Abuse of power by political leaders in africa - Essay Example

The Political leadership is supposed to work in the welfare of the citizens but African s seem to go against this tradition. African history is fraught with episodes in which political leaders have abused their power. The best example in this regard is of idi Amin of Uganda. In a military coup, he removed the president from power and took over the rule of the country. He abused the power and used it solely to his advantage (McDonnell, 2007). His rule witnessed horrendous brutality in which more than two hundred thousand people were killed just because they opposed his political leadership.

The only motive behind these killings was to prolong his rule and the only way to do this was to kill anyone who would raise any voice against him. Not only the common people but judges, lawyers, people from the press, students or anyone who tried to question his power were killed (Melady & Melady, 1977). Only Uganda has not been such a state where political leadership has abused the power. The uprisings and increasing state violence in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya indicate that the people are not happy with their rulers (Herbst, 2000).

The common citizen is denied justice, women are not given their respective rights and freedom of expression is not appreciated by these rulers. During the recent uprising in Egypt, even the internet was banned for five days making the citizens devoid of any means of communication (Moe, 2011). Citizens cannot engage in productive work if they are denied such basic rights. A common man spends more time worrying about the security of his home and family than on his work. The nationals of these countries try to flee from their own homelands.

As a result, the society and the economy both suffer simultaneously. Foreign investors become wary of investing in these states and hence such rulers bring more harm to the country than any good which they supposedly claim (Shah, 2010). Works Cited Herbst, J. (2000). States and Power in Africa. Princeton University Press; 1st edition. McDonnell, F. J. (2007). Girl Soldier: A Story of Hope for Northern Uganda's Children . Chosen; Reprinted edition. Melady, T. P., & Melady, M. (1977). Idi Amin Dada: Hitler in Africa.

Sheed Andrews and McMeel; First Edition edition. Moe, J. (2011, February 1). What does Egypt's Internet ban say about the future of global politics? Retrieved June 19, 2011, from Marketplace: http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/02/01/tech-report-what-does-egypts-internet/ Shah, A. (2010, May 12). Conflicts in Africa—Introduction. Retrieved June 19, 2011, from Global issues: http://www.globalissues.org/article/84/conflicts-in-africa-introduction