Colonial Rapacity and Political Corruption: Roots of African Underdevelopment and Misery By Emmanuel O.

Iheuk umere * and Chuk uemeka A. Iheuk umere ** 1. Introduction-Although Africa is well endowed with natural resources, it is a continent in distress. European colonial rapacity left the continent in disarray and deplorable shape upon independence. Independence appears to have simply resulted in rapacious e change of roles. !ow Africans suffer and die needlessly due to the bra"en and rec#less looting and hoarding of the public treasuries by greedy and unconscionably corrupt public officials. $orruption has compounded the in%ustice of the colonial legacy, severely impoverished the average African, left the few infrastructures in ruins, and robbed the populace of the benefits of their national resources. &. (. ,. .. 2. 3. 'owing the seeds of social and economic misery- African countries under colonial rule. Independence from $olonial )ule* !ew +eadership and the $ontinued Betrayal of a $ontinent. -he Effects of political corruption on African social and economic life. -he )ole of the /estern /orld in 0ostering 1olitical $orruption in Africa. 1otential /ays of Addressing 1olitical $orruption in Africa. $onclusions.

! Eaton 4 5c$lellan, 1hiladelphia, 1ennsylvania* Ad%unct 1rof., -emple 6niversity 7ames E. Beasley 'chool of +aw* $hair, 5inority Bar $ommittee of the 1ennsylvania Bar Association, B.A., summa cum laude, $larion 6niversity of 1ennsylvania* 7uris 8octor, -emple 6niversity 'chool of +aw. A fre9uent commentator in the areas of civil litigation, his writings on affirmative action, informed consent, medical malpractice, prescription drugs liability, and admissibility of scientific evidence, among others, have appeared in several law reviews and %ournals. :e dedicates this article to his mother $ecilia, and to the memory of his father, 7ames, both of who taught him the value of hard wor# and honesty. :e also dedicates this article to the memory of his recently deceased cousin $hu#wuma ;odwin <#eor%i, and to the memory of the following* African-American 5inisters- lawyer and %ournalist, )ev. ;eorge /ashington /illiams and 1resbyterian missionary and e plorer, )ev. /illiam :. 'heppard* the African business man-:e"e#iah Andrew 'hanu* British %ournalist, and later 5ember of 1arliament, E.8. 5orel* and former British consul, and Irish patriot, )oger $asement, who all ris#ed their lives and livelihood to e pose Belgian monarch, =ing +eopold II>s murderous and savage rule of the $ongo territory. In addition, the writer ac#nowledges Adam :ochschild>s e cellent chronicle of colonial atrocities in Africa, particularly in the $ongo in his boo# ?=ing +eopold>s ;host.@ -he writer is greatly indebted to these individuals for their #ind support and encouragement* his children-Emmanuel, 7r., 7ane, and 5arshall* his siblings $hu#wueme#a, <gbonna, $hioma, and 6gochi* 1rof. 0ran# 5. 5c$lellan-the I. :erman 'tern 1rofessor of +aw at -emple 6niversity 7ames E. Beasley 'chool of +aw and name partner at Eaton 4 5c$lellan, Allen -. Eaton, Es9uire, name partner at Eaton 4 5c$lellan, Ada#u <. A%o#u, 1harm.8., 1rof. 1hilip $. A#a of $hicago 'tate 6niversity, 1rof. 1hoebe :addon of -emple 6niversity 7ames E. Beasley 'chool of +aw, Alphonsus and 8onna Ilochi, )ev. 5ary+ouise :aw#en, Andrew $. <nwudin%o, Es9uire, 5balle !#embe, Es9uire, 7ohnson =olawole, Annie 5arie 1ompey and 'abrina Easterling. In addition, he than#s 5r. !#embe for helpful research assistance. !! 0ounding member, and president of the board of <rgani"ation for the Advancement of !igeria, 'outh <range* former Ad%unct 1rof.of 1olitical and 'ocial 'ciences, Esse $ounty $ollege, !ew 7ersey* former 'pecial Assistant to the 8irector-;eneral-Africa, !igerian 5inistry of 0oreign Affairs* AB8, $enter for ;lobal $hange and ;overnance, )utgers 6niversity-!ewar# $ampus* 51IA, 1

6niversity of 1ittsburgh* 5.A., 8u9uesne 6niversity, 1ittsburgh* B.'.c, Awith honorsB, 'outhwest 5issouri 'tate 6niversity. -he author dedicates this article to his mother $ecilia, and to the memory of his beloved father 7ames. In addition, he dedicates this article to his children. 0inally, the author than#s his co-author and brother Emmanuel, whose idea made this article possible. I"#RO$UC#IO" Although well-endowed with abundant mineral and human resources, Africa is a continent in distress. 1 0irst, the continent was coloni"ed by Europeans who brutali"ed its inhabitants, & massacred any groups which dared to challenge their brutal rule, ( and then siphoned the natural resources to Europe. , 'econd, after looting the

treasures of the continent, and sub%ecting its inhabitants to the most gruesome treatment ever visited upon a people, the various colonial powers granted independence to the scattered nations of that continent, without preparing the new rulers to manage their devastated economies and ethnic groups. . In many instances, the departing colonial

1'ee, e.g., /il :aygood, %ook Revie & %i' Men& (ittle People: #he (eaders )ho $efined Africa , by Alec )ussell, -:E B<'-<! ;+<BE, -hird Edition, 0ebruary &1, &CC1, at ;2 Ahereinafter, :aygood, Big 5en, +ittle 1eopleBAnoting the bra"en robbery and looting of billions of dollars from the national treasuries by former African tyrants and despots such as !igeria>s 'ani Abacha, the $ongo>s Aformerly DaireB 5obutu 'ese 'e#o, 5alawi>s :astings =amu"u Banda, among others, while their people struggled and suffered under the sweltering in%ustice of crushing poverty and mismanagementB. 'ee also 5ar# -urner, Africans Off #ar'et in )ar on Poverty, 0I!A!$IA+ -I5E' A+ondonB, 5ay 1C, 1EEE, at C( Ahighlighting the high cost of servicing the debts of African countries at the same time capital flight from the continent continues unabatedB* and Conference Adopts Plan to *alve African Poverty, -:E 8AI+F F<5I)6 A-o#yoB, <ctober &&, 1EEG, at pg. 1 Apoignantly observing that ?In Africa, about &,C million people, or ,C percent of the entire population, live on less than 1 dollaHrI a day, hich is the definition of e+treme poverty .@BAemphasis addedB. &'ee, e.g.,-om 5asland, #he ,or'otten -enocide, !E/'/EE=, August &1, &CCCAhereinafter, 5asland, -he 0orgotten ;enocideB Anarrating the systematic and horrendous ;erman e termination of the :ereros, an ethnic group in !amibia, then #nown as 'outh-/est Africa, in the early part of the twentieth centuryB. According to the account, the ;erman genocidal campaign reduced the population of the :ereros from GC,CCC to 1.,CCC in 1E1C. -he account notes that the ;erman leader, =aiser /ilhelm II hand pic#ed the commander in charge of the brutal #illing of the :erreros. After mercilessly slaughtering the hapless :ereros, the ;ermans allocated the few who survived as slave laborers to ;erman companies, some of which still e ist. 'ignificantly, when the issue of reparations for the descendants of the :ereros came up recently, the ;erman 0oreign 5inistry, still unrepentant and shameless, had the audacity to pout that there were no laws on the boo#s during the genocide protecting ?rebellious civilians@Aemphasis on rebellious civilians in the originalB. 'ee also, Blue %ook: #he Preface. Cover /tory 0: "ami1ia, !ew African, 0ebruary 1, &CC&, Ahereinafter, Blue Boo#BAproviding an indept description of the ;erman massacre of the :ereros, and the humiliation to which ;erman farmers, protected by the ;erman government, inflicted upon Africans in 'outh-/est AfricaB. ('ee note &, supra. ,'ee, e.g., Adam :ochschild, 2in' (eopold3s -host A5ariner Boo#s. 1EEEB, at 1GCAdescribing the arrival of huge 9uantities of rubber and ivory to Europe from the $ongo, for which the Jnatives> were paid nothing, or ne t to nothingB. :ochschild observed that through slavery and forced labor, Europeans, especially the murderous Belgian monarch, =ing +eopold II, with the complicity of the British, reaped unheard of profits. .'ee, e.g., )and )ichards $ooper, *istory as #ra'edy: 4(umum1a&3 $<55<!/EA+, <ctober 1&,
&

powers perpetuated their rape of the continent through the imposition of constitutions which preserved the privileges of the immigrant European population at the e pense of the native inhabitants. 2 !ot surprisingly, some of the new African leaders emulated the brutalism and savagery of the coloni"ers, and heaped misery, violence, and poverty upon their own. 3 -hese unconscionable Jleaders> pitted ethnic groups against ethnic groups to preserve their political power,G and lived in shameless lu ury, while robbing their countries blind. E -he culmination of the debauchery of colonial rule, and the unpreparedness and greed of many early &CC1, Kol. 1&G, !o. 13, at pg. 13Ahereinafter, $ooper, :istory as -ragedyB Aobserving that at the time of independence, the Belgians left the $ongoHa country seventy-si times the si"e of BelgiumI with ?%ust seventeen African university graduates- and not a single lawyer, architect, engineer, or army officer among them.@B. According to the commentator, ?Belgian leaders schemed to ensure that the country>s vast e ploitable resourcescopper, diamonds, minerals-remained in European hands.@ Id. 'ee also Abdullahi A. An-!a>im, #he Contin'ent Universality of *uman Ri'hts: #he Case of ,reedom of E+pression in African and Islamic Conte+ts , 11 Emory Int>l +. )ev. &E, .. A'pring 1EE3BA?After a long history of encouraging and institutionali"ing European settlement of =enya and the total sub%ugation of its native African population, Britain was finally forced to return the country to its own people with little preparation for democratic self-governance.@B.

2 'ee generally )ahman 0ord, $ommentL +aw, :istory, and the $olonial 8iscourseL 8avies v. $ommissioner and Dimbabwe as a $olonial $ase 'tudy, ,. :ow. +. 7. &1( A0all &CC1B. 3'ee, e.g., )./. 7ohnson, (ords of Misrule )ho Condemn Africa to )ar& ,amine& and #yranny, -:E -I5E' Aof +ondonB, 7anuary 1G, &CC1 0eatures 'ection,Ahereinafter, 7ohnson, +ords of 5isruleB Ahighlighting the atrocities against the citi"ens, by former African leaders such as 5obutu 'ese 'e#o of the $ongo )epublic, then #nown as Daire under 5obutu, Idi Amin of 6ganda, self-proclaimed emperor 7ean Bedel Bo#assa of the $entral African )epublic, and 5acias !guema of E9uatorial ;uinea, among othersB. 'ee also, $ooper, :istory as -ragedy, supra note . Adescribing in graphic detail, 5obutu>s horrific murder of the first 1rime 5inister of the $ongo, 1atrice +umumba, with the help of the $.I.AB. According to the account of +umumba>s senseless murder, the young Honly thirty-si I and idealistic 1rime 5inister was overthrown less than three months after assuming power, viciously beaten by 5obutu>s thugs in the presence of 6nited !ations diplomats who left him to his unfortunate fate, and then e ecuted by firing s9uad, along with two associates. -he three bodies were then dismembered and burned. 'ee also :ochschild, supra note ,, at (C& Aobserving that ?+ess than two months after being named the $ongo>s first democratically chosen prime minister, a 6.'. !ational 'ecurity $ouncil subcommittee on covert operations, which included $IA chief Allen 8ulles, authori"ed his H+umumba>sI assassination.@ :ochschild continued, ?the 6nited 'tates saw to it that he H+umumbaInever had a chance. +i#e millions of $ongolese before him, he ended up dumped in an unmar#ed grave.@id. G'ee, e.g., 7on 'wain, A 5ourney to Con'o Reveals a Re'ime Collapsin' into (a lessness and A1surdity and a Country on the /lide , -:E '6!8AF -I5E' A6nited =ingdomB, August 1(, &CCC Ahereinafter, 'wain, )egime $ollapsingBAdescribing how former $ongolese tyrant 5obutu 'ese 'e#o e ploited the ethnic divisions in his country to amass untold wealth at the e pense of the publicB* 'ee also /illiam 1faff, Africa: Can a ,ormula for /ta1ility and Pro'ress 1e ,ound6 I!-E)!A-I<!A+ :E)A+8 -)IB6!E A!euilly-sur-'eine, 0ranceB, August &(, 1EE3 A?+eaders survive by constantly playing the tribal HethnicI card, or by assuming absolute power and smothering dissent.@BA9uotation in the originalB. E'ee, e.g., 7ohn Edlin, 7im1a1 e3s $eadly Cancer , -:E -<)<!-< '-A), 'unday 'econd Edition, April 13, 1EGG, at 1. :, Ahereinafter, Edlin, Dimbabwe>s 8eadly $ancerB Aobserving that then 1resident 5obutu 'ese 'e#o of Daire, now renamed the $ongo )epublic, ?allegedly plundered billions of state income.@B -he article further noted that arguably, an esteemed and egalitarian leader such as =wame !#rumah of ;hana, amassed millions of dollars of ill gotten wealth by the time he was overthrown from power. 'ee also, Bill =eller, One of
(

African leaders, and their successors is the current situation in the continent where corruption is endemic, 1C and has thrust the overwhelming ma%ority of the populace into ab%ect poverty and suffering. -his article e amines the role of corruption in the emasculation of African economies and the attendant impoverishment of the populace beginning from the colonial period and continuing to the present. /e contend that although colonialism, with its inhumanity and barbarism, robbed African countries of their natural resources, brutali"ed and humiliated the inhabitants, 11 and enthroned bra"en robbery through un%ust positive Jlaws> and Jtreaties>1& the corrupt practices and behaviors of African leaders since independence continues the brutali"ation of

