Africa is replete with sit-tight leaders, who have maintained power through various means, including elections, military force, and royal succession.
Cumulatively, the leaders have ruled the 10 African countries for 333 years.
One of the leaders is Cameroon’s President Paul Biya, 91, who has been ruling the country since 1982.
Speculation over Biya’s well-being and whereabouts dominated discourse across Africa this week following reports that he had passed on.
His last public outing was the China-Africa summit in Beijing in early September. He missed the UN General Assembly in New York, a miss that did not go without notice even though it was not surprising.
However, Biya’s absence at this week’s summit of French-speaking countries (La Francophonie) at Viller Cotterêts, North of Paris, added fodder to the flaming rumour of his expiration as he had not been seen in public for about a month.
Cameroon’s ambassador in France insisted that Biya was “in good health” and in Geneva – his habitual base when away from home.
Cameroon Government Spokesman, René Sadi, issued a formal denial of the rumours, and said that President Biya would return home “in the next few days.”
The head of Biya’s private office, with him in Geneva, also said he was “in excellent health.”
10 longest serving African heads of state
1. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo (Equatorial Guinea) Mbasogo has been in power for 41 years, which makes him the world’s longest-serving non-royal leader. He assumed power on October 12, 1982
2. Paul Biya (Cameroon) Biya, whose rumoured death is shaking the air waves has ruled Cameroon for 41 years, making him Africa’s second-longest-serving president and the world’s oldest head of state. He will be marking 42 years on the seat on November 6. He assumed power in 1982, 25 days after Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea mounted the saddle.
3. Denis Sassou Nguesso (Congo). Nguesso is third on the ladder of Africa’s longest rulers. He has also been in power for 40 years cumulatively, serving as president since 1997 and previously from 1979 to 1992.
4. Yoweri Museveni (Uganda): First elected president in January 1986 and re-elected several times, Museveni is fourth on the list, and has served for 38 years.
5. King Mswati (Eswatini): 38 years in power, crowned king in 1986 at just 18 years old, Mswati is the fifth longest serving head of state in Africa.
6. Idriss Déby (Chad): 30 years in power, killed in 2021 while commanding troops against rebel forces, Deby occupied the sixth slot.
7. Isaias Afwerki (Eritrea): 31 years in power, leading the country since its independence from Ethiopia in 1993
8. Ismail Omar Guelleh (Djibouti): 25 years in power, Guelleh was elected president in May 1999
9. King Mohammed (Morocco): 25 years in power, Mohammed, ninth on the log, ascended to the throne in July 1999
10. Paul Kagame (Rwanda): 24 years in power, Kagame was first elected president in 2000 and re-elected several times.
