Comments on: Mirror Mirror on the Wall, Who is the Worst African Dictator of Them All?

By: Morning's Minion

Morning's Minion — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 19:15:52 +0000

Ah, Banda, I remember him. His rule was unique in that he claimed everything in Malawi belonged to him personally.

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 18:43:21 +0000

Hastings Kamuzu Banda was a vicious dictator in Malawi from its time of independence until finally relinquishing power in free elections in the early `90s. While Malawi doesn´t have any mineral deposits, Banda was supported by the U.S. as a ally against communist Mozambique and socialist-leaning Zimbabwe.

It´s the same story over and over and over again.

By: Michael J. Iafrate

Michael J. Iafrate — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:21:02 +0000

And the US turns a blind eye. Not only is his record ignored, but Condi Rice once referred to Obiang as a “good friend.”

It’s a familiar story by now, isn’t it? :)

By: Chinese Music

Chinese Music — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:11:25 +0000

MM
I see some accounts say that a Federal Court fined a bank in the US which dealt with him/ that an overarching context is that China is signing contract after contract in the third world for exclusive oil contracts/ and that a Jerusalem based think tank had determined that African oil is a partial solution to Islamic control of oil/ and that his rule lacks the atrocities of the uncle he replaced/ and one account says that he is Catholic and that these last two Popes invited him to the Vatican. In short it could be the nuanced dealing with the only lemon in town….and for security concerns more than economic….whether by the US or by the vatican (for which see wiki and http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=41170 ).

By: Katerina Ivanovna

Katerina Ivanovna — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:44:02 +0000

Wow… Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I was completely unaware of this. I would’ve definitely answered “Mugabe”, but the fact that there is no Tsvangirai or no opposition per se puts things in perspective…

Africa is indeed the forgotten continent :-/ I can only hope that Pope Benedict will address Africa in his upcoming encyclical.