African President With The Longest Tenure

So the other day, my colleagues and I were arguing about why Nigeria is still considered the Giant of Africa.  While a few of us was trying to justify why Nigeria should still be considered the giant of Africa, the fact a lot of African countries have had only one president since gaining their independence came to light, it was shocking to say the list.

Below is a list of African Countries that have only had one president since gaining independence:

The recently exiled Gambia president will not be on the list since he has been removed after loosing the election, he was president from 1994 – 2017, rumour also had that he took the treasury of Gambia on exile with him…. ($11.4m) #crying aiye mi o #wehdonesir.

From the lowest:

9. Denis Sassou Nguesso – Republic of Congo (19 years)

Dennis-Sassou_bis ( President)

President Nguesso has had two tenures as head of state in the Republic of Congo. The first one was from 1979 to 1992 where he led the single-party regime of the Congolese Party of Labour (PCT).

He returned to power at the end of the 1997 civil war where his forces ousted President Pascal Lissouba.

8.  Isaias Afwerki – Eritrea (25 years)Isaias-Afwerki

Since Eritrea’s independence in 1993, President Isaias Afwerki has held on to the top office. – the Only President they have ever had..aiye le

Eritrea is a one-party state. Afwerki’s People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) is the only party allowed to participate in the country’s politics. – One party pere

Mr Afewerki has been criticised for failing to implement democratic reforms. His government has clamped down on its critics and has closed the private press.

7. Idriss Déby – Chad (26 years)

Chads-President-Idriss-Deby

Idriss Déby took over Chad’s presidency in 1990 after a rift formed between him and the then-president Hissene Habré. This rift resulted in Déby’s exile in Libya where he garnered support from both Libya and Sudan. He used this support to launch an attack against President Habré. A year later, Déby’s troops marched into the capital, N’Djaména unopposed.

6. Omar al-Bashir – Sudan (26 years)

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In 1989, Brigadier Omar al-Bashir led a bloodless military coup which toppled Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and his government as the country faced nationwide famine.

Since then, he has been elected three times in dubious elections. In 2009 he became Africa’s first sitting president to be indicted by the ICC for directing mass killings, rape and torture in Darfur. Mad Man

5. Yoweri Museveni – Uganda (29 years)

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President Yoweri Museveni has been at the helm of Uganda’s government since the toppling of Idi Amin and Milton Obote (1986).

He has been in the limelight this year mostly for his government’s conservative stance on homosexuality, with draconian laws and sever punishment for “offenders”. He is also known for leading Uganda to economic stability and one of the continent’s most successful HIV/Aids programmes.

4. Paul Biya – Cameroon (32 years)

Paul-Biya

Took office in January 1986 after winning the war which ousted the brutal regime of Idi Amin Dada, with help from neighbouring Tanzania. Elected to a fifth term in February 2016 in a poll marred by fraud allegations. – Unku since the ime of Idi Amin…..Jesu Gbami

3.  Robert Mugabe – Zimbabwe (35 years) – the fact that this guy is at number 3 is still a shocker to me

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Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe is probably the most polarising in the list. While receiving intense criticism from the West, he also has fierce support from Africans within and outside Africa for his outspoken defiance of Western control and influence.

Currently, his wife Grace is believed to being in the running as her husband’s successor. – OKbye

2. 2. José Eduardo dos Santos – Angola (36 years)

José-Eduardo-dos-Santos

Leader of the party which won independence from Portugal in 1975, Dos Santos has been in power since September 20, 1979. hmmmm

1. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo – Equatorial Guinea (35 years)

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After ousting his uncle, Masie Nguema Biyongo Ndong, in a violent 1979 coup Teodoro Obiang Nguema Basongo took over as head of the Revolutionary Council (which governed over post-coup) Equatorial Guinea. He sat is Chairman in the council in the same year when his uncle was convicted and executed for crimes including mass murder, genocide, embezzlement of public funds and treason.

It wasn’t until 1982 that he officially became sworn in as president. – MVP Ni Man Yi Sa

 

 

 

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