This page is dedicated to past African presidents, vice presidents, prime ministers, opposition leaders, guerrilla leaders and soldiers who bestrode the continental space for good or bad


[B]MWALIMU JULIUS KAMBARAGE NYERERE[/B]

Great African liberator, apostle of African unity, upholder of the dignity of the black man, founding President of the United Republic of Tanzania.

Unequalled in humility, self-effacing, honest,austere, dependable and a servant-leader, gave military training and diplomatic+financial support and threw open the doors of his country to political activists & liberation fighters from across Southern Africa(Namibia,Zimbabwe,Mozambique,Angola,South Africa). He freed Uganda from the draconian clutches of Field Marshal Idi Amin Dada. First African civilian leader to voluntarily hand over the reins of power in 1985.

In terms of personal attributes and moral rectitude, he is equalled only by Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, you were THE standard for African leadership and gave your VERY BEST to Tanzania and Africa. We hold you in highest esteem. God grant you eternity.








[B]NELSON ROLIHLAHLA MANDELA[/B], global icon, the essence of moral rectitude, archapostle of reconciliation, most elevated of men. Time or tide shall NEVER wipe away your legacy. Most famous and well-regarded African of all time. What more can I say, AMAANDLLAAAA!!





Winnie's guurrlls, beauty in the blood- Zenani and Zindziswa



[B]COLONEL JOHN GARANG DE MABIOR PhD[/B], Founding Chairman of the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement, Commanding General of the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army.

Great African emancipator, soldier, statesman, First Vice President of The Sudan, President of the autonomous Government of South Sudan. Great African warrior, you have done your duty.









GAMEL ABDEL NASSER
Staged the first military coup in Africa, Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council and President of Egypt, an advocate of Afro-Arab solidarity and of African unity. Arguably the most famous leader out of Africa and the Arab world of his day. Was a great supporter of the African liberation struggle and an Arab hero. Died aged just 52 years. His funeral (see crowd in photo)was attended by an unprecedented 7 million grieving people, unequalled in the Afro-Arab world and testimony to his charismatic touch.









ABOUT NASSER'S FUNERAL:
Nasser died of a heart attack on 28 September 1970 at the conclusion of a meeting in Cairo of leaders of Arab countries regarding Israel and of the Black September in Jordan. He suffered from hemochromatosis, or Bronze diabetes, a hereditary disease related to excessive iron in the body.

Because of his ability to motivate nationalistic passions, as a testament to what one would call the future of his influence, "men, women and children wept and wailed in the streets" after hearing of his death. His funeral on 1 October was one of the largest in history, attended by an estimated seven million people, and was described as "the people's procession." The six-mile (10 km) procession to his burial site began at the Revolutionary Command Council with MIG-21 jet fighters flying overhead. Emotions, which included telecasters crying on the air, boiled over in the 40-degrees C heat as millions swarmed the soldiers who were carrying the coffin, leading to the death of about 48 Egyptians as well as many other Arabs.




[B]THE SOUTH AFRICAN PANTHEON OF EMANCIPATORS[/B], they gave their all to ensure dignity for the black man


CHIEF ALBERT LUTHULI
Mandela's boss, Nobel Peace Prize winner, apostle of non-violent struggle, one-time President of the African National Congress, alone and with Oliver Tambo






GOVAN MBEKI
( distinguished and world-renowned father of former South African President, Thabo Mbeki)


WALTER SISULU



OLIVER REGINALD TAMBO, possibly the best-known of the lot bar Mandela



ROBERT SOBUKWE, ANC youth leader, first man to push for armed struggle, he later set up the more militant Pan-Africanist Congress and waged war against the South African state.




[B]MENGISTU HAILE MARIAM[/B], consummate bloodhound and mass murderer, this evil man became the power behind the throne after the overthrow of Emperor Selassie. The 120-man Provisional Military Administrative Council(Dergue) first chose an Eritrean of the 1960s-era war with Somalia over The Ogaden, Brigadier General Aman Mikael Andom, as Head of State and Chairman of the PMAC(Dergue). Major Mengistu got himself elected as 1st Vice Chairman of the Dergue while Lt.Colonel Atnafu Abate became the 2nd Vice Chairman. Andom was killed just two months later on November 23, 1974 over his chosen path of moderation in the face of a proposed all-out assault against his native Eritrea favoured by most DERGUE members. Andom was replaced by Brigadier General Teferi Bante as chairman and Head of State while the duo of Mengistu and abate retained their posts as vice-chairmen. Before midnight on 23 November 1974, 59 former officials of the Selassie regime (former prime ministers, princes, governors,ministers, generals and colonels) and pro-Andom elements were executed.

On 3 February 1977 during the course of a Dergue meeting, a shootout developed between the supporters of Banti and those of Mengistu and by the time the smoke cleared up, Gen Bante and ten of his Dergue loyalists had been shot dead. Mengistu emerged unscathed and presided over a 14-year period which was terrible for man and beast alike. 5,000 other Ethiopians were killed during the first few months of his rule and tens of thousands later perished as a result of the Red Terror Campaign. By November 1977, his deputy Atnafu Abate was similarly eliminated, making way for Mengistu's emergence as undisputed maximum ruler of all Ethiopia.

Mengistu,a better-forgotten tyrant.











[B]LIEUTENANT GENERAL AMAN MIKAEL ANDOM[/B](aka "The Desert Lion", former Commander 3rd Division of the Imperial Ethiopian Army), 1ST POST-IMPERIAL HEAD OF STATE OF ETHIOPIA




[B]BRIGADIER GENERAL TAFARI BANTI[/B](middle) -2ND POST-IMPERIAL HEAD OF STATE OF ETHIOPIA flanked by his deputies, Mengistu and Abate(in the far corner)




[B]HIS MAJESTY, EMPEROR HAILE SELASSIE OF ETHIOPIA[/B], great African liberator, dogged insurrectionist, pan-Africanist and father of modern Ethiopia who led the country through the turbulence that was the Italian invasion. A strong voice for decolonisation who was Regent or Emperor for 58 years wef 1916. An accomplished African hero who defied the scourge that was colonial subjugation.








[B]FIELD MARSHAL IDI AMIN DADA[/B], Conqueror of the British Empire. A rabble rouser and pan-Africanist with a confused sense of nationalism, he was ethnically bigoted, playing off the Kakwa, Acholi and Langi troops of the North against other Ugandans. He later set all three groups squabbling among themselves as he sought to play his minority Kakwa group into national reckoning.















[B]MZEE JOMO KENYATTA[/B], Great African emancipator, pan-Africanist, traditionalist and wise elder, founding President of the Republic of Kenya












TO READ MORE, VISIT

http://beegeagle./2010/04/10/makers-and-wreckers-heroes-and-villains-of-modern-africa-in-pictures/

What? No mention of the hundreds of thousands murdered under Idi Amin?!! That guy's regime was arguably the bloodiest in African history.