Africa’s Old Guard: Clinging to Power

…Like it’s a retirement home with no exit

IF you’re looking for a continent where political leadership is a game of “last man standing,” welcome to Africa – where presidents don’t retire, they expire.
The latest glut of re-elected geriatric rulers reads like a casting call for a remake of Cocoon, but with less charm and more constitutional tweaking.

Let’s start with Paul Biya, Cameroon’s eternal president, who just secured his eighth term at the ripe age of 92. That’s not a typo. Biya has been in power since 1982 – back when Michael Jackson was still black and the Berlin Wall was standing tall.
His secret? A constitution so flexible it could double as yoga pants. Biya’s electoral victory came with a modest 53.66 percent of the vote, which in Cameroonian math translates to “don’t ask questions, just clap.”
Then there’s Alassane Ouattara of Ivory Coast, who at 83 years old just bagged another term. He previously promised not to run again, but apparently, promises in African politics are like New Year’s resolutions – made to be broken.
Ouattara’s constitutional manoeuvring was so slick it should be taught in law schools as “How to legally ghost democracy.”

And let’s not forget Yoweri Museveni, Uganda’s strongman-in-chief, who’s been president since 1986 and is now approaching 81. He’s seeking re-election again, because apparently, the only thing more persistent than Museveni’s grip on power is the poverty rate in Uganda.
How do these leaders win? Easy. They score 90 percent of the vote in elections where opposition candidates are either jailed, barred, or mysteriously disappear like socks in a washing machine. It’s democracy, but make it dystopian.
Take Tanzania, for example. On October 29, the country went to the polls under the watchful eye of President Samia Suluhu Hassan. According to Amnesty International, Suluhu’s government jailed political threats and barred opposition candidates from the ballot, turning the election into a solo dance party. Democracy? More like autocracy with a ballot box.

This Tanzanian tale isn’t unique. Across southern Africa, unnamed regimes are perfecting the art of “electoral authoritarianism” – where elections happen, but the outcome is as predictable as a soap opera plot.
The youth, who make up the majority of the population, are left watching from the sidelines, wondering if leadership is a game reserved for the elderly elite.
Is democracy collapsing in Africa? If democracy were a patient, Africa would be the ICU. The continent’s young population – median age under 20 – is ruled by leaders who think TikTok is a mosquito repellent. The generational disconnect is so vast it could be mistaken for a canyon.
Even the global models of democracy aren’t helping. The United States, once the poster child of democratic ideals, now exports indictments and political chaos. If America is the lighthouse, the bulb is flickering.
Meanwhile, poverty levels remain stubbornly high in countries ruled by these octogenarian overlords. Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Uganda – all boast impressive poverty statistics that rival their leaders’ ages. It’s almost poetic: the older the president, the poorer the people.
And let’s talk about graft. Corruption in Africa is like a family heirloom passed down from one aging president to the next. The older they get, the more creative the embezzlement. Public funds vanish faster than opposition rallies. Transparency? That’s for windows, not governments.
So, what happened to “give youths a chance”? It was buried under constitutional amendments, state-sponsored arrests, and electoral commissions that operate like private clubs. The youth are told to wait their turn – a turn that never comes.
But all is not lost. As we cry for our beloved Africa, let us remember the words of Kofi Annan: “No one is born a good citizen; no nation is born a democracy. Rather, both are processes that continue to evolve over a lifetime.”
And Nelson Mandela, who warned: “When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw.”
To dictators clinging to power like it’s a family heirloom, we offer this: “Dictators ride to and fro upon tigers which they dare not dismount. And the tigers are getting hungry.” – Winston Churchill.
Africa needs hope. It needs youth. It needs leaders who don’t see power as a retirement plan. Someone must give the youth a reason to believe again – not just in democracy, but in themselves.

.Ambassador Anthony Mukwita is a published author and international relations analyst.