In the aftermath of
Tuesday’s ‘swearing in’ of Raila Odinga as the people’s ‘president’ at Uhuru
Park in Nairobi, the Nasa leader joined a select group of African leaders who
declared themselves President while their countries had a sitting Head of
State.
But who are the others and
what happened to them?
1. Kiiza Besigye – After losing to President
Yoweri Museveni for the fourth consecutive time in the February 2016 elections,
Uganda’s vocal and confrontational opposition leader secretly swore himself at
an unknown location a day before the official swearing-in ceremony of President
Museveni.
It didn’t end well for 60
year old medical doctor, who is a former confidante of the President Museveni,
as he was promptly arrested and detained before being hauled before court on
treason charges.
He is currently out on bond
but continues battling the charges.
2. Ettiene Tshisekedi – Considered the main
Congolese opposition leader for decades, Tshisekedi declared himself the
“elected president” of the Democratic Republic of Congo when he lost in the
2011 elections to incumbent Joseph Kabila.
Tshisekedi, who was 79 year
old at the time, had come second on the official polls tally defied a police
ban on his ‘inauguration’ which had been planned for a football stadium in the
capital.
He was later placed under
house arrest before he died on February 1, 2017 in Brussels, Belgium while
undergoing treatment.
3. Mashood Abiola – The wealthy businessman
and politician was the presidential election of June 12, 1993 by overwhelmingly
trouncing his main rival Bashir Tofa.
However, then military
ruler, Ibrahim Babangida, annulled the election results and called for fresh
polls, leading to a political crisis which paved way for General Sani Abacha to
seize power later that year.
In 1994 Abiola declared
himself the lawful president of Nigeria in the Epetedo area of Lagos island. He
was subsequently arrested and held in solitary confinement for four years.
During that period, Pope
John Paul II, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and numerous human rights activists from
all over the world unsuccessfully lobbied the Nigerian government for his
release.
Abiola died on July 7, 1998
under suspicious circumstances shortly after the death of General Abacha on the
day that he was due to be released.
4. Jean Ping – In 2016, Gabon’s
opposition leader Jean Ping declared himself president and called for a recount
of votes which confirmed the incumbent President Ali Bongo had won a bitterly
contested election.
Ping maintained the whole
world knew that ‘he was the President’ even as chaos broke through the capital
Libreville and other cities, leading to the razing down of the Parliament.
