Uhuru ranks third in sub-Saharan Africa job approval ratings

NAIROBI, KENYA: Gallup has ranked President Uhuru Kenyatta third best performing leader in Sub-Saharan Africa among 26 African leaders surveyed.

President Uhuru received 78 per cent job approval ratings beating other leaders who have been in power for over two decades.

According to the Gallup reports, the Presidents from more than half of the 26 sub-Saharan African countries surveyed in 2013, many of who are attending the U.S. -Africa Leaders’ Summit this week received job approval ratings higher than 50 per cent.

But those ratings varied greatly across countries, from a high of 86 per cent in Mali to a low of 24 per cent in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita who is in his first term of office topped the table with 86 per cent of approval followed by Botswana's leader Ian Khama at 81 per cent while Kenya's President came third with 78 per cent approval.

The approval was based on how the leaders handle their jobs.

Paul Biya (Cameroon) was fourth with 70 per cent, Blaise Compaore (Bukina Faso) 70, Ernest Bai Koroma (Sierra Leone) 68, Mahamadou Issoufou (Niger) 64 and Macky Sall (Senegal) with 63 per cent respectively in that order.

Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete seals the top 10 leaders’ approval at 59 per cent just below his East African Community counterpart Uganda's Yoweri Museveni who was rated ninth best performing leader at 62 per cent.

Results were based on face-to-face interviews with at least 1,000 adults, aged 15 and older, conducted in 2013 in the 26 Sub-Saharan African countries.