Top 10 Most Murderous African Presidents of All Times

Some made horrible decisions, others were just bad presidents, a few were really bloodthirsty extremists, whilst a couple were warmongers. All of these guys are a mix who in the last 130 years have been the architects of the most horrific genocides, systematic murders, blockades, brutal wars, and policy reforms history has ever recorded.


Where to begin? Maybe an icebreaker for you next dinner party? Did you know the word “genocide” was coined in 1943 to describe when the Armenians were slaughtered haphazardly by Turkish leader Ismail Enver? Until then there was no specific word for it in our language. It makes me think about how much more cognizant we’ve become in this last century to these events. So, a quick toast between you and I to a more peaceable future where less of what follows below is allowed to happen. Sit back, but don’t relax.

1. Mengistu Haile-Mariam (400,000–1.5 million deaths)

Breakdown: As president of Ethiopia and colonel of  “the Derg” (communist militia) Mengitsu systematically killed those against him in the “Red Terror” campaign.

Mengistu Haile Mariam is (as in still alive) a politician who presided over Ethiopia from 1974 to 1991. The way he got into power was by smothering the previous president Haile Selassie although he has denied those rumors. His biggest claim to fame is the Ethiopian Red Terror which was a campaign of repression led by the Derg (communist militia in Ethiopia). In his introductory speech Mengitsu yelled, “Death to counterrevolutionaries! Death to the EPRP!” Then he took three bottles filled with blood and threw them to the ground.

It was an auspicious beginning to say the least. Thousands were killed and found dead on the streets in the years that followed. Much of the murdering can be attributed to the friendly neighborhood watch there known as “Kebeles”. As if killing innocents wasn’t enough they would then charge the family a tax to return the dead body to them. The tax was aptly named “the wasted bullet”! Are you serious Mengitsu? However there was an even more gruesome fate of being left on the street where wild hyenas would fight over the dead. The campaign has been described as one of the worst mass murders ever in Africa. Mengitsu is even known to have garroted people to death.

2. Yakubu Gowon (1.1 million deaths)

Breakdown: 1 million civilians on the wrong side of a blockade caused by a war of secession in Nigeria and 100,000 soldiers who died in that war.

It starts as many sad stories do with precious beautiful oil. It had been found in the Niger delta where tensions were already high between the Eastern region (led by Ojukwu) and the rest of the country (governed by Yakubu). A dummy agreement was signed between them called the “Aburi Accord”, but it meant nothing to either leader. Yakubu started to put pressure on the region, and tested how much sway he had in the area versus Ojukwu. Well Ojukwu being no slouch declared secession from the rest of Nigeria and became the “Republic of Biafra”. This began a war that caused the deaths of 100,000 soldiers, and much worse, a blockade on the region which starved 1 million civilians.

3. Idi Amin (25,000–30,000 deaths)

The 3rd President of Uganda was responsible for about 250,000 deaths which were a result of his regime of terror marked by torture, extra-judicial executions, corruption and ethnic persecution. He held power from 1972 to 1979 when he fled the country due to the defeat against Tanzania which he attacked one year earlier. He found refuge in Libya and then in Saudi Arabia where he died in 2003.

4. Sani Abacha (100,000–200,000 deaths)

A report on corruption, published in July 1997 by the Berlin-based organization Transparency International listed Nigeria as the most corrupt nation in the world. Abacha took office in during a military coup occurred in November 1993, following the annulment of presidential elections in June that year. General Sani Abacha, the Armed Forces Chief of Staff, took power. He annulled the organs of state, banned political parties and dismantled the democratic structures. International pressure forced General Abacha to announce a three-year timetable for the transition to democracy in October 1995, but the plans were plagued by repeated delays. Local elections held in March 1997 were five months later than planned. Only five political parties were registered of the 15 who applied. Nigerian commission responsible for the transition to democracy announced that Presidential elections would be held on August 1, 1998. A handover to civilian rule is due to occur by the beginning of October. It was a military tribunal which ordered the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and nine other activists in November 1995, the 26 faced the death penalty.

5. Ahmed Sékou Touré (100,000–150,000 deaths)

Touré was a Guinean political leader; head of the PDG, he was elected as the first President of Guinea, serving from 1958 to his death in 1984. Touré was one of the primary Guinean nationalists involved in gaining independence of the country from France.


In 1960, he declared his Democratic Party of Guinea (PDG) to be the only legal party in the state and ruled from then on as a virtual dictator. He was nominally re-elected to numerous seven year terms but Guinea had no other political parties, and he imprisoned, killed or exiled his strongest opposition leaders.

6. Charles Taylor (100,000–150,000 Deaths)

The former President of Liberia who was elected in 1997 (allegedly by terrorizing the population) has been connected with gross human rights violations, war crimes and crimes against the humanity in the civil war in the neighboring Sierra Leone as well as at home during the Second Liberian Civil War that lasted from 1999 to 2003. He is currently being trialed for his involvement in the Sierra Leone civil war at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.

7. Hissène Habré (80,000–100,000 Deaths)

Many say Hissène Habré did not do much but he is still considered a Dictator. He rose to power when Libya Invaded Chad. Habré’s troops defeated the Libyan troops and sent them packing in 1981. However many human rights groups hold Habré responsible for the killing of thousands of people. These killing include massacres against Hajerai and Zaghawa. The Humans rights watch charged him with torturing thousands of people and killing tens of thousands during his rule.

8. Francisco Macías Nguema (50,000–70,000 Deaths)

He is a son of a real witch doctor. Nguema was the first President of Guinea. During his reign he did some of the weirdest crimes against humanity, which include stalking his mistresses, former lovers and killing the intellectuals of his country. During his reign a third of the population of Guinea fled the country to escape his brutality. He ordered the killing of entire villages and households; it is also reported that during his time in office the county did not even have a development plan nor proper accounting for government funds. He trusted no one, he spend most of his time in his ancestral village, with the state money in his suitcase. He was later sentenced to death by his nephew Teodoro Obiang Nguema, who is still in power today.

9. Omar al-Bashir (30,000–40,000 Deaths)

He is a more recent case of Dictatorship, from the Sudan. He became famous in March 2009 when he was issued a warrant for arrest. He has been charged with 7 crimes against humanity. He planned and committed genocide against several ethnic groups such as Masalit and Zaghawa killing tens of thousand of people. He is regarded by many as one of the most murderous dictators ever.

 

10. Paul Biya (20,000- 30,000 deaths)

Paul Biya hails from Cameroon and he was born in February 13, 1933. Politics was always in Biya’s blood, he has managed to be [president for several terms. He has been president of Cameroon from November 1982. Biya has many Critics for his lack of public experiences, but Biya wields his sleeping powers like a tyrant. He rules with his authoritarian fist that lets him push any policy that he deems essentially necessary. He is one of the best Known examples of Authoritarianism. He has been associated with numerous kidnappings, corruption and murders of people who oppose him.

Source: Africa Cradle