DEMOCRATIC BLOODLINES

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The kabila dynasty,
Laurent Desire Kabila was born in 1938
In what was then Belgian Congo,
After studying Political Philosophy,
He became active in politics in 1960.
In the year 1965,
After the overthrow of Patrice Lumumba by Mobutu,
He led a revolt against Mobutu assisted briefly by Ernesto Che Guevara,
The revolt was quashed that same year.
After his brief association with Laurent,
Che wrote:
“Nothing leads me to believe that he (Laurent Kabila)
Is the man of the hour”.


Laurent Desire Kabila was widely believed dead in 1988
But he resurfaced in the year 1996,
Toppling then President Mobutu Sese Seko in 1997.
He then said
“My long years of struggle were like spreading fertiliser on a field.
But now it is time to harvest''.
Adoring crowds lined streets wherever he went,
Touting him messiah who had come to free them from
Poverty,
Corruption and decades of dictatorship,
This however was not to be.
Peace proved elusive,
Former allies turned against him,
Laurent Desire Kabila oversaw a land ravaged by war,
A people famished and living in abject poverty.
He was shot by a bodyguard in the afternoon
Of January 16, 2001.
He died in on January 18, 2001.


Ten days later,
Laurent was succeeded by his son Joseph Kabila Kabange,
He survived two coup attempts on
March 28, 2003 and
June 11, 2004.
On July 30, 2006, Joseph Kabila stood for
Election as president of the Democratic Republic of Congo,
He was confirmed president on November 27, 2006.
Till this very day
Joseph Kabila Kabange remains president of Congo DR.


The Gnassingbe Dynasty,
Gnassinbe Eyadema was born on December 26, 1935,
In 1953, he joined the French army
And participated in the Algerian war
And the French Indochina war.
In 1962, he returned to Togo and staged a coup in 1963,
Then President, Sylvanus Olympio died during the attack.
Eyadema then helped install Nicolas Grunitzky as president.
In 1967, Col. Eyadema, then of the Togolese Army
Led a military coup against Grunitzky
Installing himself as President on April 14, 1967.
He then went on to survive several assassination attempts
And a plane crash in 1974
Ruling unchallenged for two decades.


He attempted legitimizing his rule by holding
Multiparty presidential elections in August 1993,
This was boycotted by the opposition,
Eyadema had two minor challengers and he won
96.42% of the vote,
Turnout was reported to be low.
He again won election in 1998 with 52.13% of the votes
Amid accusations of fraud and voting irregularities.
In December 2002, the constitution was change
And term limits on the office of the president were removed.
He stood for re-election and won 57.78% of the votes.
Under mounting pressure from the European Union in 2004,
Gnassinbe Eyadema famously remarked
“Democracy in Africa moves along at its own pace
And in its own way”.
On February 5, 2005, he died of a heart attack aged 69.


Faure Gnassingbe was hurriedly installed as
President of Togo by the military in February 2005,
Facing mounting pressure from neighbouring
West African nations,
He stepped down and contested presidential
Elections on the April 24, 2005.
He won a little over 60% of the votes
But the EU deemed the elections fraudulent,
Mass protests by opposition supporters led to several deaths,
About 40,000 refugees fled to neighbouring Ghana.
Faure Gnassingbe remains President of Togo to this very day.


The Mubarak Dynasty,
Hosni Mubarak was born on May 4, 1928 in Egypt,
Upon completion of High school,
He joined the Egyptian Military Academy and received
A Bachelor’s Degree in Military Sciences in 1949.
He joined the Air Force Academy,
Eventually receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Aviation Sciences.
From 1959 to 1961,
Mubarak undertook further training in the Soviet union,
He returned to Egypt and became Air Force Academy
Commander in November 1967,
His Military reached its pinnacle when he became
Commander of the Air Force and Egyptian Deputy Minister of Defence,
In recognition of service during the October war of 1973,
He was promoted to Air Chief Marshall.


Upon the assassination of President, Anwar el-Sadat
On October 16, 1981,
Hosni Mubarak became the president of Egypt.
He has survived six assassination attempts since then
And is referred to as Egypt’s modern Pharaoh,
Though in cautious whisper.
Critics of his government are routinely jailed
And freedom of expression and assembly are restricted.
He has been re-elected by majority votes in a referendum
For successive terms in 1987, 1993,
However, the referendum ion itself and its results have
Been of questionable validity.
Aged 81, he has held office for nearly 28 years
And his tenure is the longest of any Egyptian leader
Since the king was ousted in the 1950s.


Amid concerns about the health of the aging president
Following surgery in Germany earlier this year,
The question of who will lead Egypt after Hosni Mubarak
Seems to have become a matter of urgency.
However, for the last decade,
It is widely believed that Gamel Mubarak is being
Groomed to succeed his father.
Only time will tell whether Gamel Mubarak
Will become the next president of Egypt.


Slowly they sew together
Democracy,
Power,
Politics,
And succession,
With threads of blood and other familial ties.
How well they hide behind the ballot boxes,
Constitutions,
Rule of law and other democratic tenets
While cultivating an African brand of hereditary pseudo-monarchies.


Sources: BBC, WIKIPEDIA, TIME MAGAZINE, NEW YORK TIMES, WASHINGTON POST