DYSPEPSIA GENERATION

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In late December 2015, Rwandan President Paul Kagame confirmed that he will seek a third presidential term. In doing so, Kagame became the latest member of sub-Saharan Africa’s “Third Term President Club.”

If this notional “club” sounds like a joke, it is not. The “Club” represents the near-permanent retention of personal and near-authoritarian political power.

In sub-Saharan Africa, where tribal rivalries can quickly escalate into savage civil wars, the club is a threat to peace. The Great Congo War (1998-2003) killed somewhere between three and five million people. If Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila seeks a third term, that horror may well reignite. Unfortunately, it appears Kabila is dead set on seeking a constitution breaking third term.

You’d think they’d just cut to the chase and establish a monarchy.

Kagame has the woof and warp of a president for life. In several hard corners on our planet, presidents who are not term-limited have a tendency to remain presidents for life, which is another way of saying dictator. Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe is an example.

Burundi, bordering on Rwanda and Congo, may be providing a bloody sneak preview of Congo’s club-caused collapse.

In April 2015, Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza announced he would seek a third term. His decision violated the 2005 Arusha peace agreement that ended Burundi’s 12-year long civil war — a war that resulted in an estimated 300,000 deaths. A substantial plurality of Burundi’s citizens erupted in anger. But last July, Nkurunziza held a referendum ratifying a constitutional amendment allowing him to seek and hold a third term.

However, turmoil and violence continue to afflict Burundi.

Funny how that works.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 10th, 2016 at 05:57 and is filed under Dystopia Watch. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.