Abuse of power by political leaders in africa Essay

Abuse of power by political leaders in africa - Essay Example In a military coup, he removed the president from power and took over the rule of the country. He abused the power and used it solely to his advantage (McDonnell, 2007). His rule witnessed horrendous brutality in which more than two hundred thousand people were killed just because they opposed his political leadership. The only motive behind these killings was to prolong his rule and the only way to do this was to kill anyone who would raise any voice against him. Not only the common people but judges, lawyers, people from the press, students or anyone who tried to question his power were killed (Melady & Melady, 1977). Only Uganda has not been such a state where political leadership has abused the power. The uprisings and increasing state violence in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya indicate that the people are not happy with their rulers (Herbst, 2000). The common citizen is denied justice, women are not given their respective rights and freedom of expression is not appreciated by these ru lers. During the recent uprising in Egypt, even the internet was banned for five days making the citizens devoid of any means of communication (Moe, 2011). Citizens cannot engage in productive work if they are denied such basic rights. A common man spends more time worrying about the security of his home and family than on his work. The nationals of these countries try to flee from their own homelands. As a result, the society and the economy both suffer simultaneously.