The aim of this essay is to examine the possibilities of whether other African countries can be able to follow the same path followed by Egypt where a dictatorship government was over thrown by ordinary people through none-violence protests. There have been various debates which have arisen on whether armies and police forces can facilitate or hinder survival of dictators. The author's stance on this is that what happened in Egypt can only happen in other African countries under specific circumstances. The author will use various examples from various African countries where protests have been suppressed by armies and the police.
The author argues that what happened in Egypt and Tunisia can only happen in other African countries under 'special circumstances'. These specific circumstances require the police and soldiers not to open fire on the protestors. The author argues that the main reason why most African countries do not engage in protests against the dictatorship governments they living under is because they fear being victimised and tortured by armies and police. There have been events were people attempted to protest in various African countries and the response was either imprisonment or death for those who took part in the protests.
In Zimbabwe there have been cases and testimonies where people have been tortured and victimised for protesting against the Mugabe regime which has been in existence for 31 years. According to Zulu & Rusere (2011) the people of Zimbabwe were inspired by the current protests of North Africa and planned to carry out protests in their own country in March 2011. They planned to use the social site face-book as a way of communicating and organizing the protests but were unfortunately stopped when the government found about their plans. Zulu & Rusere (2011) mentioned that the capital Harare remained tense as military and police maintained show of force although protests against Robert Mugabe called for by a group on a social network facebook had failed to materialize. This group had called for protests in major cities of Zimbabwe demanding an end to Mugabe's 31 year dictator and corrupt rule. On the same note, Zimbabwean authorities warned against any attempts to emulate the mass protests seen across North Africa and the Middle East. Zimbabwean authorities recently arrested 45 people on charges of treason alleging they were trying to overthrow the government. The United Nations and Human rights commission have condemned such arrests but yet torture of activists seems to be a growing crackdown on civil society and members of political opposition.
More over, Zulu & Rusere (2011) add on that Zimbabweans in the Diaspora have gathered in public places to demonstrate and demand that those arrested be released immediately. According to a Zimbabwean resident interviewed for this assignment the following are reasons leading to the difficulties Zimbabweans face when attempting to protest against the Mugabe regime: One of the reasons why it is so difficult for the people of Zimbabwe to protest against the Mugabe regime is because the Zimbabwean army is heavily sponsored by the government. President Mugabe is the commander and chief of the Zimbabwe defence forces and all the brigadiers report to him. Top army officials are heavily affiliated to the ZANU PF which is Mugabe's party. However, the possibilities to overthrow Mugabe can only be realised if there are foreign support towards the ordinary people in terms of putting pressure on Mugabe and supplying weapons and soldiers to protect civilians. The author believes that this is one of the reasons why the protests in Egypt were successful. According to Adam (2011), the Egyptian army is heavily subsidised by the Americans and for this reason the Americans asked the Egyptian army not to open fire on protesters. According to Adam (2011), whenever there is a rumour of protest, heavy instigations are done on the ground and people from all sorts of sectors get killed as a way of intimidating the rest of the population and discouraging them from protesting. Among those who get killed are brigadiers from the army. Chimora (2011) states that the Egypt-Tunisia protests are unlikely in Zimbabwe because of the perceived passivity of the Zimbabwean people and the violent crackdown of Mugabe's shock troops.
Another country currently experiencing protests against its corrupt and exploitive monarchy government is Swaziland. According BBC's Maseko (2011) trade unions in Swaziland have held the biggest protests seen in years. The police have used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the protesters who are calling for elections in Africa absolute monarchy government. Political parties in Swaziland have been banned for the past 38 years and king Muswati rules the nation with absolute power. Protests have been banned and five protest organisers have been arrested. The people of Swaziland like many in African countries are calling for democratic elections. The Swaziland people have accused the king of living in luxury while 70% of the population lives under $1 per day and 40% are unemployed. Swaziland has only 1.4 million people and yet most of them are poor. The author believes that any king, who rules a nation as small as Swaziland and leads it into poverty, should be ashamed of himself. Unlike other African countries with a large population, Swaziland is one of the smallest nations in Africa which should make things easier for the government to create employment and educate its people. The BBC also reveals that Swaziland has many debts to pay the IMF and international banks, which has led to the decrease in public servants' salaries.