Africa3s (ast $ictators %o s to $emocracy , -:E !E/ F<)= -I5E', 0riday, +ate Edition, 5ay &C, 1EE,, at A1, column ( Ahighlighting the opulence which surrounded the former 1resident of 5alawi, 8r. :astings =amu"u Banda, who led his country to independenceB. According to the -imes article, then 1resident Banda ?traveled among his five official residences in a +ear%et and a fleet of British lu ury cars,@ even though his country was so poor that ?most live without running water or electricity.@ <blivious to his own moral decay in living in unbridled lu ury and avarice, and apparently #illing off his political opponents, 8r. Banda, according to the -imes> article, ?banned minis#irts, bell-bottomed pants and long hair on men as signs of moral decline, and outlawed the 'imon and ;arfun#el song ?$ecilia@ as an offense to the woman the unmarried 1resident called his official hostess, $ecilia -amanda =ad"amira.@

1C'ee, e.g., #ransparent #a1les. #ransparency International3s Corruption Inde+, <E$8 <B'E)KE), April 1, &CCC, at pg. (( Anoting that the two most corrupt countries on the inde , $ameroon and !igeria, were African countriesB. 'ee also, 7ames )upert, "i'eria3s /tron'man $ies: A1acha Oversa Mass Corruption. In "i'eria& Corruption isn3t Part of -overnment& it3s the O18ect of -overnment& Political /cientist /ays, -:E -<)<!-< '-A), -uesday, 7une E, 1EEG, 5etro Edition, at A1C Ahereinafter, )upert, !igeria>s 'trongman 8iesBAannouncing the sudden death of arguably the most corrupt and brutal of !igeria>s dictators, ;eneral 'ani Abacha, under whose brutal and inhumane regime, billions of dollars were siphoned off by him and his cohorts to ban# accounts in Europe. According to the 'tar article, under Abacha corruption became the ob%ect of the government itself, and the country was plunged into economic ruin. ?6nder Abacha, corruption too# !igeria further into economic collapse than in the past.@ Id. 11'ee, e.g., %lue %ook, supra note &Adescribing the senseless ;erman massacre of the :erero people of !amibia, and the insidious and humiliating practice of ?parental chastisement,@ under which every ;erman farmer e ercised unbridled control over his Jnative> servants. According to the account, these Jnatives> were made servants against their will, robbed of their best lands, deprived of their livestoc#, sub%ected to rapes, torture, whippings, ?cruelty of the most terrible nature,@ and generally regarded ?as slaves without rights,@ and only ?amenable to the lash.@ -he accounts of the blue boo# were so damning of ;erman atrocities against Africans that the British, ;ermans, and the 'outh African governments agreed in 1E&2 to destroy the boo#. Id. But consistent with the :oly Boo#>s in%unction that everything that is hidden will be revealedH5atthew $hapter 1C, Kerse &2I, a copy of the blue boo# survived and gives a chilling and horrific account of ;erman mistreatment of Africans during colonial rule. 1&'ee, e.g., :arry 'terling, %ritain3s *ypocrisy in 7im1a1 e , -:E -<)<!-< '-A), 'unday Edition, !ews 'ection Ahereinafter, 'terling, Britain>s :ypocrisyBAdescribing Britain>s hypocritical insistence that compensation be paid to white farm owners before Jtheir lands> could be redistributed, the commentator, a former $anadian diplomat, notes that during colonial rule British authorities e propriated the best lands in Dimbabwe, then #nown as )hodesia, and turned them over to white settlersB. Although we condemn Dimbabwean 1resident )obert 5ugabe>s cynical encouragement of vigilante action against white farmers in an effort to win re-election, the British lecturing on the rule of law with regard to the necessity of compensation to the beneficiaries of their unconscionable and murderous landgrab, is, as the commentator appropriately observed, the height of hypocrisy.
,

the average African, and ensures his or her crushing poverty and hopelessness. $orruption among African leaders and officials in turn is then, unfortunately and regrettably, aided and abetted by the ban#ing and economic policies of the same colonial powers which initially heaped misery and savagery upon the continent, and helped ensure the despotism of some of the worst pretenders who branded themselves leaders. -o support our contentions and conclusions, we e amine in depth, corruption in the form of licentious rapacity during European colonial rule, 1( the e tent of political corruption in many post independent African countries using published reports, studies, and surveys, and point out the level of looting of the public treasuries. /e then analy"e how these looting, and subse9uent transfer of the public resources to western countries have brought several African economies to the brin# of collapse. 0inally, we offer some suggestions for chipping away at the enduring cancer that is corruption. Although corruption, in the broader conte t, includes colonial e ploitation of African natural resources for the benefit of Europe, and the depraved treatment of Africans, 1, the #ind of corruption engaged in by various African leaders subse9uent to independence, has e acerbated the effects of the colonial legacy, and plunged the African continent further into economic ruin and social misery. 1olitical corruption in Africa after independence has turned the promise of a better life into a miserable present, and an uncertain future. It has impeded the fair administration of %ustice,1. contributed to unfair and une9ual treatment of the citi"enry, 12 and left the average

1(Although the term Jcorruption> embraces ?the promise or payment of a benefit that induces a public official to breach a duty pertaining to a significant community interest,@ 8avid :ess and -homas /. 8unfee, /ymposium: ,i'htin' International Corruption 9 %ri1ery in the :; st Century: ,i'htin' Corruption: A Principled Approach. #he C<:= Principles >Com1atin' Corruption, (( $ornell Int>l +.7. .E(, .E. A&CCCB Ahereinafter, :ess and 8unfee, 0ighting $orruptionB, the definition of corruption is much broader. $orruption includes, among others, ?moral perversion,@ ?depravity,@and ?rottenness.@ 'ee /ebster>s 6niversal $ollege 8ictionary A)andom :ouse Inc. &CC1B, at pg. 1G&. 6sing the broader definition of corruption, it is clear, as this article will illustrate, that the colonial system was utterly corrupt. 1,'ee supra note 1(, and accompanying te t. 1.'ee, e.g., 1hilip $. A#a, "i'eria: #he "eed for an Effective Policy of Ethnic Reconciliation in the "e Century, 1, -emp. Int>l 4 $omp. +. 7. (&3, (..-.2 A0all &CCCBAhereinafter, A#a, 1olicy of Ethnic )econciliationBAhighlighting the pervasiveness of corruption among the !igerian leadership, particularly the military regimes which have ruled !igeria for most of the time since independence, and noting their propensity for violence against the citi"enry, and unfair administration of %ustice, culminating in former dictator and utterly corrupt despot ;eneral Ibrahim Babangida>s annulment of a fair election presumably won by 5oshod AbiolaB. 12'ee A#a, 1olicy of Ethnic )econciliation, supra note 1..
.

African without much hope. $ompounding the effects of corruption are the /estern ban#ing and financial interests which have assisted and continues to assist unpatriotic, 13 and corrupt and despotic African leaders in laundering their stolen proceeds, 1G while turning a blind eye to the terrible effects of political corruption. /O)I"- #*E /EE$/ O, CORRUP#IO": A,RICA" COU"#RIE/ U"$ER CO(O"IA( RU(E. Although corruption is a universal problem, 1E and has been in e istence for a very long time, &C European coloni"ation, contrary to prevailing myth, failed to be9ueath democracy to African countries, but rather, left a legacy of authoritarian rule and plunder, &1 and sowed the seeds for the vicious type of corruption now plaguing African countries. && 6sing the prete t of bringing $hristianity and civili"ation to the Jnatives> &( European

13/e posit that corrupt African leaders are not only a bane to their fellow citi"ens, but are, in the true sense of the word, unpatriotic moral midgets without conscience, and indifferent to the abysmal conditions of their countries and sub%ects. 'ee /ebster>s 6niversal $ollege 8ictionaryA )andom :ouse, Inc. &CC1B, at pg. .GC Adefining a patriot as ?a person who loves, supports, and defends his or her country and its interestsBAemphasis addedB. It is undisputable that it is in the interest of a nation to have well educated citi"ens, a well maintained and efficient bureaucracy, well maintained social and physical infrastructures, and a populace with a high standard of living. -o the e tent the rapaciousness of so-called African leaders has deprived Africans of these benefits, these corrupt and licentious Jleaders> are immeasurably unpatriotic. 1G'ee, e.g., #he (ost %illions: #he Inside /tory of the *unt from (a'os to "e ?ork to -eneva for an African $ictator3s /tolen (oot, !E/'/EE= I!-E)!A-I<!A+, 5arch 1(, &CCC Ahereinafter, -he +ost BillionsBAdescribing in detail, the late !igerian dictator and embodiment of corruption, ;eneral 'ani Abacha>s bra"en robbery and fleecing of the !igerian treasury, and the ease with which he stashed his loot in European and American ban#s, including in $itiban#B. -he article further notes the ease with which the late $ongolese tyrant 5obutu 'ese 'e#o, and other leader-robbers and tyrants from the third world plundered their nations> treasuries and hid their loot ?in Europe and the 6nited 'tates.@ 'ee also 0ran# Kogl, #he /upply /ide of -lo1al Corruption, 0I!A!$E 4 8EKE+<15E!-, Kol. (., !o. &, 1g. (C A7une 1EEGBAhereinafter, Kogl, 'upply 'ide of ;lobal $orruptionBAobserving that many of the largest ban#s ?all of which are head9uartered in the leading industrial countries-are used in the global money laundering Hof the proceeds of corruptionI,@ and appropriately noting that ?5oney laundering is the handmaiden of international corruption,@ since ?those who ta#e bribes must find safe international financial channels through which they can ban# their ill-gotten gains.@B. 1E'ee, e.g., Ibrahim 0.I. 'hihata, Corruption@A -eneral Revie ith an Emphasis on the Role of the )orld %ank , 1. 8ic#. 7. Int>l +. ,.1, ,.G A'pring 1EE3BA ?corruption in one form or another e ists in varying degrees in all human societies.@B. &C'ee, e.g., =imberly Ann Elliott, Perspective: #he Pro1lem of Corruption: A #ale of # o Countries , 1G 7. Intl. +. Bus. .&,, .&, A/inter 1EEGB. &1'ee :ochschild, supra note ,, at (C1 A?the ma%or legacy Europe left Africa was not democracy as it is practiced today in countries li#e England, 0rance, and Belgium* it was authoritarian rule and plunder.@B. &&-his statement in no way implies that there is a benevolent type of corruption. &('ee, e.g., 5a#au 5utua, /ava'es& Aictims& and /aviors: #he Metaphor of *uman Ri'hts , ,& :arv. Int>l +.7. &C1, &(.-(2 A/inter &CC1BAobserving that although ?$olonialism was driven by ignoble motivesHpage &(2I...1ositivistsHincluding European missionariesI developed an elaborate vocabulary for denigrating these peoplesHthe coloni"edI, presenting them as suitable ob%ects for con9uest, and legitimi"ing the most e treme
2

coloni"ers instead brought barbarism and unspea#able savagery to the Africans. -hrough brute force and greed, the coloni"ers ushered in slave labor, &, divested the African of the ownership of his or her land and the resources therein, &. enslaved men, women, and children, &2 and robbed the African of every once of dignity and human right. &3 /hile attac#ing the heinous Arab enslavement of Africans, European coloni"ers unleashed unimaginable cruelty against the African, which dwarfed the atrocities of the Arab slave raiders and traders &G and rose to the level

violence against them, all in the furtherance of the civiliBin' mission@the dischar'e of the hite man3s 1urden.@BAemphasis suppliedB.

&,'ee generally :ochschild, supra note ,. 'ee in particular, page 1&E where the author observes that while +eopold grandly issued edicts banning the slave tradeHperhaps to burnish his duplicitious image as a great christian #ing and humanitarianI he encouraged and had in place, a system which enslaved the $ongolese for cheap labor. 'ee also page 1&., where the author emphasi"ed that unli#e 1rotestant missionaries who hired and paid the porters at their service ?the $ongo state-at +eopold>s specific order-used forced labor.@ &.'ee id. at 113. &2'ee, e.g., id. at 111 Areiterating missionary and lawyer ;eorge /ashington /illiams> first hand narration of the Belgian $ongo state>s buying and selling of slavesB. 'ee also id. at 121-2( Adescribing in graphic detail the #idnapping of men, women and children by +eopold>s officials in the $ongo for the e press purpose of compelling them to gather rubber pulp, a process described as so arduous and painful, since ?A gatherer had to dry the syrup-li#e rubber so that it would coagulate, and often the only way to do so was to spread the substance on his arms, thighs, and chest,@ id. at 121. -he author further describes the slavish control of the inhabitants wherever the rubber vines grew as followsL /herever rubber vines grew, the population was tightly controlled. 6sually you had to get a permit from the stateH$ongo free stateI or company Hcorporation established by =ing +eopold, II of Belgium to run the $ongo free stateI agent in order to visit a friend or relative in another village. In some areas, you were re9uired to wear a numbered metal dis#, attached to a cord around your nec#, so that company agents could #eep trac# of whether you had met your 9uota. :uge numbers of Africans were conscripted into this labor armyL in 1EC2, the boo#s of A.B.I.). alone, responsible for only a small fraction of the $ongo state>s rubber production, listed forty-seven thousand rubber gatherers. &3'ee id. at 132 A describing how indigenes of the $ongo were brought to Europe and placed on e hibit at world fairs-%ust li#e animalsB. :ochschild describes in particular, the horrible fate of a $ongolese midget, <ta Benga, who was displayed in the mon#ey house of !ew For#>s Bron Doo, where the helpless man was compelled to share his space with an orangutan. -o compound the horror, "oo #eepers scattered bones on the floor around the man to give spectators the impression that he was a human eating savage. By the time a group of AfricanAmerican ministers rescued Benga from the "oo, the e perience had left such a scare on Benga that he later committed suicide. Incredibly, and shoc#ingly, the promoter of the e hibit was a former 1resbyterian missionary. 'ee id. 'ee also id. at 122 Adescribing the parading of native $ongolese who failed to use a designated toilet, and the smearing of the faces of the hapless victims with e crementB. &G'ee id.at 1&E Anoting that under the brutal rule of the $ongo free state ?soldiers Hof African descentI and chiefs ali#e were flogged or hung for the slightest offense. -hey HAfrican soldiers who mutinied due to the inhumane rule of =ing +eopold>s men in the $ongo free stateI spo#e of one white officer who shot si ty soldiers HAfricansI in a single day because they refused to wor# on a 'unday, and of another who ?with his own hands poured salt and pepper on the bloody wounds made by the chicotteHa wipe made from the dried hide of a hippopotamusI and ordered the sic# from his post thrown alive into the +ualaba )iver.@?
3

of a holocaust.&E 1rior to the Berlin $onference of 1GG., which carved up Africa li#e a piece of ca#e for the European nations, ma%or coloni"ers such as Britain, ;ermany, 0rance, 1ortugal, and little, but profoundly vicious Belgium, (C had already established enclaves in various African territories with the sole aims of plundering the continent>s resources for the benefit of Europe, moral pretenses notwithstanding. (1 Also, prior to the Berlin $onference, the 6nited 'tates, perhaps unwittingly, had given its imprimatur to the rape of the continent by the murderous and savage Belgian monarch, =ing +eopold II. (& Although prior to the arrival of European coloni"ers, Africans had made wars against each other, and engaged in customary practices that were, by any ob%ective measurement, atrocious, and of no redeeming value, (( the arrival of European coloni"ers ushered in the absolute degradation of the African, (, and a fast paced destruction of the African family. 0or e ample, during the period #nown as the

