African Longest Serving Political Leaders.
The African Continent is home to the longest-serving political leaders in the world, with a fraction of them retaining their political seats for more than two decades. Most of these countries are either classified as dictatorial states or have been able to serve for a for a long due to the imperialistic influence of western powers and foreign corporations.
Even though elections are held periodically to reflect the so-called democratic rights of the people, it is very clear that most elections on the continent are bungled to usurp the constitutional rights of the people to elect their preferences.
Africa is also known for frequent coups, with the latest being Niger and Gabon in 2023. The continent has experienced at least five military coups since 2020, with the latest foiled ones happening in the Central Republic of Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The clumsiness and the debut handing over of a bureaucratic and centralized system of governance by the colonialists triggered a power struggle in many African countries, as first-time political leaders were either ignorant or incompetent to manage the complex system of leadership.
In the first two decades of independence, a plethora of military coups and dictatorships rocked the continent. Thereafter, Africa landed in a surgical civil war, degenerating the progress made to the state of nature before the European powers’ occupation.
Having the richest deposits of minerals in the world, the continent has swung into immense poverty as the perverted leadership conspires with the global north corporations to mint the natural resources clandestinely without a better reward for the well-deserved.
The galvanization of power by the political class has left a travesty of leadership in a fraction of states, as family partisanship plays a major role in the succession row. This has been witnessed in Uganda and Equatorial Guinea. The Ugandan President appointed his wife as the minister for sports and education and his son as the Chief of Defense Forces of the Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF).
Teodoro Obiang Nguema, the 2nd President of Equatorial Guinea since 1982 and the second longest-serving politician in the world, appointed his son as Vice President in 2005 and subsequently Second and First Vice President. Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue is at the vantage point of succeeding his father following another landmark win in the 2016 presidential elections.
Africa’s Longest-serving Political Leaders
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo (41yrs): Equatorial Guinea
He’s been the Longest serving president in Africa, and 2nd in the world. Having been the president of Equatorial Guinea since 1982 for the last 42 years, he’s also been able to win subsequent elections, with his son Nguema Mangue considerably the next presidential prospect.
Paul Biya (41yrs): Cameroon
Prior to his ascension to presidency, the 91 year-old served as the prime minister of Cameroon from 1975 to 1982. He succeeded Ahmadou Ahidjo in 1982 as the president following his resignation and held grip on power in the aftermath of an attempted coup in 1983. Biya’s leadership is characterized as authoritarian due to his repressive means of handling opposition and civilian criticism.
Denis Sassou Nguesso (39 years): Central Republic of Congo
The former military have successively been in power since 1977 following the assassination of the late president Marien Ngouabi in March same year. He first became the 1st vice president in 1977 and president from 1979 to 1992. He is the current serving president after being re-elected in the 2021 presidential elections.
Yoweri Kaguta Museveni (38yrs): Republic of Uganda
He’s been in power since 1986 after revolt against dictator Idi Amin and successfully overthrowing Milton Obote. He’s currently serving his sixth term in office following the 2021 general elections. He has also managed to claw on leadership by appointing his wife and son to key government positions.
Isaias Afwerki (30 years): Eritrea
Since the country’s successful secession from mainland Ethiopia on 24 May 1994, he’s been in power without any presidential elections conducted so far. His government is also one of the most stone-cold, with the use of repressive means to contain insurgency.
Ismail Omar Guelleh (24 years): Djibouti
The 76-yrs old have served as the horn of Africa’s nation since 1999 succeeding his uncle who ruled the country for 22 yrs since independence. He has successfully been able to cling onto power the last four presidential elections marred with irregularities and human rights violations.
Paul Kagame (23 yrs): Rwanda
The 66-year-old former military officer has been the president of Rwanda since 2000 as the fourth president. He witnessed the Rwanda genocide in 1994 as the vice president of Pasteur Bizumungu and initially fought alongside Museveni’s revolt against Milton Obote before moving back to Rwanda. He recently won his fourth term in office with a staggering 99% of the total cast votes against his eight opponents in the July 15, 2024, presidential elections.
