Cameroon's Biya Ranked Among Africa's Worst Tyrants

8 February 2011

By Yerima Kini Nsom

President Paul Biya of Cameroon has been rated as one of Africa's worst dictators that are seemingly not ready to relinquish power after several decades of reign of terror. The ranking is contained in the January edition of the East African Magazine. The ranking that borders on some 52 African Heads of State puts all the leaders of the Central African sub-region first from the bottom.

Nicolas Sarkozy and Paul Biya in July 2009

Pointing out that President Biya has been in power since November 6, 1982, the magazine says Cameroon's Head of State has held the "whole country, under his tight grip". The magazine goes down memory lane, recalling the fact that Biya became Prime Minister in 1975 and was later chosen by Cameroon's former President as his successor in 1982. The magazine claims that even though Biya seeks to legitimize his long stay in power by organising elections regularly, they have never been free and fair.

"He holds elections from time to time, but these have no credibility. He is routinely ranked among the worst African dictators," states the magazine. As Commander-in-Chief of Cameroon's Armed Forces, the magazine remarks that President Biya was lauded by his loyal troops in December when he threw a large party celebrating the 50th anniversary of the military.

One portion of the document reads; "Biya's looting of state resources caught international attention and he now faces a French probe for illegally commandeering state funds and stashing them in France." The magazine reports that Biya has denied the charges, brought by the corruption watchdog, Transparency International, TI.

According to the magazine, Wikileaks documents describe Mr. Biya as running government finances "like a petty cash fund". The magazine equally writes that stories of splashy casino nights at posh French resorts and carrying around sacks containing millions of Swiss francs have leaked from the US Embassy in Cameroon.

The East African Magazine revisits the Bibi Ngota affair as follows: "Newsman Bibi Ngota, the Editor of Cameroon Express, died in prison in April while awaiting trial for charges of fraud and using forged documents. The incident provoked protests around the world from press freedom groups. After the journalist's death, two others were released on Mr. Biya's orders: Robert Mintya, Managing Editor of the Le Devoir, and Serge Sabouang, the Managing Editor of La Nation." The magazine holds that under Biya's rule, Cameroon has remained in the doldrums of human rights, democracy and human development, according to the ranking of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation.

It was on the strength of these claims that the magazine classified Cameroon as a morgue of democracy. Better still, a place where democracy is dead. President Biya is rated among the long-reigning tyrants of Africa and those who belong to the ill-gotten goods gang and fraternity.

President Biya, whose mandate expires in October this year, is rated number 44 out of a study of 52 African leaders. Yet he is a little ahead of his Equato-Guinean counterpart, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. The man who rose to the helm of the oil-rich African country on August 3, 1979, was rated in the 50th position. He is third from the bottom in the list of African dictators.

The magazine says Obiang Nguema is one of the few African Presidents who can compete with Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe in nastiness. He is accused of siphoning off profits of the tiny country's recently discovered oil reserves and stashing it in overseas accounts, leaving his people in grinding poverty.

He is listed as one of the wealthiest heads of state in the world, having amassed a fortune of 600 million US dollars, a circa FCFA 300 billion. Eritrean President, Isais Afwerki, is first from the bottom and Soa Tome and Principe President, Frdique Bandiera Melo De Menezes, comes in the 51st position.

The silver lining of the dark cloud of democracy and governance, are the Presidents of Mauritius, Cape Verde, Botswana, Ghana, Namibia, South Africa, Seychelles, Mali, Sierra Leone, and Tanzania who have been rated among the first 10.