&E'ee id. at &((Aconcluding, based on a 1E1E official Belgian government commission findings, ethnographic studies, and the 1E&, territory wide census of the $ongo, that about ten million $ongolese died directly or indirectly as a result of +eopold>s brutish rule in the territoryB. . (CBelgium is less than half the si"e of /est Kirginia. 'ee :ochschild, supra note ,, at (2. (1'ee id. at G&-G3. (&'ee id. at 3E-G& Aobserving that through the efforts of Alabama>s 6.'. 'enator 7ohn -yler 5organ, a former $onfederate brigadier-general, and the lobbying activities of former 6.'. 5inister to Belgium under 1resident Abraham +incoln, Hsee page .GI, :enry 'helton 'anford, the 6nited 'tates, during the presidency of $hester Arthur, became the first country to recogni"e +eopold>s claim to the $ongo Hpage G1I. (('ee, e.g., :. 5urray :ofmeyr, Christian Mission and Colonialism in /outhern Africa and African Response: /ome Case /tudies, 1, Emory Int>l +. )ev. 1C&E, 1C.&Ahereinafter, :ofmeyr, $hristian 5ission and $olonialismBAnoting the observations of an African born missionary =laas =oen about some of the devious practices among the indigenous people, such as the #illing of the second child ma#ing up a twin ?even when the first was born dead,@* the worshiping of animals, such as apes, which allegedly contained the spirits of the worshippers> ancestors* and the marriage of girls as young as nine years old by old men. (,'ee, e.g., :ochschild, supra note ,, at 1&C-&1 Anoting the emotional and physical degradation and utter humiliation of the African at the hands of the coloni"ers. !ot only was the African mercilessly lashed, severely punished for the most minor infraction, and literally wor#ed to death, he or she was also demoni"ed and assiduously treated as less than a full human being. -he European coloni"ers held the opinion that ?Africans were inferior beings* la"y, uncivili"ed, little better than animals,@id. at 1&1. 'ee also 1hilip $. A#a, #he Military& -lo1aliBation& and *uman Ri'hts in Africa , 1G !.F.+. 'ch. 7. :um. )ts. (21, (3E Ahereinafter, A#a, :uman )ights in AfricaBA?$olonial rule the way it unfolded in Africa has several features that negated even rudimentary notionHsI of human rights.@B.
G

rubber terror, husbands were compelled by force of arms to abandon their wives and children for e tremely e tended periods of time in search of wild rubber for the benefit of =ing +eopold II, and his minions. (. -o ma#e matters worse, +eopold>s men in the $ongo would often hold the women and children hostage under the most inhumane and barbarous conditions until the men provided the demanded amount of rubber. (2 /ith regard to mining, husbands were forced to mine deep into the earth under life threatening conditions for e tended periods of time while separated from their families. (3 -hese forced labor practices had the predictable effect of destroying the closeness and cohesiveness of the affected households. 1eace of mind became a rare commodity, since the natives #new that infraction. (G 'ignificantly, while the Africans received pittances, when paid at all for their labors, or wor#ed or slaved to procure the abundant mineral resources, (E many European administrators of coloni"ed provinces amassed illgotten wealth at the e pense of the impoverished and disenfranchised locals. ,C E9ually reprehensible, almost none the allegedly Jcivili"ed> strangers could murder both adults and children for the most minor

(.'ee :ochschild, supra note ,, at 12( Arelating the estimate by a colonial administrator in the $ongo territory that in order to fill their 9uota ?rubber gatherers had to spend twenty-four days a month Happro imately GCM of their timeI in the forest, where they built crude cages to sleep in for protection -not always successful -against leopards.@B. (2'ee id. at &(C A?6ntold thousands of people, women, children, and the elderly, died as hostages. 'oldiers #ept them in dirt compounds, often in chains, feeding them little or nothing until the men of a village brought in the demanded amount of rubberNsomething that might ta#e wee#s. In one stoc#ade in 1GEE, prisoners were found to be dying at the rate of three to ten a day.@B (3'ee id. at &3G-3E. Among those mines to which hapless Africans were conscripted to wor# in were the heavily guarded $ongo mine at 'hin#olobwe, which allegedly produced more than eighty percent of the uranium used in the atomic bombs dropped on :iroshima and !agasa#i during /orld /ar II. 'ee id. at &3E. (G'ee id. at &(, Adescribing the senseless bloodletting in the $ongo. According to three particularly horrific accounts, one $ongo free state official named )ene de 1ermentier had the ignoble and sadistic reputation of ordering the beheading of female prisoners for the simple offense of failing to properly sweep a courtyard. In another incident, ?-wo 0orce 1ubli9ue officers Hthe 0orce 1ubli9ue was the army raised to protect the $ongo free stateI, $lement Brasseur and +eon $erc#el, once ordered a man hung from a palm tree by his feet while a fire was lit beneath him and he was coo#ed to death.@ Fet, in another incident ?-wo missionaries found one post where prisoners were #illed by having resin poured over their heads, then set on fire.@id. (E'ee generally 7oseph $onrad, *eart of $arkness A1enguin Boo#s. 6.'.A. 1EEEB at3,-3. Anoting the ne t to nothing the natives got for their hard and miserable laborB. ,C'ee, e.g., :ochschild, supra note ,, at 1(2-(3L
0or a white man, the $ongo was also a place to get rich and to wield power. As a district commissioner, you might be running a district as big as all of :olland or Belgium. As a station chief, you might be a hundred miles away from the ne t white official* you could levy whatever ta es you chose in labor, ivory, or anything else, collect them however you wanted, and impose whatever punishments you li#ed...the $ongo offered a chance for a great rise in status. 'omeone fated for a life as a small-town ban# cler# or E

of the profits generated from the mineral resources were invested to educate and evangeli"e the Jnatives>. ,1 )ather, it appears that each time the African 9uestioned the inhumanity of the coloni"ers, the coloni"ers resorted to the most e treme means of enforcing their unbridled rule, such as massacres and genocidal campaigns. ,&

$onsider, for e ample, the ;erman massacre of the :ereros in 'outh Africa. /hen a misunderstanding arose between the ;erman coloni"ers and the :ereros, the ;ermans under =aiser /ilhelm II, deliberately set out to e terminate the :ereros. A ;erman general, with the full support of the ;erman leadership, gave the order to annihilate the :ereros, both men, women, and children. ,( After massacring the :ereros, the ;ermans herded the unfortunate survivors into essentially concentration camps, and then allocated them as slave laborers to ;erman companies, some of which apparently, still e ist. ,, -he ;erman e termination campaign against the :ereros resulted in the drastic reduction of their population from appro imately GC,CCC to 1.,CCC by 1EC2, a reduction of immense genocidal dimensions. ,. 0ollowing the British ta#eover of the previously ;erman colonial territory, the British government commissioned its colonial administrator for 'outh Africa, E.5.' ;eorge, to investigate the charges of e termination by the ;ermans. ,2 In a report dubbed the JBlue Boo#> the British administrator not only documented the ;erman e termination of the :ereros, but also discovered that having e terminated the vast ma%ority of the :ereros, the ;ermans stole their lands, forbade them from their natural occupation of maintaining plumber in Europe could instead become a warlord, ivory merchant, big game hunter, and possessor of a harem.

,1'ee id. at 11C Anoting lawyer and missionary, )ev. /illiams> complaint to =ing +eopold about the $ongo free state thusly ?-here were no schools and no hospitals e cept for a few sheds ?not fit to be occupied by a horse@?B. ,&'ee notes & and 11 supra, and accompanying te ts. 'ee also :ofmeyr, Christian Mission and Colonialism, supra note ((, at 1C,2-,3 Ahighlighting the British>s deliberate and callous provocation of a war with the Dulus during the late part of the 1E th century, which resulted in 1&,CCC deathsB. ,('ee, e.g., 5asland, #he ,or'otten -enocide, supra note &Aobserving that once the ;erman war of 1EC, to ?e terminate the :erero herders...began, ;erman officials made their intentions clear.@ -he writer 9uotes the ;erman commander of the war, ;en. +othar von -rotha, whom =aiser /ilhelm II hand pic#ed for the slaughter as saying ?I find it most appropriate that the nation H:erero nationI perish.@ According to the article, another ;erman officer documented in his diary ?/e had been e plicitly told beforehand that this dealt with the e termination of a whole tribe* nothin' livin' as to 1e spared.@Aemphasis addedB. ,,'ee idAaccording to the writer ?In wretched camps by the seaports, the :erero died in droves of malnutrition, overwor# and disease. -he wor#ers wore copper dis#s around their nec#s bearing numbers@B. ,.'ee id.Acalling the victims of the ;erman massacre ?the genocide victims history all but forgot.@B ,2'ee, e.g., %lue %ook, supra note &.
1C

farms and live stoc#, and then consigned the survivors to forced labor for the benefit of the replacement ;erman farmers, who converted the :ereros> lands to theirs. ,3 :owever, despite the documentation of this ;erman atrocity, which certainly ran#s as crimes against humanity, =ing ;eorge KI of Britain, indicative of the barbaric collusion of the colonial powers to the detriment of the coloni"ed, gave in to pressures from the ;erman, and 'outh Africa>s white governments, and ordered the destruction of the Blue Boo#. ,G But in loc#step fashion with the Biblical teaching that there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, ,E a copy of the Blue Boo# was recently discovered with its findings of horrors. .C <ther ;erman massacres of Africans during the vicious colonial period, included, among others, the brutal machine gunning of about .CC people of the !ya#yusa on 8ecember &, 1GE3 in the -anganyi#an territory, now the mainland of the country of -an"ania. .1 !either the British, the Belgians, nor the 0rench, ma%or rivals to the ;ermans in the rape of Africa during the colonial period, refrained from atrocities against the Africans. <n the contrary, consider the 0rench massacre of thirty thousand Algerians at 'etif during the Algerians> struggle for independence. .& 'ignificantly, this

massacre occurred on the same day, 5ay G, 1E,., that the 0rench public was celebrating the surrender of !a"i ;ermany.( and the liberation of 0rance by the allied powers. -hus, in a vicious irony, while the 0rench were

being liberated by others from !a"i barbarism, they were engaging in savagery and genocidal campaigns against the Algerians in order to maintain their colonial domination. +ong before the massacre at 'etif, the 0rench had

,3'ee id. ,GId. ,E'ee the ;ospel of 5atthew, $hapter 1C, Kerse &2 A!ew +iving -ranslation. -yndale :ouse 1ublishers, Inc. 1EE2BA?0or the time is coming when everything will be revealed* all that is secret will be made public.@B. .C'ee Blue Boo#, supra note &. .1'ee /alusa#o 5walilino, In $efense of the "yakyusa. #anBanian People , 5<!-:+F )EKIE/, 7anuary 1EE,, Kol. ,.* !o. G, at pg. (2. .&'ee )onald =oven, "ational Memory: #he $uty to Remem1er& the "eed to ,or'et. *istorical Memory in ,rance. /pecial ,eature* 'ociety, Kol. (&, !o. 2, pg. .& A'eptember 1EE.BAassailing the 0rench, particularly the government, for the habit of hiding the truth about 0rench atrocities, and defeats from the publicB. .('ee id.
11

both enslaved and compelled Africans into forced labor in the Belgian $ongo, while mas9uerading in Europe and other parts of the world as a civili"ing and evangeli"ing influence in Africa. ., 5eanwhile, Britain, which was the ma%or coloni"er in the world during the colonial period, also

maintained and held its African colonies through both brute force, and an unabashed policy of racial sub%ugation. -he British established an all white government in 'outh Africa, .. and employed forced labor in its African colonies, perhaps not with the same viciousness as Belgium. .2 -he British slaughtered thousands of Dulus during a war which the British deliberately and un%ustifiably provo#ed. .3 5a#ing a moc#ery of positive law, the British made possible the sei"ure of the best lands in 'outh Africa, and ensured their transfers to $aucasian British immigrants. .G As early as 1,E2 the English monarch granted a commission to a group #nown as the $abots to discover countries then un#nown to ?$hristian people,@ and ta#e possession of them in the name of the English monarch. .E 6nder the guise of civili"ing the natives of those countries Jun#nown to $hristian people>, i.e., un#nown to Europeans, the Europeans waged wars and con9uered territories outside Europe, mostly in Africa and the Americas. 2C -hen devising a legal fiction to %ustify and legitimi"e the fruits of their brutal con9uests, the European powers came up with the concept of title to land and its resources through discovery. 21 -itle by discovery, more

