is the quintessential hero to
tyrant, the modern day messiah that helped
bring freedom to Zimbabweans only to get
himself power drunk, he has been in power
since 1980. Robert Gabriel Mugabe is a man
who needs no introduction. Mugabe is an
odd man when it comes to dictators. He has
the illusion of democracy on one hand while
he oppresses the white Zimbabwe people
with the other, Robert Mugabe has been
viewed as being racist towards white people,
targeting white citizens in various ways. To
make him even more confusing, a number of
Africans consider Mugabe a hero in their
eyes. Mugabe has committed many crimes
against human rights according to news
sources. In Mugabe’s words he has referred
to lesbians and gays as being “worse than
dogs and pigs” Though his worst crimes are
wielding his authoritarian power to strip
white people of their wealth and property. In
the international scene, he is regarded by
many, especially the white folks as one of
the worst dictators of Africa ever


General Sanni Abacha

Abacha hails from Nigeria and though he
only retained power for a scant five years, he
managed to commit a lifetime of crimes in
this time period. He declared his government
to be above the law and he essentially did
whatever he wanted. Sanni Abacha has been
described by political pundits as “the most
brutal dictator of the west African
powerhouse”. He ruled his nation with
impunity. Though unconfirmed, rumours
emanating from official circles has it that the
senior military officer died in sexual bouts
with Indian prostitutes. He will always be
remembered for the 1995 killing of the
political and environmental activist, Ken Saro
Wiwa. He was also responsible for five
billion dollars in stolen funds . It
is believed that his family still holds a
significant amount of these ill gotten gains.
General Sani Abacha is one of the worst
dictators of Africa


Sekou Toure

Sekou Toure was only to be president of
Guinea for four years. He managed to rule it
for three decades from 1958-1984. He
declared Guinea a one party state. Toure
was another typical case of someone that
was initially seen as the ‘Guinean Messiah’,
but later became a pain to his people. Toure
who was one time leader of the Pan-
Africanist movement consistently spoke out
against colonial powers, he befriended
African American activists that includes the
like of Malcolm X and Stokely Carmichael, to
whom he offered asylum. He is survived
through the Guineans who fled the country
to avoid the death camps that were enacted
under his watch. Many of his political
opponents were executed in these camps.


Macias Nguema

Macias Nguema was the son of a witch
doctor. Nguema was the first president of
Guinea. Though not as brutal as some other
dictators, he managed to do some of the
weirdest crimes out there. Some of his
crimes include stalking his mistresses’
former lovers. Other crimes he committed
were intellectual murder by killing the
intellectuals of his country. According to
reports , more than a third of Equatorial
Guinea’s population had to flee to other
countries to escape his brutal reign. It was
also reported that he ordered execution of
entire families and villages, during the time
of his reign, the country had neither a
development plan nor proper accounting
system for government funds. Macias
Nguema trusted no one, he spent most of
his time in his ancestral village of Mongomo,
where he kept the national treasury right
under his bed or in suitcases in his hut, but
on the 18th of August in 1979, he met his
end by his own nephew who sentenced him
to death. His nephew Teodoro Obiang
Nguema is still in power to this day.


Said Barre

Siad Barre was a man who seized power
and stayed in power from October 21 1969
to January 26 1991. He adopted socialism
to the so called needs of Somalia. His
influences came from countries such as
China and Russia. Though he attempted a
lot of good, Barre committed a significant
amount of human rights violations such as
jailing dissidents. Barre was also very well
known for using his power to remove all
opposition or people who just didn’t like.
Barre died in political exile in 1995, but was
returned to Somalia for burial in his home
region.


Omar Al-Bashir

Omar Al-bashir is a more recent case of
dictators. His biggest call to fame was in
March 4 2009 when he was issued an arrest
warrant. Omar has been charged with seven
crimes against humanity. Omar planned to
commit genocide against several ethnic
groups such as the Massalit and Zaghawa
groups, Omar is regarded by many today as
one of the worst dictators of Africa.


Hissene Habre

Hissene Habre is one of dictators that didn’t
do too much, but still is a dictator. His rise
to power was from Libya invading Chad.
Habre and his troops defeated Libyan troops
and sent them packing in November 1981.
However, many human rights groups hold
Habre responsible for killing thousands of
people. These killings include massacres
against Hadjerai, and Zaghawa. The Human
Rights watch charged him with authorizing
the murders of tends of thousands of
humans and torturing them while under his
rule.


General Idi Amin Dada

Ever seen that 1981 movie titled “Rise and
Fall of Idi Amin ” or 1976 “Raid on Entebee“?
– Kind of brings back some old memories,
what about “The Last King of
Scotland” (2006) that earned Forest
Whitaker Academy awards best actor, these
movies are based on the events of the brutal
Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. Idi Amin is
someone that doesn’t need too much
introduction, he is one of the worst dictators
of the last 20th century, also known as the
“Butcher of Uganda”. This 6 feet 4 inches
tall Ugandan boxing champion made the
highest rank possible for a Black African
serving in the British Army. This man
committed some unbelievable brutality that
only modern day Mexican drug cartels would
touch, It is belived that at least 300,000
people were killed during his regime. He was
born some time in the mid 1920s in Koboko
Uganda and died in August 18 2003. This
butcher left his mark on the world by using
his infamous killer squads to murder his
opponents and their families. He showed no
mercy to anyone. The scariest thing about
Amin was his ability to change from a
gentleman to an incredibly angry person
with no provocation. Amin is some that has
been described as erratic, unpredictable and
outspoken. After the United Kingdom broke
off all diplomatic relations with his regime in
1977, Amin declared he had defeated the
British and conferred on himself this full title:
“His Excellency, President for Life,
Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin
Dada, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the
Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the
Seas and Conqueror of the British
Empire in Africa in General and Uganda
in Particular”