The government of Swaziland has put up many police roadblocks preventing protesters from going to other towns. Public servants are also unhappy, particularly because the government is cutting down on their already low salaries. They claim that the government spends a lot of money corning?? the king and that the government is corrupt which as a result has led the country into major debts. The IMF has advised the country to cut down on public spending, BBC (2011). Some protesters say they have been inspired by the uprisings in North Africa and have decided to take actions against the same issues in their own countries. However, this has proven to be a difficult task as the police have filled the streets and are arresting anyone who attempts to protest. Very few African countries can account for democracy and yet those who try to fight for it get crushed. One of the recent examples where protesters have been severely crushed is Libya:
According to Mao (2011) women and children jumped to their deaths as they tried to escape the ruthless crackdown by forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. Mao goes on to say that Gaddafi has sent snipers to shot protesters and has also brought in artillery and gunships to be used against the crowds of demonstrators and thugs armed with hammers and swords have attacked families in their homes as Gaddafi sough to crush the uprising. This shows how much the army is a determining factor when trying to over throw a dictator. We have seen a similar situation in Ivory Coast although a different context. Unfortunately the case of Libya has been the worst with Gaddafi refusing to step down and leading the country into a civil war which has claimed many more lives. It is situations like these where leaders hang on to power for too long and end up causing divisions in the country which leads to civil wars and economic disruptions.
According to BBC Africa (2011) the uprising in Ivory Coast began in the year 2000. The peace in Ivory Coast has been fluctuating since the year 2000 because of the constant clashes between the Northern rebels and former president Gbagbo's supporters and army. Many people have been killed and others fled their homes owing to these clashes. The violence increased in 2010 when Gbagbo lost the elections and refused to accept defeat. Foreign intervention has been required when the French assisted the rebels to storm the presidential home where Gbagbo was captured. There was a similar event in Zimbabwe during the 2009 elections where Mugabe lost to MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai and refused to accept defeat leading to much tension and insatiability. Mugabe refused to release the election results and resolutely opposed changing the constitution which allowed him to stay on as a president. This event did not lead to a civil war but it has left the country economically and politically unstable. This event has also caused many Zimbabwean to become refugees in neighbouring countries and in Europe.
Mugabe can well be compared to Gaddafi. According to Lusane (2011) Gaddafi and Mugabe are very close and Gaddafi is said to have supported Mugabe more than any other political leader and he is also believed to have financed Mugabe's stay on power. Lusane further explains that Gaddafi owns land in Zimbabwe and that if there ever arises any need to leave his country, his next home would be Harare, Zimbabwe. This comes as no surprise as the two dictators seem to be operating with the same tactics of stubbornness and oppression of their people.
Protests have also taking place in Uganda against rising food prices and the dictatorship regime of Museveni, who has been ruling for 25 years. Some believe that there comes a time in every human being's life when the limit of tolerance is reached and a change has to take place. This can be seen in the current events happening in various African countries to over throw dictators. All the African countries that have experienced protests against dictator regimes have been tolerating the regimes for decades. New York Times (2011) states that the capital city of Uganda Kampala was brought to a virtual standstill on Friday 29 April 2011 when demonstrators led by an opposition leader Kizza Besigye took to the streets to protest against rising food prices and lack of democracy due to Moseveni's 25 year of dictatorship rule. Kron of the New York times further states that five people have been confirmed dead including a two year old baby and 150 have been injured whilst over 350 people have been arrested. The opposition leader Kizza Besigye who was leading the protests, was sprayed with pepper leading to his blindness. He was shot on the hand before he was ?? and is currently recovering in the hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. Once again this case shows that without the army and police on the side the protesters, it becomes difficulty and sometimes unbearable to carry on protesting.
According to Manji (2011) there are many African countries which have been inspired by the Egypt Tunisia uprisings. Manji a spokes person for the Real Pambazuka News confirmed that there are other uprisings taking place in Cameroon, Gabon, Burkina Faso and Djibouti. In these countries protesters are fighting the same evil as that which was fought by the Egyptians and Tunisians. Manji goes on to say that apart from the fight against dictatorship, the people also fighting against broken promises to distribute land, increase employment and low salaries. Among those demonstrating are students and workers. Manji states that these events are likely to spread to the rest of Africa and in particular South Africa where people have been promised houses by the ruling party and have not received them yet.
Angola has also had rumours of possible protests. According to Isaac (2011) there have been talks of protests in Angola against president Jose Eduardo Dos Santos who has been ruling nation for 31 years and has done little to improve the lives of the Angolan people. The article by Isaac also mentions that 75% of Angolans live in poverty and yet the country is very rich in natural minerals such as oil, gold and diamonds. Isaac further mentions that the rumours of possible plans to protest Egypt-Tunisia style has ignited nervousness in the current government so much so that the supporters of Jose Dos Santos took to the streets to show their power and to frighten those who were planning to protest. However the same source also mentions that there were those who are hesitant to protest because of their experience with the 27 years war which ended in 2002 after the death of Johannes Savimbi leader of the opposition. Many people lost their relatives and homes in this war and since the end of it have managed to stabilize themselves and are therefore unwilling to engage in any violent activities and time soon. It is not uncommon for former war torn countries to fear triggering any form of violence in their countries. Several African countries can account for this. For example, Rwanda which is also currently under a very bad dictator who uses intimidation, execution and imprisonment of opposition leaders and supporters to maintain power. President Paul Kagame has total control of the Rwandan army and uses it for his own benefit. In many cases the army is used to kill and intimidate his own people.