.,'ee :ochschild, +eopold>s ;host, supra note ,, at &GC-G1 Adescribing 0rance>s use of slave labor and mayhem to enforce its brutal rule in e9uatorial AfricaB. According to the account, 0rance>s rule was as e9ually vicious as +eopold,s, and included the chaining of slaves, mistreatment of conscripted porters, and the massacre of the natives to compel increased production of wild rubber. -he population loss of the 0rench occupied territory was estimated at half, same as the holocaust orchestrated by +eopold>s murderous ruleHpage &GCI. ..'ee id. at &3(. .2Id. at &1C. .3'ee :ofmeyr, Christian Mission and Colonialism, supra note ((, at 1C,2-,3. .G'ee, e.g., 'terling, %ritain3s *ypocrisy, supra note 1&Anoting that Europeans e propriated ?great swaths of the continentHof AfricaI@ under the prete t of bringing so-called civili"ation to the inhabitants. -he author emphasi"ed in particular British e propriation of the best lands in the territory now #nown as Dimbabwe without payment of compensation to the native African owners, which they, the British authorities then granted to white settlersB .E'ee 5ohnson v. M3Intosh, &1 6.'. AG /heatB .,( A1G&(B. 2C'ee id. 21'ee id.
1&

appropriately, by con9uest, within European legal systems, vested the con9uering colonial power with legal right to the land previously occupied by the natives and all the natural resources therein. 2& -he courts put their legal imprimatur to this legal subterfuge by declaring this concept a universally recogni"ed principle, 2( ignoring the older principle, previously deemed universal, of ownership by first possession. 2, Although the British colonial rule in Africa was perhaps, not as vicious as that of the ;ermans and the 0rench, British rule nevertheless, was brutal, inhumane and roguish. 2. -he British enthroned a divide and con9uer system which pitted ethnic groups against each other in the interest of preserving the continent>s vast natural resources for the benefit of the British empire. 22 :owever, the most brutal, vicious, licentious, and genocidal e ample of colonial rule in Africa certainly is the Belgian and =ing +eopold II>s rule of the area that came to be #nown as the $ongo free state. Although the term ?free state@ perhaps con%ures up the image of a territory that was free of the ravages of its time, nothing could be farther from the truth. =ing +eopold II of Belgium, a reprobate by even the standards of his own era,
23

whose

lust for e tremely young teenage girls bordered on pedophilia, 2G schemed to ac9uire an undeserved reputation as a

2&'ee id. 'ee also, 7esse 8u#eminier and 7ames E. =rier, Property A'econd. Edition, 1EGG.B, at 1&-1,. 2('ee 5ohnson v. M3Intosh &1 6.'. AG /heatB .,(. 2,'ee Epstein, Possession as the Root of #itle , 1( ;a. +. )ev. 1&&1, 1&&& A1E3EB, cited in 8u#eminier and =rier, supra note 2&, at1(. 2.'ee, e.g. 5ar# <lden, Inside /tory: %ack to Rhodesia, -:E ;6A)8IA! A+ondonB, 0ebruary &C, &CC&, ;uardian 0eatures 1ages, at ,Ahereinafter, <lden, Bac# to )hodesiaBAthe writer, great-grandson of a British citi"en who was part of the early white settlers of then )hodesia, now Dimbabwe, describing the savagery with which the British 9uelled African resistance to colonial rule, and the subse9uent British implementation of a slave wage economy and the brutal sei"ure of the best lands from the Africans ?under the guise of giving Africans the supposed vast benefits of western civili"ation.@B. <ne must as#, what benefits did the Africans derive from a supposedly Jcivili"ed> British Empire which forced them virtually into slavery, and e propriated their best landsO 22'ee, e.g. A#a, Policy of Ethnic Reconciliation, supra note 1., at (&3, n. ,C Ahighlighting the destructive British practice of stereotyping various ethnic groups in order to enhance the disparities between themB. 23'ee :ochschild, supra note ,, at GG Ahighlighting testimony in a +ondon courtroom revealing =ing +eopold>s payment for a steady supply of young prostitutes, some as young as tenB. 2G'ee id. at &&& A?+eopold had long had a well-#nown taste for e tremely young women,@ some as young as ten Hsee pg. GGI and lost his head over a si teen year old prostitute, $aroline, whom he lavished e pensive gifts on, including her installation ?in a grand mansion, the Killa Kanderborght, across the way from the royal comple at +ae#en, and built a pedestrian bridge over the street so that he could slip across at will for visits.@B.
1(

philanthropist and great humanitarian. 2E :aving fooled the British, the 0rench, ;ermany, and the great emerging power-the 6nited 'tates, about his true and dastard intentions for the $ongo, +eopold established himself in the eyes of willing European and American media as a $hristian monarch stridently opposed to the vicious Arab enslavement and mistreatment of Africans. 3C $apitali"ing on the European and American hatred of the Islamic Arabs, +eopold gained the favor of most European and American citi"ens, who may have considered themselves good $hristians intent on supporting what was perceived as +eopold>s noble endeavor to rescue Africans from the evils of slavery. 31 /ith the support of apparently well-meaning, but naive throngs behind him, +eopold, with the full assistance of the e plorer 5orton 'tanley, who was greatly hailed as among the greatest of African e plorers, 3& and the former American consul to 1aris, :enry 'helton 'anford lobbied the 6nited 'tates 1resident $hester Arthur, and $ongress to recogni"e his claim to the $ongo. 3( +eopold and his cohorts framed his future endeavor in the $ongo as a purely humanitarian underta#ing to rescue the Jnatives> from Arab enslavement, and then, to set up states with Africans in charge of their destiny.3, +eopold found a willing and supportive audience with the rabidly racist 6.'. 'enator 5urray from the 'tate of Alabama, who helped shepherd a bill through $ongress lauding +eopold>s intended mission in the $ongo.3. -hrough deliberate falsehoods about his intentions in the $ongo, and e pensive and sustained lobbying

2E'ee id. at ,&-,.. 3C'ee id. at E&-E(. 31'ee id. 3&Id. at 2&-3,. 3(Id. at 33-G&. 3,'ee id. at 23Anoting how +eopold fooled the Europeans and Americans with the illusion that the $ongo would be a ?confederation of free negro republics,@ with Africans ruling under the noble guidance of a benevolent Belgian #ingB. 3.Id. at GC.
1,

+eopold convinced the American government to become the first government to recogni"e his claim to the $ongo.32 :aving obtained American recognition, +eopold schemed to convince the ;ermans and other European powers to follow suit. At the Berlin $onference European powers put their imprimatur to +eopold>s claim to the $ongo, a territory ?bigger than England, 0rance, ;ermany, 'pain, and Italy combined...more than seventy-si times the si"e of Belgium itself.@ 33 After cementing his claim to the $ongo, +eopold established forced labor in the $ongo, 3G and went with unmitigated greed after the highly profitable trade in ivory. elephants. ;etting ivory, of course, re9uired the #illings of

-hus, was born the mass slaughter of African elephants for the personal enrichment of +eopold. 3E

'everal years after the mad scramble for ivory had lessened a little bit, +eopold found a new source of wealth in the $ongo,i.e., rubber pulp for e port to Europe during the heyday of the industrial revolution. Because of the

difficulty inherent in harvesting the pulp from the rubber vines, not many people were willing to engage in that vocation. GC But since +eopold regarded the $ongo and its African inhabitants, and the entire mineral resources as his own personal property, +eopold encouraged the enslavement of the inhabitants of the territory, and e panded the system of forced labor. G1 /ith the inhabitants as either slaves, or forced laborers, +eopold>s subordinates compelled the helpless Jnatives> to collect rubber pulp under the gun, and under the constant threat of bloody whippings with the chicotte, a lash made from the raw hide of the hippopotamus. G& 8ue to +eopold>s murderous

32Id.at G1. 33Id. at G3. 3G'ee id. at 11G-1&E. 3EId. at 11GA?As the 1GECs began, the wor# whose sanctity +eopold pri"ed most highly was sei"ing all the ivory that could be found. $ongo state officials and their African au iliaries swept through the country on ivory raids, shooting elephants, buying tus#s from villagers for a pittance, or simply confiscating them. $ongo peoples had been hunting elephants for centuries, but now they were forbidden to sell or deliver ivory to anyone other than an agent of +eopold.@B. GCId. at 121Adescribing the difficulty of harvesting rubber vines thusly ?!o payments of trin#ets or brass wire were enough to ma#e people stay in the flooded forest for days at a time to do wor# that was so arduous-and physically painful.@B. G1'ee id. at 12C-2(. G&'ee :ochschild, supra note ,, at 1&C Adescribing the chicotte as ?a whip of raw, sun-dried hippopotamus hide, cut into a long sharp-edged cor#-screwed strip. 6sually the chicotte was applied to the victim>s bare buttoc#s. Its blows would leave permanent scars* more than twenty-five stro#es could mean unconsciousness* and a hundred or more-not an uncommon punishment-were often fatal.@B.
1.

greed for rubber, and his system of compensation which rewarded European underlings with commissions, in addition to fi ed salaries, based on the amount of rubber collected within the areas under their control, cutting off the hands and ears of the natives in other to induce a greater supply of rubber became sanctioned official policy, G( as well as the #idnapping of the natives for forced rubber supply. G, =idnapped married women were chained by

the nec#, and held as hostages under armed guards to compel their husbands to go into the forest to gather wild rubber for the benefit of +eopold. G. Even little children were held as hostages, and sometimes their hands were cut off to force their fathers to brave the harsh elements of untamed and thic# forests to gather wild rubber. G2 -he reign of terror +eopold introduced into the $ongo free state decimated countless number of entire villages, and encouraged the murderous villainy of +eopold>s assistants such as +eon )om, a district administrator in the $ongo, who too# pleasure in #illing the natives for the slightest infringement, and decorated his garden with a row of about twenty-one severed African heads. G3 /hile +eopold>s reign of terror was engulfing the $ongo, none of the so-called missionaries or other Europeans and Americans who were witnesses to the unfolding genocide had the courage to tell the rest of the

G(Id. at 12. A?the severing of hands was deliberate policy, as even high officials Hof the $ongo free stateI would later admit.@B. :ochschild 9uoted one $ongo free state official $harles +emaire as confessing after his retirement ?As soon as it was a 9uestion of rubber, I wrote to the government, J-o gather rubber in the district...one must cut off hands, noses and ears.@?A9uotation in the originalB. G,'ee id.Anoting the official sanctioning of ?hostage-ta#ing.@B. In addition, :ochschild observed ?If a village refused to submit to the rubber regime, state or company troops or their allies sometimes shot everyone in sight, so that nearby villages would get the message.@ G.Id. at 121 Anoting among the official practice of ta#ing women and children as hostages to compel the men to gather rubber ?@If you were a male villager, resisting the order to gather rubber could mean death for your wife. 'he might die anyway, for in the stoc#ades food was scarce and conditions were harsh.@B. :ochschild observed that oftentimes, the soldiers guarding the #idnaped women would unchain and then rape them.id. at 12&. G2'ee id. at 121. G3Id. at 1,.. 'ee also id. at 1,E Adescribing a letter the governor general of the $ongo free state sent bac# to Brussels, Belgium at the time +eon )om was station chief at 'tanley 0alls complaining about ?some agents who ?have the reputation of having #illed masses of people for petty reasons.@?B. 'ee also 'wain, Re'ime Collapsin', supra note GAin addition to assailing the rapacious rule of the late $ongolese post-colonial dictator, 5obutu 'ese 'e#o, the writer reiterated the unfortunate colonial history of the $ongo, noting ?-he barbarism of the #ing>s H=ing +eopold, II, of BelgiumI men was une9ualed even by the ruthless colonial standards of the day. :uman mutilation was practiced by the #ing>s men to account for every cartridge fired. -hey hac#ed off and smo#ed the hands, feet and private parts of the victims, presenting them to their commanders as evidence they had done their %ob well.@B.
12

world about +eopold>s murderous and rapacious rule in the $ongo until the African-American minister, lawyer, %ournalist, and historian, ;eorge /ashington /illiams went to the $ongo, and horrified by what he witnessed, penned an open letter to =ing +eopold II, which letter /illiams also sent to newspapers in the 6nited 'tates and Europe.GG /illiams e posed the enslavement, murder, and rape of Africans in the $ongo, and the utter falsity of +eopold>s claims about the benevolence of his rule in the $ongo. GE After /illiams> horrifying revelations, which included witnessing the enslavement, rape, torture, and unmitigating humiliation of the Africans, EC others such as the African-American missionary and e plorer, )ev. /illiam :. 'heppard, British consul and Irish patriot, )oger $asement, African businessman :e"e#iah Andrew 'hanu-originally from the present day +agos, !igeria, British investigative %ournalist, and later, member of parliament E.8. 5orel, Baptist missionaries )ev. 7ohn :arris and his wife, Alice, and other men and women of goodwill, continued, at the ris#s of their lives and livelihood, the revelation of +eopold>s sadistic hegemony in the $ongo. E1 )egrettably, by the time +eopold was compelled to transfer his Jownership> of the $ongo to the Belgian government at e tremely profitable terms, E& an estimated ten million $ongolese, a figure greater than the number of 7ews #illed under !a"i ;ermany>s e9ually heinous atrocities, had died as a direct or indirect result of +eopold>s genocidal rule. E( Incredibly, and unfortunately, the brutali"ation and humiliation of the $ongolese, with the e ception of officially sanctioned enslavement, continued

