Top 10 longest ruling African Leaders

Hello! My previous top 10 article was on 10 brutal dictators of all time. In today's post, I'll be talking about the Top 10 longest ruling African Leaders.

While some African countries have frequent change in government, some African countries have a leader who have clung on to power for many years and have refused to leave office. Infact, it is still a struggle weanning these leaders from power. For this list, I have chosen African leaders who have been ruling for fourteen years or more.

1. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo

Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has been the President of Equatorial Guinea since 1979 after overthrowing and executing his ruthless uncle. His citizens hoped for the better when he took over power but sadly, his regime is downright brutal and totalitarian. He is known as the ''toturer in chief.''

In 1982, he introduced a new constitution and a presidential election was conducted in which Obiang was the only candidate. Needless to say, he won that election and was elected for a seven year term.

His regime has been marked with economic breakdown, political totalitarianism, widespread corruption and human rights violations. He uses the notorious Black Beach Prison to brutalize citizens who have offended the government. In fact, opposition to his government is virtually impossible. He exiled a 19-year-old human rights activist for speaking badly against his regime and he is currently rumored to have dabble into cannibalism, eating the testicles and brains of his opponents in order to become more powerful.

While his personal fortune is about $600million, 70% of Equato-Guineans live below the poverty line with little or no access to education or health care.

2. Paul Biya

Paul Biya has been ruling the Republic of Cameroon since 1982 after serving under President Ahmadou Ahidjo. Following his ascent, he eliminated his rivals and transformed Cameroon into a one-party state until 1990, when he finally approved the practise of a multi-party system.

He was elected for his seventh term in 2018. He has clung on to power through dubious elections. He has been continually re-elected into office, winning at least 70% or more of the votes. In 1984, there was an attempted coup on Biya's regime. The coup was believed to be carried out by Ahmadou Ahidjo due to months of bitter relationship with Biya. In 2008, he implemented a law granting him the ability to contest for the presidency unlimitedly.

Even as President, Paul Biya spends most of his time outside Cameroon. While his people suffer from insecurity, he has a multi million dollar armoured SUV to himself as an official car.

3. Yoweri Museveni

After the downfall of the notorious Milton Obote's government and subsequent governments, Yoweri Museveni came into power in 1986. He was re-elected in the 1996 Ugandan general election in which his party took control of the Ugandan parliament.

Musveni was re-elected in 2001 and a constitutional amendment was passed in 2005 which eliminated term limits for the presidency. Unlike other longest serving leaders, Museveni has done quite a lot of good things for his country, he has helped revitalize the country, provided political stability and expanded Uganda's economy. Under his leadership, Uganda is one of the few African countries to be successful in battling HIV/AIDS due to the expensive programs that were launched by the government. One major critic about his regime is the increase in corruption and his inability of eliminating the Lord's Resistance Army(LRA) militia.

4. King Mswati III

Africa's last absolute monarch, King Mswati III, has been the ruler of Swaziland since 1986, ascending the throne at the age of 18. He has been criticized for his extravagant lifestyle. Currently, he has 15 wives and has held beauty contest in the past to select a suitable spouse. Those contest consist of thousands of bare-breasted virgins dancing for his pleasure.

He rules Swaziland with his mother jointly. He has the power to choose the prime minister, government officials and make traditional appointments. In order to combat HIV/AIDS, he introduced the "Unchwasho" rite in 2001, banning sexual relations for unmarried girls younger than the age of 18. However, two months after introducing this law, he violated it himself when a 17-year-old was chosen to be his thirteenth wife; he was fined a cow by members of her regiment. King Mswati's net worth is estimated to be $200 million, while Swaziland is on the brink of economic disaster.

5. Idris Deby

Idris Deby has been serving as the President of the Republic of Chad after he organized a rebellion that toppled the infamous regime of President Hissene Habre in 1990. Since then, he has survived multiple rebellion against his own regime. He eliminated term limits in 2005 and won subsequent elections in 2006, 2011 and 2016.

His regime has been accused of corruption and has been notorious for abusing individuals rights and freedoms; with Chadian forces routinely committing serious human rights abuses. Deby reportedly spent the spent the money meant to fight poverty and fund infrastructural development programs on weaponry; to keep him power. Since the promulgation of the Chadian constitution in 2018, the stipulation of a five-year term with no limit was replaced with a six-year term with a limit of two terms. Idris Deby is scheduled to leave office in 2033.

6. Denis Sassou Ngueso

Denis Sassou Nguesso has been the President of the Republic of Congo since 1997. He previously served as president from 1979 to 1992. When he came into power, he had to deal with the economic problem the country was facing and allegations of corruption within the government. In response, he introduced series of economic and political reforms to rebuild the country from bankruptcy and a well improved democratic process.

In 2008, he was accused of misusing public funds on acquiring an expensive property in France. He has been winning the elections that have been conducted over the past years, due to the fact that the opposition party usually ''boycott'' the elections.

7. Isias Afwerki

Isias Afweki has been the ruler of Eritrea since the country gained independence in 1993. Eritrea has the most repressive government in Africa and one of the most dangerous countries in Africa. Instances of abuse of power and human rights violations have been recorded for the past 20 years he has been in power. He has imprisoned about 10,000 politician prisoners. In fact, torture and electrocution are the most common form of interrogation, public and fair trials are not common.

Eritrea has the least free and independent media in the world. Researches carried out showed that it has the lowest cellphone usage in the world with only a few people have access to the Internet.

8. King Mohammed VI

King Mohammed VI succeeded his father, King Hassan II, as King of Morocco in 1999. Upon his ascension to the throne, he promised to fight poverty, corruption and illiteracy, King Mohammed has kept this promise. He enacted the ''Mudawana'' law, which promotes gender equality within an Islamic legal frame work.

He also initiated Instance Equite'et Reconciliation(IER), which was aimed at researching human rights violation. But in 2010, Wiki Leaks published diplomatic cables which alleged high level corruption including King Mohammed himself.

9. Paul Kagame

Paul Kagame has been serving as the President of Rwanda since 2000. He previously served as the de facto leader from 1994 until 2000, when he was elected president by Rwanda's transitional government. Kagame led a rebel force that defeated the Hutu extremist force which ended the Rwandan genocide.

He is described as ''one of the most repressive'' and ''the most impressive'' African leaders. He won a landslide victory in the 2003 Rwandan election. His government has focused on building national unity and promoting law and order. Under Kagame's leadership, Rwanda has become one of the few African countries to have a strong economy.

10. Faure Gnassingbe

In 2005, Faure Gnassingbe was elected as President of Togo, following in his father's footsteps. He was described as a calm fellow who was trusted by the military. In 2006, he signed an agreement with the country's opposition groups, allowing their participation in a new government.

In 2009, there was an attempted coup on Gnassingbe's government. One of the major players in the coup included two of his half brother, Kpatcha and Essolizam. Kpatcha was found guilty in 2011 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison, while Essolizam was exonerated.

Despite the growing political instability, Togo has enjoyed steady economic growth as a result of government efforts to improve the transportation, agriculture, banking and electricity sectors.

Those are the top 10 longest ruling African Leaders, do you agree with this list? Please, let me know in the comments section and please don't forget to share this article.