The author believes that many African dictators use intimidation to keep civilians from protesting. However, there is also the painful past of war which keeps many Africans from protesting for fear of a repeat of their traumatic experiences.
In the light of the above the author maintains that the Egypt-Tunisia uprisings can only take place successfully in other African countries under special circumstances. This brings us to discuss briefly what happened in Tunisia: Gobel (2011) explains that the uprisings began when a youth computer scientist by the name of Muhamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in a small town of Sidi Bouzid. His actions were as a result of his desperation for employment. His death symbolised a despair of a generation and triggered a nationwide protests that eventually removed long-time dictator Ben Ali from power.
The situation in Tunisia has been compared to a 'pressure cooker with the lid shooting off the pot'. This can also be used to explain the situation in the entire Maghreb where most of the population is young and is also unemployed. The same events are predicted for Morocco where half of the population is under 25 years old and 40% do not have steady jobs. Gobel explains that young academics are especially hit. There are also issues of limited political freedom, women rights and lack of genuine democracy. The uprisings are also likely to spread to Algeria where discontent with food prices have been manifesting.
There are countries in Africa where any form of protests is not allowed and where there is no opposition. For example, According to Borght director of the Amnesty International (2010) Rwandan opposition leader Ntaganda was arrested on 24 June 2010 the day before candidates could register for the elections. He was arrested solely on charges of criticising government policies. His prosecutors requested a 10 year jail sentence on the charges of delivering speeches that criticised government policies. The Rwandan government has suppressed its people, taken away their freedom of speech and expression. Borght further explains that the growing trend in Rwanda to convict individuals of threatening national security for criticising government policies is deeply concerning and in violation of Rwanda's obligation under international human rights law. Under the same laws?, Rwandan journalists among many, Agnes Uwimana and Saidati Mukakibibi were found guilty of threatening national security for opinion pieces critical of government policies published before the 2010 elections. They were sentenced to 17 and 7 years respectively.
Vague and sweeping laws on divisionism and genocide ideology were introduced in Rwanda a decade after the 1994 genocide. These laws prohibit hate speech. However, the laws are broadly drafted so that they criminalise expression that does not amount to hate speech, including legitimate criticism of the government. Leaders of the United Democratic Forces-Inking party were also arrested and charged 100, 000 francs for plotting to demonstrate. This party has also been refused registration and most of its leaders are currently serving jail sentences for wanting to campaign in the elections.
With oppressive laws such as these in a country with a history of ethnic violence, it is very difficult for anyone, including soldiers, to protest against the government because any attempt to do so is immediately brutally suppressed. These same laws have restricted freedom of association preventing opposition parties from contesting in the elections, which led to Paul kagame winning 97% of the votes. In the 1960s there was a similar situation where the former dictator of the DRC, which was then called Zaire, banned all opposition parties forming one party state obliging everyone to vote for his party and won 99% of the votes. Kagame is doing exactly the same thing in Rwanda. Mobutu also assassinated and bought off all his opponents, Wrong (2000). As people became more and more frustrated and began to protest, especially students, he ordered a mass massacre of university students at the University of Rubumbashi. Mobutu's actions caused international outcry and his main supporters Belgium and the USA pulled out their support pressurising him to introduce democratic reforms. Mabutu failed to do so and was over thrown by Kabila and Rwandan armies in 1997.
Throughout history there have been many events in Africa where civilians have protested or attempted to protest and were suppressed by government armies. Today people all over Africa are becoming increasingly desperate for freedom of expression and human rights. It is unlikely that these problems will be resolved in a short period; however there are signs of an African revolution that has started to manifest itself starting in North Africa and spreading to the rest of the continent.
In conclusion I wish to argue that even though Africa is saturated with dictators who oppose democracy and suppress human rights, in the near future a revolution which has been started already can sweep across the African continent changing the way leaders perceive their power. It is the author's wish that in the near future even the armies that are used to suppress protests, refusing people their rights, will soon be drawn in and realise how desperate the necessity of democracy is for the development and survival of the African continent.