GG'ee :ochschild, supra note ,, at1CE-11,. GE'ee id. at 111 Acontaining /illiams> observations about the cruel treatment and murder of Africans. :e related his observations of white officers ?shooting villagers, sometimes to capture their women, sometimes to intimidate the survivors into wor#ing as forced laborers, and sometimes for sport.@B. /illiams> account contains a particularly chilling and haunting disregard for the life of the African displayed by the coloni"ers. According to him, on one occasion ?-wo Belgian Army <fficers saw, from the dec# of their steamer, a native in a canoe some distance away...-he officers made a wager of Hfive British pound sterlingI that they could hit the native with their rifles. -hree shots were fired and the native fell dead, pierced through the head,@ A9uotation mar#s in the originalB. EC'ee id. at 1CG-11,. E1'ee generally id. E&In 5arch 1ECG the deal transferring ownership of the $ongo free state from +eopold to the Belgian government was formali"ed. As part of the deal, the Belgian government agreed to assume about 11C million francs worth of debt +eopold had saddled the $ongo with through the issuing of bonds which greatly inured to the benefit of his teenage lover and former prostitute, $aroline. -he Belgian government also agreed to spend an estimated ,... million francs on the #ing>s pet pro%ects, which included ma#ing his palace among the most lu urious in Europe. Adding to the repugnancy of the deal, the Belgian government agreed to pay +eopold .C million francs ?as a mar# of gratitude for his great sacrifices made for the $ongo,@ and then set out to e tract the .C million francs from the blood and sweat of the $ongolese. 'ee id. at &.E A9uotation mar#s in the originalB. E('ee id. at &((.
13

under the Belgian government until $ongolese independence in 1E2C. E, $olonial rule decimated the populations and structures of the African family, E. and e propriated the vast resources of that continent for the benefit of Europe. 5assive statutes, buildings, museums, and other evidence of material wealth, can still be found in many European cities from Belgium to +ondon, all made possible by the blood and sweat of the mistreated, humiliated, and ultimately, forgotten throngs of Africans during colonial rule. E2 It is indeed difficult to e amine the colonial period and find evidence of pure humanitarianism. E3 Although many

missionaries went to Africa with a sincere desire to spread the gospel and e tend $hristian love and charity, and many sacrificed their lives for the cause, their ob%ectives were constantly thwarted by the brutal regimes of leaders such as +eopold, whose underlings had no 9ualms #idnapping boys and girls from mission stations, EG thereby

E,'ee -om 5ba#we, Physician *eal #hyself. Around Africa@AfricaC%el'ium. %rief Article , !E/ A0)I$A!, 7anuary 1, &CC&, at 1.Ahereinafter, 5ba#we, 1hysician :eal -hyselfB Anoting criticisms against Belgium>s stance of e ercising universal %urisdiction against foreigners in the prosecution of human rights abuses ?wherever they were committed,@ while ignoring its own role in the mass #illings of the $ongolese during colonial ruleB. Although we concur with, and in fact applaud Belgium>s current sensitivity to human rights abuses, wherever they occur, it is clear that Belgium>s colonial rule was mired by repression and unbridled cruelty against the African colonial sub%ects. Belgium>s continued refusal, therefore, to even ac#nowledge its active participation in the genocide of its African sub%ects in the $ongo while claiming a moral and legal right under universal %urisdiction to prosecute crimes against humanity, smac#s of sheer hypocrisy. E.'ee, e.g., A#a, :uman )ights in Africa, supra note (,, at (GC Aobserving that the whole process Hof forced labor during colonial ruleI removed great numbers of men from rural life, turned farmers into wage-wor#ers and ruined rural stability and peace.@B. E2'ee e.g., :ochschild, supra note ,, at &E(-E,. E3'ee, e.g., A#a, :uman )ights in Africa, supra note (,, at (G1 A?In sum, European colonial rule in Africa was mar#ed by the abuse of Africans> individual and collective rights... It also left in its wa#e negative legacies in politics, economics, and social lives with ruinous conse9uences for human rights in Africa.@B. EG'ee, e.g., :ochschild, supra note ,, at 1&.-&2 Anoting the angry observations of a 'wedish missionary, $.!. Borrisson, that an official of the $ongo free state, a Belgian named Eugene )ommel ?imprisoned women when the people refused to transport HsuppliesI and to sell him goods below mar#et prices...:e was not ashamed to come by our station Hmissionary stationI and abduct our school girls...and treat them in despicable ways.@B. -he missionary continued, that one day, he and another missionary ?went to a neighboring village and helped release three poor women whom his H)ommel>sIsoldiers had imprisoned because one of them had as#ed for the return of a stone %ug which had been ta#en from her.@ id. -hus, in addition to the bra"en abduction of school girls from missionary houses, and presumably, raping them, =ing +eopold>s minions in the $ongo also engaged in shameless acts of robbery, among other vices.
1G

ma#ing it almost impossible for the Jnatives> to align themselves with a religion to which their cruel oppressors were identified with. EE In achieving the aims of their con9uests the colonial rulers left the inhabitants of the coloni"ed African territories, particularly the few elites, with the unmista#able impression that all that mattered was power and the audacity to use it for personal gains to the detriment of the populace. 1CC unmista#able impression that force e9uals right. 1C1 -he lessons of enrichment through power ac9uisition and brute force was not lost on the Africans battling colonial rule. Although most of the nationalists such as =wame !#rumah of the $oast, renamed ;hana upon independence, =enneth =aunda of Dambia, 7omoh =enyatta of =enya, and 7ulius !yerere of -an"ania, among others, arguably, had the noble intentions of casting off the colonial yo#e, and improving the lots of their fellow Africans, many soon adopted the greed and violence of the departing coloni"ers upon independence. In addition, contemporaries and subse9uent leaders such as 7oseph 8esire 5obutu, later renamed 5obutu 'ese 'e#o, of the $ongo )epublic, named Daire under 5obutu, 0eli :ouphouet-Boigny of the Ivory $oast, 7ean Bedel Bo#assa of the central African )epublic, who later dubbed himself emperor, and 5acias !guema of the E9uatorial ;uinea internali"ed the lessons of brute force and power ac9uisition so embedded in the colonial systems. 1C& -his core of -he colonial rulers also left the

EE'ee generally :ofmeyr, Christian Mission and Colonialism, supra note ((, at1C3&-3(. 1CC'ee A#a, :uman )ights in Africa, supra note (,, at (3E A?-he entire architecture of colonial rule, li#e that of military rule down the road in the continent, was built and maintained solely and completely on na#ed force@B. 1C1'ee id. 1C&'ee, e.g., A#a, :uman )ights in Africa, supra note (,, at (G3 Ahighlighting the abusiveness and egregiousness of the regimes of 7ean-Bedel Bo#assa and 0rancisco 5acias !guema ?Bo#assa brutally murdered over 1CC schoolchildren for the ?political offenses@ of defying his orders and mouthing ?death to the Emperor.@ 0ollowing an unsuccessful coup against his government, a thoroughly insecure 5acias !guema perpetrated rounds of non-stop purges, carried out political e ecutions of persons he suspected opposed his regime, and caused the e ile of over 1CC,CCC in a population of appro imately (CC,CCC people.@BA9uotations on political offenses and death to the emperor in the original, internal citations omittedB. 'ee also, :oward /. 0rench, (es ,au+ Complots d3*ouphouet@%oi'ny: #he ,ake Plots of *ouphouet %oi'ny:Revie Hof boo# of same title written by 'amba 8iarraI, 0<)EI;! 1<+I$F, 5arch &&, 1EEE, page 11. Aobserving that although in the later part of his life, Boigny ?wor#ed tirelessly at promoting an image of himself as an apostle of peace@ including ?building the world>s largest basilica near where the Assabou prison once stood and giving asylum to political refugees from all over the continent Hof AfricaI,@ from the earliest days of his administration, he intimidated, arrested, banished, and e ecuted all whom he deemed a threat to his power by ?con%uring a steady stream of traitors.@B. According to this account of the early rule of Boigny, he master minded the brutal beating and eventual death of the first president of the 'upreme $ourt of the Ivory $oast, Ernest Bo#a, who had ?refused Hin 1E2,I to condemn political detainees against whom there was no evidence.@
1E

Jleaders> and others of their il# appeared to have prepared themselves upon independence to continue the looting of their countries> resources begun under colonial rule. I"$EPE"$E"CE ,ROM CO(O"IA( RU(E:"E) (EA$ER/*IP A"$ #*E CO"#I"UE$ %E#RA?A( O, A CO"#I"E"#. Independence brought with it a sense of relief from colonial oppression and barbarism, and the hope of a better future for the newly liberated peoples of Africa. 1C( Independence meant that the African now controlled his or her destiny, and could en%oy the abundance of the natural minerals under the African soil, so the thought went. $iti"ens must have danced in the streets of the newly independent countries, and sung the praises of the indigenous leaders who had dared to oppose the oppressors and eventually win independence for their countries. Illiterate parents must have loo#ed with pride and optimism to the day when their children would obtain the educational benefits denied them under colonial rule. 1eople in the villages must have re%oiced at the prospect of electrification and pipe borne water for their hamlets, while city fol#s must have bristled with hope and high e pectation at the prospect of paved roads, central sewer systems, e9uipped and fully staffed high schools and universities. In all, both the city and rural fol#s must have loo#ed to a better future governed by leaders who had their interests at heart, and with whom they could relate. -he e pectations of the people for a better life after many African countries gained independence in the 1E.Cs and 1E2Cs were 9uic#ly replaced with sectional violence, 1C, and the rise of military dictatorships. 1C. 'oon nations became ethnic enclaves within states. In !igeria, for e ample, sectional violence, encouraged by the leaders of the regional political parties formed along ethnic loyalties, soon became the order of the day. 1C2 -his

1C('ee, e.g., A#a, *uman Ri'hts in Africa , supra note (,, at (G&Anoting, for e ample, the renewed hope for improved human rights in Africa which accompanied the achievement of political independenceB. 1C,'ee id. at (GG-GE. 1C.'ee id. at ,C2 A?$oups d> etats and military rule became a feature of African politics %ust about the moment African countries became independent,@ additionally noting ?By the late 1E2Cs, about two-fifths of African states had come under military rule and coups had effectively replaced elections as a method of changing government in the continent.@B. 1C2'ee 1hilip $. A#a, #he D$ividend of $emocracyE: AnalyBin' U./. /upport for "i'erian $emocratiBation, && Boston $oll. -hird /orld +. 7. &&., &&E A'pring &CC&BAhereinafter, A#a, 8ividend of 8emocracyBA observing that ?0rom the outset Hof political independenceI, the H!igerianI political system came under severe stress brought about by ethnic rivalry.@B.
&C

culminated in political violence, assassinations and counter assassinations, and a near collapse of the newly independent nation. 1C3 In addition, accusations of public embe""lement, nepotism, and waste of public resources reached a deafening crescendo. 'ei"ing the emerging sense of free for all as an e cuse, the military stepped in with a bloody military coup in 7anuary 1E22. 1CG An e9ually bloody counter military coup too# place si months later. 1CE -he resulting uproar and violence led to the !igerian-Biafran civil war which estimatedly claimed more than two million lives in the ensuing bloodbath, most of them Ibos and other groups from the eastern part of !igeria 11C and decimated the little physical infrastructure in e istence shortly after the country>s independence. 111 As conflicts were brewing in !igeria, other newly independent African countries, such as ;hana and the $ongo )epublic, began to descend into corruption, and sectional rivalry. In the case of !#rumah of ;hana, his fiery nationalism which had helped lead his country to independence, soon gave way to arrogance and a demand for godli#e respect from his fellow citi"ens. 11& In 1E22, after nine years of increasingly autocratic rule, first, as 1rime 5inister, and then as 1resident for life, !#rumah was overthrown in a military coup. 11( After his overthrow, evidence surfaced that in addition to his sway over his country>s affairs, !#rumah had enriched himself to the tune of millions of dollars at the young nation>s e pense. 11, !#rumah was banished into e ile by the new military

1C3'ee, e.g., A#a, Policy of Ethnic Reconciliation, supra note 1., at (((. 1CG'ee id. 1CE'ee id. 11C'ee id.
century.@ -he conflict consumed what precious little physical infrastructures the country accumulated over its barely seven years of independenceAas of the date the war beganB. It claimed an estimated two million lives, most of them Igbos and other Easterners trying to secede from !igeria and form a separate independent )epublic of Biafra.@A9uotation in bloodiest civil war of the &C th century in the original, internal citation omittedB.

