In a year, Africa saw the end of the regimes of two out of six long-time presidents who had served for over 30 years. 75-year-old Jose Eduardo dos Santos of Angola stepped down last year after clinching to power for 36 years while 93-year-old Robert Gabriel Mugabe was overthrown in a military takeover after serving for 36 years.
It was almost the end of the new longest-serving African leader after Mugabe, Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo whose government said on Wednesday that a coup attempt was foiled and at least 30 armed men from Chad, Cameroon and the Central African Republic were arrested late December.
They were reportedly found with rocket launchers, rifles and ammunition over the border in Cameroon where local media said one person was shot dead during the clashes. The oil-rich country’s Security Minister Nicholas Obama Nchama announced on state radio that the armed men were mercenaries hired by opposition groups.
He added that the coup was foiled with the help of Cameroon, another country that has a leader who has been in power for 33 years.
75-year-old Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo’s government has been accused of gross human rights abuses, corruption and nepotism. His son is the Vice President of the country and last year, a French court gave him a three-year suspended sentence for corruption.
For now, there are four African presidents who have served for more than 30 years and are still going strong. Besides Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, the rest are Cameroon’s Paul Biya (34 years in office), Congo Brazzaville’s Denis Sassou Nguesso (33 years in office) and Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni (32 years in office).
Anthony Madu, the 14-year-old Nigerian dancer from Lagos who gained admission to a prestigious ballet…
Actor-host Wayne Brady recently opened up about his early financial struggles in his now thriving…
Mia Arianna, also known as @mia.ariannaa on TikTok, helped her son become an honorary team…
Alvin Gauthier, a Grand Prairie USPS postman, recently went above and beyond to brighten a…
Maj. Gen. Fatuma Gaiti Ahmed is the first female commander of the air force and…
Benjamin E. Mays High School brought together its 272 senior class members for a meeting…
Afrika Owes' emotional response to learning that she had passed the bar exam on her…
A 49-year-old New York attorney was on April 26 sentenced to 10 years in federal…
During an appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show on Wednesday, pop legend Cher opened up…
Authorities in Florida said an 11-year-old boy was accidentally shot and killed by his 14-year-old…
The famous Taylor Schlitz family is making headlines once more as the youngest of the…
Sony Pictures Entertainment has appointed Tahra Grant as its Chief Communications Officer. She replaces Robert…
Meet Ashley M. Fox, the founder of Empify and the first in her family to…
Tyra Banks, the iconic former host of Dancing With the Stars, has made a delightful…
A Brazilian woman named Érika de Souza, 42, is under investigation for manslaughter after authorities…