Yes, Africa’s leaders have rights too, but who is the enemy within?

PUBLIC WATCHDOG

Last week, the world watched in disbelief as former Egypt President Hosni Mubarak was dramatically hauled to court in a cage. Yes, in a caged stretcher to answer charges on his misrule — allegations of corruption and heavy-handedness that led to killings of demonstrators in a popular uprising that ended his 40-year autocratic rule.

The reactions have been varied, with cheers and jeers ringing across the world. Some say he deserved the action for his past misdeeds, while others are of the opinion that dictators, too, must be accorded fairness and human right dignity as they face the justice system that they denied others.

This debate rages on, with former Nigeria President Olusegun Obasanjo characterising the action as a dangerous precedent that would harden the position of African dictators, including besieged Libya leader Muammar Gaddafi.

New culture and wind

Indeed, this was also a position shared by former South African President Thabo Mbeki. The two leaders spoke during the African Leadership and Governance Forum in Mombasa.

Public Watchdog’s lenses were on the ground and it saw a genuine level of pain in the former leaders as they witnessed a former colleague holed-up in a cage in court.

President Obasanjo was categorical in his statement: I do not care what you do with Mubarak, but whatever you do, you must do it with dignity; even if you have to slaughter him, do it with dignity!

Thanks to the power of the world media the information was beamed across the world.

What, then, are the pertinent questions with respect to human rights and the role of the media?

First, it is essential to underscore that Africa is steadily making progress in its quest for democratisation and respect for human rights albeit in a slow, inconsistent pace.

Many countries in Africa have shed their past autocratic leadership culture and military coup cycles and embraced a new dawn of democracy.

Yes, a new culture and wind of democratisation is blowing across the content: From Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya.

One thing is, however, clear: The pace of the creation of supportive institutional pillars necessary for Africa’s democratisation is a challenge that requires appropriate attention by every government in Africa.

These critical pillars are independent electoral oversight bodies and independent judiciary systems so as to usher in sustained progress of multi-party democracy and competitive presidential elections that are seen as fair and representative of the people’s will.

Thus, autocratic leadership is fading away quickly with new breed of leadership, though many of yesterday’s advocates of democratic systems are today’s unfortunate dictators in power — a case in point is that of Malawi.

Selective justice

Secondly, Africa’s yesterday’s leaders and dictators, including Mubarak and Gaddafi must be accorded justice and dignity, as any form of retribution can only breed more cycles of retribution and threaten national stability across Africa.

Yes, these leaders and dictators too must have their human rights and dignity as justice is meted out on them even if, as Obasanjo stated, the ultimate consequence of such justice were to lead to slaughter.

Certainly, this position is at variance with those of Hassan Omar and Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o in their respective columns in The Standard on Sunday.

Why? The two seem to suggest that yesterday’s dictators deserve no rights but retribution.

Whilst it is difficult to agree with Omar’s position, whose focus has hitherto been on human rights advocacy and safeguards, the last time Public Watchdog checked Hassan was still a commissioner at Kenya Human Rights Commission.

Why, then, the selective justice? Justice must remain, a matter of justice to all and — even dictators’ must be accorded justice like any other person in order to deepen the democracy and justice system.

This must remain the case no matter our anger and temptation to deny dictators such justice in the way of retribution — for reasons that they themselves failed to dispense justice while exercising power and authority.

That would be the Africa we yearn for, an Africa that accords our past leaders respect, security, pension and normalcy in life as elder statesmen and women, for this shall be an incentive for those in power to retire honourably.

Thirdly, is African media an enemy from within as characterised by Obasanjo or is it a case of inept African leadership that have proved to be the enemy from within?

Why? Media acts as a bridge and mirror of informing on what is happening in our world and objective media sets national agenda and defends public interest.

This, of course, cannot be said with respect to disruptive media that becomes captive of vested interests and that pursues narrow vested political agenda.

National interest

However, African people are smart enough to discern objective and disruptive media and thus, African media that aligns itself to serving wide public and national interest cannot be characterised as an enemy from within.

African media, however, can do much more and must do so to help rid Africa of inept and corrupt leaders, this being a matter of compelling national interest!

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