111'ee id. at ((( Aobserving ?-he Biafran war of 1E23-3C is ran#ed as ?the bloodiest civil war of the &C th

11&'ee, e.g., %ush #ele'raph on African /tatesmen, -:E 8AI+F -E+E;)A1: ,!ovember ., 1EE2, at pg. &1 Ahereinafter, Bush -elegraphBAobserving that soon after becoming the leader of the newly independent country of ;hana, !#rumah as#ed his followers to refer to him as <sagyefo, a term which means redeemer, and announced that the opinion of his country men and women may not differ from hisB. 11('ee, e.g., the $olumbia Encyclopedia A$olumbia 6niversity 1ress, 'i th Edition, &CCCBAhereinafter, $olumbia EncyclopediaB, at pg. 11&&. 11,'ee, e.g., Edlin, 7im1a1 e3s $eadly Cancer , supra note EAindicating that !#rumah was virtually penniless in 1E.3 when he became the leader of the newly independent ;hana, but had amassed millions of dollars by the time he was overthrown nine years later in a military coupB.
&1

dictatorship. 11. But over the years the new leaders of ;hana have not done better to eradicate corruption. 112 5eanwhile, in the $ongo )epublic, a young colonel named 7oseph-8esire 5obutu, chief of staff to the new and first 1rime 5inister 1atrice +umumba, with the help of the $entral Intelligence Agency A?$IA@B, sei"ed power.113 /ith the approval of 6.'. 1resident 8wight 8. Eisenhower, 5obutu butchered the e9ually young, and idealistic +umumba. 11G <n assuming power, 5obutu clamped down on public dissent, 11E and treated opposition to his rule with contempt and harsh retribution. 1&C 1erhaps to assuage his ego, which later became legendary for its arrogance, 5obutu changed his name to 5obutu 'ese 'e#o =u#u !gbendu /a Da Banga, which roughly translates to ?the coc# HroasterI that leaves no hens alone.@ 1&1 In a stri#ing and ironic resemblance to the rapacity of =ing +eopold II, 5obutu treated the vast resources

11.'ee, e.g., 6!I-E8 1)E'' I!-E)!A-I<!A+, 5arch &3, 1EG, Aobserving that when !#rumah was e iled in 1E22, 1resident 'e#ou -oure of ;uinea offered him his presidential palaceB. 112'ee, e.g., ;eorge B.!. Ayittey, *o the Multilateral Institutions Compounded Africa3s Economic Crisis, (C +aw 4 1ol>y Int>l Bus. .G., .GE A'ummer 1EEEBAhereinafter, Ayittey, 5ultilateral InstitutionsBAstressing ?In )awling>sH1resident 7erry )awlingI ;hana, people are employed or promoted not because they deserve- or are 9ualified for the posts, but because they are relatives, tribesmen, party members or friends. -hose ;hanaians who do not fall in any of these categories pay huge bribes to get employed or promoted, or are left to suffer and rot...1ublic properties or assets-vehicles, buildings, businesses, machinery, even ships-are sold out to party members, friends, relatives, etc. for peanuts. Almost all the 1P!8$Hparty then in powerI top people are alleged to have put up mansions, each costing hundreds of millions of cedis.@ 113'ee Pro1lems ith Current U./. Policy , 0<)EI;! 1<+I$F I! 0<$6', April ., &CCC, Kol. .* !o. 1C, 1g. & Ahereinafter, 1roblems with $urrent 6.'. 1olicyBAnoting that the 6nited 'tates ?installed 5obutu in power and #ept him there for more than (C years@B. 11G'ee, e.g., $ooper, *istory as #ra'edy& supra note .Adescribing the harrowing murder and dismemberment of 1atrice +umumba and his associates, after having been viciously beaten in the presence of 6nited !ations diplomats and %ournalistsB. 'ee also Pro1lems ith Current U./. Policy , supra note 113Aemphasi"ing ?the Eisenhower administration authori"ed the murder of 1rime 5inister 1atrice +umumba, who had been voted into office %ust months earlier in the territory>s H$ongo>sI first-ever democratic election.@B. 11E'ee 'wain, )egime $ollapsing, supra note G3. 1&C'ee id. 1&1'ee %ush #ele'raph& supra note 11&.
&&

of the $ongo as his personal property, and dealt with the nation>s public treasury as his piggy ban# by continuously stealing enormous amounts from the public treasury, allegedly to the tune of billions of dollars. 1&& Even though

the Belgians had left behind very few infrastructures that could benefit the new nation, and left the populace severely uneducated, 5obutu, %ust as =ing +eopold had done decades before him, failed to invest the public>s money into the moderni"ation and e pansion of the public infrastructures necessary for a better standard of living for his people. 0urther, 5obutu failed to usher in policies and programs to educate the masses of his people and improve their lot. )ather, in +eopoldian fashion, 5obutu siphoned the riches of the $ongo to Europe, and the 6nited 'tates, where he hid them for his personal use in European and American ban#s and real estate. 1&( 1reoccupied with personal greed, and lac#ing a positive vision for his mineral rich nation, 5obutu overall, failed to invest in the social welfare of his own people. 1&, /hile soldiers and civil servants remained unpaid for months, 5obutu indulged in e cesses, and lavished the public>s money on himself, his family members, and all who were willing to go along with, and support his bra"en looting of the national treasury. 1&. 5obutu>s stealing and waste of the $ongo>s abundant resources #new no bounds. $onsider this display of unconscionable e cessL when one of 5obutu>s daughters got married, a chartered plane ferried the wedding ca#e, estimated at more than thirteen feet, from 1aris to 5obutu>s estate in northern $ongo at the cost of si ty-five thousand dollars to the nation. 1&2 -o maintain his illegitimate and corruption riddled rule, 5obutu #illed and imprisoned opponents with impunity, and silenced any opposition to his despotism. 1&3 'afely in power with the

1&&'ee 'wain, )egime $ollapsing, supra note G3. 1&('ee idApoignantly observing ?A 0rench government minister famously called 1resident 5obutu 'ese 'e#o of Daire Hnow renamed 8emocratic )epublic of the $ongoI>a wal#ing ban# account in a leopard-s#in cap.> It is an apt description of an African leader who plundered the wealth of his country so much that he has been hailed as the inventor of #leptocracy, or government by theft...he plundered the state>s coffers, imprisoned his opponents, built a palace in the %ungle and bought chateau and villas in Europe.@B. 1&,'ee id. 1&.'ee, e.g., :esh =estin, -od and Man in 7aire , 0<)BE', !ovember 1G, 1EG., at pg. 1CCAhereinafter, =estin, ;od and 5an in DaireB. 'ee also ;eorge 1ac#er, In the ,ootsteps of Mr. 2urtB: (ivin' on the %rink of $isaster in Mo1utu3s Con'o. Revie . %ook Revie , 5<-:E) 7<!E', 7uly 1, &CC1, Kol. &2* !o. ,, 1g. 33Ahereinafter, 1ac#er, In the 0ootsteps of 5r. =urt"B 1&2'ee 1ac#er, In the 0ootsteps of 5r. =urt", supra note 1&.. at 33 Aobserving that ?-he scale of 5obutu>s theft was staggering, suggesting the imperial e cesses of )ome or 1ersia,@ and noting that the transportation of ?his daughter>s four-meter-high Hover thirteen feet-since one meter e9uals (.&G feetI meringueand-cream wedding ca#e from 1aris to 5obutu>s private estate in northern Daire cost Q2.,CCC.@B. 1&3'ee 'wain, )egime $ollapsing, supra note G3Arecalling overhearing 5obutu ?utter, -he horrorR -he
&(

assistance and blessing of the 6nited 'tates, 1&G 5obutu became incredibly arrogant and self-serving. 1&E

-o crown

his arrogance, and underscore his lac# of vision for his country, 5obutu renamed the $ongo )epublic in 1E31 to JDaire,> a term that was a Belgian corruption of the $ongolese name for the $ongo river. 1(C 5obutu also renamed one of the largest la#es in $ongo after himself. 1(1 -ragically, while 5obutu was indulging his ego, robbing his country blind, and e travagantly spending on himself and his family, his country men and women were wallowing in utter misery and poverty,1(& and the infant mortality rate was s#yroc#eting because of a virtually none istent health care system.1(( /hile 5obutu was busy ruining and impoverishing his mineral rich nation through unbridled corruption and looting, Jleaders> in smaller countries such as the $entral African )epublic, 5alawi, E9uatorial ;uinea, ;abon, ;uinea, 6ganda, -ogo, and +iberia continued the regrettable and regressive trend. In the $entral African )epublic, despot 7ean Bedel Bo#assa, who came to power through a military coup in 8ecember 1E2., 1(,

e propriated the public>s money with consistent fre9uency for his personal benefit at the e pense of his horrorR As he recoiled from a pile of massacred bodies during a rebellion in southern Daire.@B .

1&G'ee 1ac#er, In the 0ootsteps of 5r. =urt", supra note 1&., at 33 Aemphasi"ing that the 6.'. installed 5obutu in power, and then ?prolonged 5obutu>s rule by providing more than Q(CC million in weapons and Q1CC million in military training.@B. 1&E'ee =estin, ;od and 5an in Daire, supra note 1&., at 1CC. 1(C'ee :ochschild, supra note , at .,Aobserving ?$uriously, it was a 1ortuguese corruption of this word Hthe word referred to is J!"ere> the local name given to the $ongo river by the inhabitants along its ban#saccording to the author, J!"ere> means ?the river that swallows all rivers@I, Daire, that $ongo dictator 5obutu 'ese 'e#o pic#ed when he renamed his country in 1E31.@ 1(1'ee id.at (C,Aobserving that 5obutu changed the name of the la#e to +a#e 5obutu 'ese 'e#oB. 1(&'ee =estin, ;od and 5an in Daire, supra note 1&. Adescribing the utter hopelessness of the average $ongolese, then #nown as Daire, including low ran#ing military and police officers, the writer commented ?Is it then any wonder that a soldier will stop you at a roadbloc# and say ?I haven>t eaten today.@ :e really hasn>t eaten. !or has the traffic cop enough to feed his family* nor the ta official who ta#es his payment in cash enough to buy medicines for his #id. It is the Dairean in the street who is doubly the victim here* first, because theft higher up #eeps him close to starvation* second, because it forces him to become a thief as well.@B. 1(('ee id A?-he nation has such useful assets as half the world>s cobalt and a 9uarter of its industrial diamondsHDaire leads in production of bothI, plus untold reserves of gold, oil, copper and uranium. %ut all this is scant help to the villa'e children ho die of illnesses like measles 1ecause no one seems a1le to come up ith the F@cent@a@dose inoculations needed to save them...As many as one child in two dies here before the age of . as a result of common illnesses made lethal by a diet based on manioc, a soapy tuber as lac#ing in nutrition as it is in taste.@BAemphasis addedB. 1(,'ee, e.g., -he $olumbia Encyclopedia, at .1C.
&,

impoverished sub%ects.

-o satisfy his self aggrandi"ement, Bo#assa declared himself emperor. 1(.

8uring his

coronation in 1E33, which he modeled after that of 0rance>s emperor !apoleon Bonaparte, Bo#assa reportedly spent about thirty million 6' dollars-appro imately twenty percent of his impoverished country>s gross national product. 1(2 /hile Bo#assa spent lavishly on himself, and indulged his e cesses, which included sitting on an eagle shaped throne, 1(3 his sub%ects lac#ed the most basic necessities of modern living. -o ensure his depraved rule, Bo#assa became increasingly diabolical, going as far as #illing over a hundred school children in one act of showing off the e tent of his power. 1(G -o crown his arrogance and sense of self-importance the murderous tyrant compared himself to $hrist. 1(E In 5alawi :astings =amu"u Banda who had struggled to overcome his humble bac#ground, 1,C by earning a medical degree from a notable American medical college, 1,1 helped his country gain independence. Banda went on to become the first president of an independent 5alawi. 'oon after assuming the presidency Banda apparently forgot how impoverished his small landloc#ed country was. 1,& 'eemingly oblivious to the serious infrastructural

1(.'ee, e.g., %ush #ele'raph, supra note 11&. 1(2'ee id A?Bo#assa>s coronation ceremony Aas ?Emperor@B in 1E33 cost Q(C million, a fifth of his country>s revenues, and was attended by (, .CC foreign guests.@BA9uotation on as Emperor in the originalB. 1(3'ee idA?:ighlights Hof Bo#assa>s coronationI included an eagle-shaped throne. A crown containing &,CCC diamonds was worth an estimated Q . million.@B. 1(G'ee A#a, :uman )ights in Africa, supra note (,, at (G3A?Bo#assa brutally murdered over 1CC schoolchildren for the ?political offenses@ of defying his orders and mouthing ?8eath to the Emperor.@?BA9uotation in the originalB. 1(E'ee Bush -elegraph, supra note 11&. 1,C'ee $hris 5c;real, #he Elite #ree of 2no led'e. 2amuBu Academy the Eton of Africa as ,ounded 1y the (eader )ho *elped ,ree *is Country from Colonial Rule. %ut it Offers a Classical En'lish Education and the /tudents3 "ative #on'ue is ,or1idden , -:E ;6A)8IA! A+ondonB, 7une &G, 1EE(, 1g. & Ahereinafter, 5c;eal, Elite -ree of =nowledgeBAobserving that =amu"u Banda ?left at an early age to wor# the gold mines of 'outh Africa.@B. 1,1'ee =eller, supra note E Anoting that 8r. Banda earned a medical degree from 5eharry 5edical $ollege in -ennesseeB. 1,&'ee id Aobserving that 5alawi is a land-loc#ed country ?whose E.3 million people Has of 1EE,I are among the poorest in the world.@B.
&.

needs of his country, and perhaps believing that he was indispensable to 5alawi, Banda proclaimed himself president for life, and built a personality cult around himself. 1,( :e ensured that his face appeared on ban#notes and coins, and on the walls of public offices.1,, -o crown his arrogant and selfish belief in his indispensability to 5alawi, Banda consolidated most of government power into his own hands by assuming the positions, of

5inister of Agriculture, 0oreign Affairs, 7ustice and 1ublic /or#s, and the rector of the 6niversity of 5alawi, among other positions. 1,. $ontinuing the obsession with himself, Banda proclaimed himself the $on9ueror. 1,2 -he title would perhaps have been appropriate if he had chosen the best men and women to help him manage his impoverished nation, and actually come up with effective policies and the necessary budgets to educate his vastly under-educated people, and improve the crumbling or none istent infrastructures. )ather, Banda>s obsession with his own self-importance and monopoli"ation of the top government positions was only the beginning. 'hamelessly professing moral purity, while simultaneously maintaining a mistress whose first name was $ecilia, Banda banned in the 1E2Cs the song J$ecilia> by 'imon and ;arfun#el, and %ailed many who dared to sing it, on the ground that the song was an affront to his mistress. 1,3 :e followed his hypocritical moral crusade by banning minis#irts for women and long hair on men as signs of moral decline. 1,G It would perhaps have been easier to forget Banda>s self obsession with his own importance, and his morali"ing double-standard as the eccentricities of an outdated despot, but for the fact that Banda totally ruined the hopes of the vast ma%ority of his people through his corruption. In a nation where most of the people live without running water or electricity due to his inept policies, 1resident Banda maintained five official residences, and

1,(Id. 1,,'ee id A?:is HBanda>sI face appears on coins and ban#notes, on the walls of every shop and office, and on the bright cloth worn by the ululating women who are bused out to greet him at every staged stop on his itinerary.@B. 1,.'ee idAin addition to the mentioned positions, Banda was ?the trustee of a state monopoly that controls tobacco farms, factories, oil, ban#ing and insurance, ...and the dominant figure in the local 1resbyterian $hurch of 'cotland.@B. 1,2'ee %ush #ele'raph, supra note 11&. 1,3'ee id. 1,G'ee =eller, supra note E.
&2

traveled to each residence in a +ear %et and a fleet of British lu ury cars. 1,E Instead of concentrating on educational infrastructures for the vast masses of his uneducated people, Banda built a lavishly e9uipped academy which he, in typical fashion, named the =amu"u Academy. 1.C In a country sweltering with the in%ustice of under-education and lac# of educational resources, Banda poured the e9uivalent of half the educational budget for the entire country into this academy,1.1 which provided, as of the time he was still in power, an education hardly relevant to the

problems of 5alawi. -he curriculum of the academy, which was dubbed the Eton of Africa, consisted of a compulsory diet of +atin, ancient ;ree# and European history, and other stables of a purely classic European education. 1.& In loc#step fashion with his utter indifference to the concerns of his people, and in a practice reminiscent of colonialism and slavery, the =amu"u Academy forbade its 5alawian students from spea#ing their own native tongues.
1.(

Even more insidious, and reflective of his very low opinion of his own people, Banda

reiterated and reemphasi"ed his slavish belief that no 5alawian was sufficiently educated, and fit to teach at the academy funded with the sweat and blood of 5alawians. 1., Banda not only s9uandered 5alawi>s meager

resources on pro%ects such as the =amu"u Academy, which spent per each pupil appro imately eight hundred and fifty seven times the amount spent per child for education for the rest of the population, 1.. but he %ailed and #illed anyone who 9uestioned his despotic and corrupt rule until he was deposed in a general election in 1EE, after thirty years in power.1.2

1,E'ee id A?8r. Banda>s official style was imperial. In a country where most live without running water or electricity, he traveled among his five official residences in a +ear %et and a fleet of British lu ury cars.@B. 1.C'ee 5c;real, Elite #ree of 2no led'e& supra note 1,C. 1.1'ee id. 1.&'ee id. 1.(IdAnoting that the academy emerged ?with pre%udices about the superiority of western culture instilled in him HBandaI over the decades...As one peers through at the sprawling red bric# school, Africa vanishes...-he students are forbidden to spea# their African mother tongues. -hey are taught of the -ro%an :orse but not of =enyatta.@B. 1.,'ee id A?Banda has said publicly he does not consider any 5alawian fit to teach at the =amu"u Academy. -hey do not have the education, he says. 5ost of the teachers are British.@B. 1..'ee id Aobserving that the =amu"u Academy spent the e9uivalent of 2,CCC British pound sterling per students, at the same time 5alawi was spending less than 3 pounds sterling ?per year per child on education for the rest of the population.@B. 1.2'ee =eller, supra note E
&3

In the very small, 1.3 but highly impoverished nation of E9uatorial ;uinea, 1.G 0rancisco 5acias !guema ushered in a very vicious and corrupt regime soon after independence in 1E2G from 'pain. 1.E <nly two years after independence !guema banned all political parties, e cept his own, 6nited !ational 1arty A?16!@B. 12C /ithin another two years, or four years after independence, !guema proclaimed himself president for life. 121 In a pogrom worthy of )ussia>s 7oseph 'talin and $ambodia>s 1ol 1ot, !guema reportedly #illed up to eighty thousand of his fellow citi"ens, mostly intellectuals and all whom he deemed a threat to his murderous rule. 12& !ot content with #illing ordinary citi"ens, !guema carried his murderous mission to his cabinet ministers, and senior civil servants, most of whom he had #illed.
12(

8eath s9uads reportedly roamed the countryside #illing and raping all those

opposed or perceived to be opposed to !guema. 12, <n top of this vast waste of precious human life, !guema

1.3 'ee, e.g., 5atthew Engel, /aturday Opinion: %rute )atch. #hey 5ust $on3t Make $ictators (ike #hey Used to in the -ood Old $ays of Idi , -:E ;6A)8IA! A+ondonB, 0ebruary &C, 1EEE Ahereinafter, Engel, Brute /atchBA?...E9uatorial ;uinea is an obscure dot on and off the coast of /est Africa, with ,CC,CCCHas of 1EEEI Aand, at last count, five doctorsB.@B Abrac#ets around five doctors in the originalB. 1.G'ee $esar A. $helala, -ro in' Pains in EGuatorial -uinea, '/I'' )EKIE/ <0 /<)+8 A00AI)', August 1EE( Ahereinafter, ;rowing 1ains in E9uatorial ;uineaBAnoting that E9uatorial ;uinea ?has the sad reputation of being one of the world>s least developed countries.@B. 1.E'ee $olumbia Encyclopedia, supra note 11(, at page E&CAobserving that E9uatorial ;uinea obtained limited autonomy from 'pain in 1E2(, but gained full independence in 1E2GB. 12C'ee id. 121'ee $helala, ;rowing 1ains in E9uatorial ;uinea, supra note 1.G. 12&'ee $olumbia Encyclopedia, supra note 11(, at E&C. 12('ee, e.g., #he Prince of ,ear, !E/'/EE=, 8ecember &C, 1E32, 6nited 'tates Edition, at page ,G Aemphasi"ing that about two-thirds of the ministers and senior civil servants either disappeared or died under the murderous rule of !guemaB. 12,'ee id.
&G

demanded godli#e respect by ordering the hanging of his picture beside every altar of every church and the singing of his name at every service.12. 0urther, !guema ushered in corruption of the highest order. :e reportedly literally hid bags of the public>s money in a bamboo hut ne t to his house. 122 -hrough his massive theft of public money !guema further impoverished his already poor nation, failed to ma#e conditions conducive for developing his country, and led it to the brin# of penury.
123

-he e tent of !guema>s wanton and callous rule was such that he

was toppled in a bloody military coup and summarily e ecuted by his own nephew, +t. $olonel -eodoro <biang !guema 5basogo.12G Although 5basogo initially tried to alleviate the economic hardship in his country, 12E his rule soon spiraled into a brutal dictatorship immersed in corruption and noted for its crushing of any opposition. 13C !ot surprisingly, since coming to power in 1E3E 5basogo has tenaciously and most viciously clung to power. 131 -he misrule in E9uatorial ;uinea has left that country not only economically ruined, but with an atrocious health system with an e9ually horrendous infant mortality rate. 13& In 1E2(, barely three years after independence from 0rance, ;nassingbe Eyadema %oined a group of soldiers who overthrew and murdered the first president of post colonial -ogo )epublic, 'ylvanus <lympio. 13(

12.'ee id. 122'ee, e.g., Blaine :arden, #he /ufferin' Continent. #he ,irst $ance of ,reedom@%lack Africa in the Post ar Era Aboo# )eviewB, -:E /A':I!;-<! 1<'-, 5arch (, 1EG.-Boo# /orld 'ection, at pg. 11Ahereinafter, :arden, -he 'uffering $ontinentBA?E9uatorial ;uinea>s 5acias !guema stashed the national treasury in a bamboo hut ne t to his house.@B. 123'ee $helala, ;rowing 1ains in E9uatorial ;uinea, supra note 1.G A?8uring his H!guema>sI reign most foreign industries left the country, which resulted in drastically diminished returns from the three main e portsL cocoa, timber and coffee.@B. 12G'ee Engel, Brute /atch, supra note 1.3 A?1resident -eodor <biang !guema 5>basago too# power by murdering his uncle, 1resident !guema, himself a world-class mass murderer, in 1E3E.@B. 12E'ee $helala, ;rowing 1ains in E9uatorial ;uinea, supra note 1.G. 13C'ee id. 131Id. 13&'ee id A?:ealth conditions in E9uatorial ;uinea are generally poor, despite a bountiful nature, especially on the island of Bio#o. In 1EEC the infant mortality rate was estimated at 1&. per thousand life births, a modest improvement over the 1EGC estimate of 1,C.@B. 'ee also Engel, Brute /atch, supra note 1.3Aobserving that ?at last count HE9uatorial ;uinea hasI five doctors,@ in the entire countryB. 13('ee #o'o. A -eneral )ell $u' In, -:E E$<!<5I'-, August &1, 1EE(, 6.=. Edition, at pg. ,,.
&E

0our years later, Eyadema too# over power. 13, /ith the loyal support of the military, most of whose commanders he chose through nepotism and favoritism, 13. and the support of 0rance, 132 Eyadema has earned the dubious distinction of being ?the longest-serving African president still in office.@ 133 -hrough intimidation and murder Eyadema has maintained his long hold on power. 13G Although forced in 1EE1 by western creditors to ac9uiesce to political pluralism, 13E 1resident Eyadema has continued to rule -ogo through intimidation and the inflation of the electoral rolls to his favor. 1GC 8etermined to maintain power at all costs, Eyadema has turned -ogo into his

personal fiefdom-dishing out the best government %obs and opportunities to members of his minority ethnic groupthe =abye, and overwhelmingly staffing the military with his cronies, 1G1 with hardly any consideration for meritocracy, and the welfare of the entire -ogolese people. -he same corruption and determination to hold on to power at all costs to the utter detriment of the citi"ens goes on in war torn +iberia, ;abon, and Dimbabwe, among other small to medium si"ed African countries. +iberia is an e ample of rampant corruption resulting in the unimaginable misery of the populace. 1resident /illiam -olbert, 7r. embodied the worst of nepotism and favoritism by employing his relatives without regard for

13,'ee id. 13.Id. 132'ee "ot #oo #o'ether in #o'o, -:E E$<!<5I'-, 8ecember 3, 1EE1, 6.=. Edition, at pg. ECAhereinafter, !ot -oo -ogether in -ogoB.
at pg. 1..

133'ee 1aul 5ichaud, #he Eyadema $ilema. Around Africa@#o'o, !E/ A0)I$A!, <ctober 1, &CC1,

13G'ee !ot -oo -ogether in -ogo, supra note 132 Ahighlighting the beating of the 1rime 5inister =o#ou =offigoh by soldiers for having the nerve to critici"e 1resident Eyadema, and the #illing of perhaps more than fifty people around the 1rime 5inister>s residenceB. 13E'ee #o'o. A -eneral )ell $u' In, -:E E$<!<5I'-, August &1, 1EE(, International Edition, at
pg. (,.

1GC'ee id. 1G1'ee, e.g., #o'o: And to Return, -:E E$<!<5I'-, 'eptember ., 1EE&, 6.=. Edition, at pg. 23. 'ee also 5ichaud, supra note 133.
(C

9ualifications and putting them in high government positions. -olbert installed one of his brothers as the president of the +iberian 'enate, 1G& and another as the 0inance 5inister. 1G( :e installed his sister 5ayor of Bedel $ity and two of his daughters as 1residential 1hysician and 8eputy 5inister of Education, respectively. 1G, :e appointed his son Ambassador at +arge and various sons-in-law and brothers-in-law to some of the highest positions in the country.1G. Along came 5aster 'ergeant 'amuel =anyon 8oe who assassinated -olbert in a bloody coup de tat and promised to ma#e things better for the average +iberian. 1G2 Alas, the endless brea#ing of promises in Africa. Instead of improving conditions for +iberians, 8oe who later self promoted himself from 5aster-'ergeant to what he termed $ommander-;eneral, turned +iberia into his private estate through blatant misrule. 1G3 !ot surprisingly, 8oe>s misrule fueled a rebellion against his regime. 'pearheading the rebellion against 8oe were his former minister, $harles -aylor, and rebel leaderPwarlord Fommie 7ohnson. 1GG -he ensuing rebellion culminated in a civil war #nown for its e treme violence and cruelty.1GE After the capture and brutal murder of 8oe by Fommie 7ohnson, 1EC $harles -aylor somehow rose up to the head of the pac#, and became the 1resident of +iberia in 1EE3. 1E1 :owever, instead of tac#ling the infrastructural and other problems of +iberia, -aylor continued the saga of misery and despair of +iberia. In e change for the

1G&'ee, e.g., 7ide A%ani, AA-M: ,our ?ears After: %et een 2udirat A1iola and /ani A1acha , KA!;6A)8 A!igeriaB, 7une 3, &CC&. 1G('ee id. 1G,Id. 1G.IdAnoting ?:is four sons-in-law were 8eputy 5inister of 1ublic /or#s, $ommissioner for Immigration, 5inister of 8efence and Board 5ember of Air +iberia, respectively. <ne brother-in-law was in the +iberian 'enate, while another was the 5ayor of +iberia and yet another was the Ambassador to ;uinea.@B. 1G2'ee id. 1G3Id Aemphasi"ing 8oe ?ran the country li#e a private estate. At the height of his misrule, +iberians were at the receiving end, with no food, no water and no fuel. -he country was running on virtually nothing.@B. 1GGId. 1GE'ee, e.g., =en 'ilverstein, -ood Press for $ictators, -:E A5E)I$A! 1)<'1E$-, April E, &CC1, at pg. 13 A9uoting human rights commentator =enneth $ain for the proposition that the +iberian civil war was ?a relentless campaign of sadistic, wanton violence unimaginable to those unfamiliar with the details of man>s capacity to visit the abyss.@B. 1EC'ee A%ani, supra note 1G&.
(1

profits from ill-gotten diamonds, -aylor championed the cause of an insidious rebel group in neighboring 'ierra +eone #nown for its +eopoldian practice of cutting off the limbs of ordinary citi"ens who failed to profess their undivided loyalty to the rebels. 1E& In addition to this sadistic support, -aylor continues to rule +iberia through intimidation, torture, and murder. 1E( incompetent leadership run amo#. 5eanwhile, the case of ;abon is another e ample of corruption and ?6pon formal independence from 0rance in 1E2C, ;abon, the si"e of

$onnecticut, possessed the greatest economic potential in blac# Africa. /ith a small population and rich in oil and other resources, ;abon appeared destined for prosperity.@ 1E, Fet ;abon>s enormous potential has been

s9uandered under the incompetent and tyrannical rule of 1resident <mar Bongo who came to power in 1E23. 1E. 'ince coming to power in 1E23, Bongo has allegedly won five elections-in 1E3(, 1E3E, 1EG2, 1EE(, and 1EEG, all through highly 9uestionable means. 1E2 0or e ample, while maintaining the facade of a democratic election in 1EEG, Bongo allegedly engineered the printing of massive ?numbers of false identity documents to

1E1'ee 'ilverstein, supra note 1GE. 1E&'ee Barney 5thombothi, E+pose #hese Ro'ues, 0I!A!$IA+ 5AI+ A'outh AfricaB 5arch &,, &CCC A?+iberian 1resident $harles -aylor, who is the very embodiment of the term warlord, is the benefactor of the despicable 0oday 'an#oh, whose rebels have been cutting off peoplesHJI limbs in nearby 'ierra +eone. 'an#ohH>Is rebels control most of the diamond-rich areas, and most of these have found their way to the open mar#et through +iberia, which isnHJtI #nown for its diamonds.@B* 'ee also 'ilverstein, supra note 1GE AA?In 0oreign policy, -aylor is chiefly #nown for his support of the )evolutionary 6nited 0ront, a rebel group in neighboring 'ierra +eone that routinely amputates the hands, legs, ears, and lips of anyone who opposes it.@B. 1E('ee 'ilverstein, supra note 1GE Adescribing the brutal torture and murder of opposition leader 'amuel 8o#ie and his wife, niece, and cousin. According to the account, prominent opposition leader 8o#ie, his wife, niece, and cousin were #idnaped by security forces on their way to a wedding. -he four were then tortured and #illed. 8o#ie>s eyes were gouged out, and he was then burned and beheadedB. 1E,;eorge B.!. Ayittey, A /ummit to (e'itimiBe a Corrupt Re'ime6 Africa: American Participants in -a1on /hould Ask *ard Huestions A1out *uman Ri'hts , +<' A!;E+E' -I5E', 5ay &., 1EE(, at 1art B, 1age 3Ahereinafter, Ayittey, 'ummit to +egitimi"e $orrupt )egimeBAdecrying the failure of African-American participants two years earlier in a conference in the Ivory $oast to spea# out against corrupt leadership in Africa, and imploring African-Americans attending a conference in ;abon slated to open 5ay &., 1EE( to use the opportunity to press for human rights and democrati"ationB. 1E.'ee A%ani, supra note 1G&. 1E2'ee Baffour An#omah, /hould All #hese 'o as )ell6 7im1a1 e Analysis. Response to Article 1y %ram Postumus in #his Issue& P.:I. Cover /tory, !E/ A0)I$A!, 0ebruary 1, &CC&, at pg. &G.
(&

permit multiple voting by Bongo>s supporters,@ 1E3 and ensured his reelection by passing ?a law returning many election functions to the Interior 5inistry, which is a police and security agency.@ 1EG 8uring his thirty-five years of autocratic and corrupt rule, Bongo has overseen the building of a Q1(E million palace in the capital +ibreville for his use while his country is essentially ban#rupt and the citi"ens wallow in ab%ect poverty. 1EE 6nperturbed by his incompetent running of the country, Bongo ran roughshod over human rights. :e ordered the #illing of ;abonese citi"ens who dared protest the lac# of basic necessities of life such as electricity and clean water. &CC Adding insult to in%ury, Bongo>s payments, ostensibly with the public>s money, to an Italian designer for the procurement of prostitutes from Italy for his use, &C1 did not fa"e this shameless corrupt autocrat from producing a movie portraying himself ?as a saintly figure.@ &C& After independence from Britain in 1EGC )obert 5ugabe was genuinely hailed as a freedom fighter and national hero who helped throw off the yol# of colonial sub%ugation and tyranny. &C( /ith his status as a national hero, and in the words of !obel 1eace +aureate Archbishop 8esmond -utu ?one of the most highly 9ualified and

1E3'ee 7ames )upert, -a1on3s %on'o (atest /tron'man to Maintain -rip ,Ahereinafter, )upert, ;abon>s BongoB -:E /A':I!;-<! 1<'-, 8ecember 1C, 1EEG, at A.G. 1EGId. 1EE'ee Ayittey, 'ummit to +egitimi"e $orrupt )egime, supra note 1E,A?;abon is essentially ban#rupt. $orruption and mismanagement have impoverished the people and saddled the country with the world>s highest per capita indebtedness. Income from the 1E3Cs oil boom disappeared into private ban# accounts, profligate pro%ects li#e the 1E33 <rgani"ation of African 6nity summit and 1resident <mar Bongo>s Q1(E-million palace in +ibreville.@B. &CC'ee Ayittey, 'ummit to +egitimi"e $orrupt )egime, supra note 1E,. 'ee also Bill 'chiller, Mulroney3s -a1on -affe Proved Costly, -:E -<)<!-< '-A), <ctober &C, 1EE1, at B,Areferring to 1resident <mar Bongo as ?an unsavory central African leader with a history of human rights abuse,@ while also noting that ?Bongo lives in lavish surroundings while his citi"ens suffer in s9ualor.@B. &C1'ee (ove Me& (ove My 5o1. ,or Prime Ministers and Presidents& #rue (ove3s Course $oes "ot Al ays Run /mooth, -:E I!8E1E!8E!- A+ondonB, 'eptember (, 1EE2, at 1age ( A?+ast year an Italian-born fashion designer, 0rancesco 'malto, was fined pounds 3G,CCC for supplying prostitutes to the president of west His central, not westI African state of ;abon during sales trips there. -he court was told that 'malto recruited women on several occasions between 1EEC and 1EE( to fly to ;abon...Bongo did not deny 'malto>s pimping...@B. &C&'ee Ale 8uval 'mith, In ,orei'n Parts: ,or All the Air1rushed Posters& Africans /till Prefer *umility, -:E I!8E1E!8E!- A+ondonB, !ovember ,, &CCC, at 1age 1G Anoting the humility of Ivory $oast>s leader +aurent ;bagbo in a continent ?infested with personality cults, past and present,@ such as ;abon>s <mar Bongo, 5alawi>s former tyrant :astings Banda, +ibya>s 5uammar ;addafi, and $ongo>s former tyrant and #leptocrat- 5obutu 'ese 'e#o, among othersB. &C('ee, e.g., $ynthia -uc#er, ,reedom ,i'hter in 7im1a1 e #urns Oppressor& -:E A-+A!-A 7<6)!A+ A!8 $<!'-I-6-I<!, April (C, &CCC, Editorial, at 3$.
((

most able leaders,@ &C, 5ugabe became the leader of Dimbabwe. 5ugabe inherited a reasonably prosperous country, by African standards, with a blac# middle class ready to assume the mantle of leadership across the political landscape.&C. In the early years of his administration 1resident 5ugabe wor#ed to improve the conditions of his people by, among others, e panding access to education. &C2 But soon thereafter, his lust for power and

determination to crush all credible oppositions got the better of him. Barely three years after independence, 5ugabe ordered a brutal assault against the !debele, an ethnic group loyal to his main political rival, 7oshua !#omo.&C3 1erhaps emboldened by the ability of his security operatives to crush those hostile to his regime, as e emplified by the brutality against the !debele, 5ugabe began to tarnish his earlier accomplishments. :e ignored growing corruption within his government and rewarded his cronies handsomely. &CG -he tragic result was the utter and complete reversal of fortune of a once vibrant and highly promising nation. By 1EEE, 5ugabe>s misrule had reportedly resulted in an eye-popping inflation rate of about 3CM, while unemployment reached a staggering .CM in the year &CCC.&CE Intent on maintaining power at all costs, after reali"ing the precipitous drop in his government>s support among the blac# ma%ority, 5ugabe desperately sought to divert attention from the ban#ruptcy of his polices by supporting a constitutional amendment giving him e pansive powers to sei"e lands belonging to white citi"ens without the payment of compensation. &1C /hen that amendment failed, 5ugabe came up with a facade to get ride of those who had voted against the amendment. &11 5ugabe and his government engaged and continue to engage in

&C,'ee )achel +. 'warns, #he )orld: Po er in %lack and )hite. Mu'a1e3s Real ,oes Aren3t the Ones *e $enounces, -:E !E/ F<)= -I5E', April (C, &CCC, 'ection ,, at 1age (Ahereinafter, 'warns, 5ugabe>s )eal 0oesB. &C.'ee -uc#er, supra note &C( Aobserving that at independence, 5ugabe inherited a reasonably well run countryHif one discounts the repression of the blac# ma%orityI ?And there was an educated blac# middle-class to step into positions of leadership.@B. &C2'ee -uc#er, supra note &C(. &C3'ee id. &CGId. &CE'ee id. &1C'ee 'warns, 5ugabe>s )eal 0oes, supra note &C,. &11'ee id.
(,

waging an ill-advised, unlawful, and race-baiting land reform campaign against the few white farmers who had, either willingly or unwillingly, been the beneficiaries of colonial Britain>s mischievous and unconscionable landgrab of native lands. Even though he had lost the attempted constitutional amendment to confiscate lands without compensation, 5ugabe failed to pursue other viable legal alternatives to the land reform issue. Although Britain had robbed natives of their lands during its colonial occupation, and shamelessly transferred ownership of these lands to whites, thus ma#ing land reform mandatory and %ustified under an independent Dimbabwe, &1& 5ugabe failed to pursue legal avenues after the aborted constitutional amendment, such as initiating an amendment that would, for e ample, allow the government to condemn lands through the power of eminent domain with a conse9uent payment for reasonable value, and resale of same to blac#s at affordable rates. )ather, 5ugabe chose to support lawless ta#eover of lands, which has resulted in the #illing of hundreds of Dimbabweans, mostly blac#s opposed to 5ugabe>s irrational policies, at the hands of 5ugabe>s thugs &1( and its near ostracism within the international community.&1, Also, during the 5arch &CC& presidential election, 5ugabe hi%ac#ed the electioneering process by encouraging violence and murder against members and supporters of his main presidential rival, 5organ -svangirai. &1. -he result of the &CC& presidential election was the alleged reelection of the aging 5ugabe under conditions so atrocious, and so lac#ing in democratic participation that it could not be deemed fair. &12 -he tempestuous decline of the Dimbabwean economy, and the free wheeling corruption by 1resident 5ugabe>s government, appears to leave the fate of this young and once vibrant country uncertain. -he crowning e ample of governmental corruption and betrayal of the hopes of the citi"enry in Africa

&1&'ee generally id. Also, see generally :ochschild, supra note ,. &1('ee 'warns, 5ugabe>s )eal 0oes, supra note &C,. &1,'ee, e.g., ,rom *ero to #hu', +<' A!;E+E' -I5E', 5arch G, &CC&, 1art &, at 12. &1.'ee id. &12'ee id.
(.

appears to be !igeria, due to its si"e, &13 and its abundance of mineral resources. &1G

!igeria gained its

independence from Britain on <ctober 1, 1E2C. &1E 0ollowing the failure of a single party to garner a ma%ority of the votes during the 1E.E general elections held in anticipation of independence, and the subse9uent formation of a government by the northern based !orthern 1eople>s $ongress A?!1$@B, led by Ahmadu Bello, and the !ational $onvention of !igerian $iti"ens A?!$!$@B, led by !namdi A"i#iwe, Abuba#ar -afewa Balewa, a northerner, was selected as the first 1rime 5inister, while !namdi A"i#iwe, an easterner, was selected as the ;overnor;eneral. &&C /hen in 1E2( !igeria became a republic, A"i#iwe was made the first president of the new nation. &&1 Barely three years after independence political wrangling among and between the different political parties built around ethnic loyalties, severely tested the stability of the young nation. &&& -he tensions among the parties and the politicians perhaps sowed the seeds for the first military coup in 7anuary 1E22, led by Ibo army officers, which resulted in the deaths of the 1rime 5inister, Balewa* the !orthern 1remier Ahmadu Bello* and the /estern 1remier '.I. A#intola. &&( An Ibo 5a%or-;eneral, 7ohnson -.6. AguiyiIronsi became military dictator. &&, An e9ually bloody and brutal counter military coup si months later-7uly 1E22 by :ausa army officers led to the death of Aguiyi-Ironsi, the massacre of the Ibos in the northern part of !igeria,

&13!igeria is the most populous country in Africa, with a 1EE. estimated population of more than 1C1 million people. 'ee $olumbia Encyclopedia, supra note 11(, at &C13. &1G'ee, e.g., Anthony ;oldman and /illiam /allis, /urvey@"i'eria: #readin' )ater as the ,rustrations Rise ith Politicians Under Pressure to /pend #heir )ay Out of #rou1le %efore Electioneerin' #akes Over, 0I!A!$IA+ -I5E' A+ondonB, 'urvey 'ection-!igeria, at pg.1 Ahighlighting !igeria>s status as Africa>s leading oil producerB, 5arch (C, &CC1* Eli"abeth -aylor, A "ation on the %rink. 5ournalist 2arl Maier $iscusses *is %ook A1out the #rou1led )est African Country of "i'eria , $:I$A;< -)IB6!E, 'unday, 'eptember &,, &CCC, $hicagoland 0inal Edition, at $( Ahereinafter, -aylor, A !ation on the Brin#BAnoting that !igeria is ?a country with abundant resources@B* 8avid <rr, %last Aictims )ere /cram1lin' for ,uel, -:E -I5E' A+ondonBAdecrying the deaths of hundreds of !igerians who died when a fuel pipeline e ploded while these people were scrambling for lea#ing fuel in a country which the writer observed ?is the world>s si th largest producer of crude, with an output of about two million barrels a day.@B, <ctober, &C 1EEG. &1E 'ee $olumbia Encyclopedia, supra note 11(, at &C13. &&C'ee id. &&1Id. &&&'ee A#a, 8ividend of 8emocracy, supra note 1C2, at &&E. &&('ee $olumbia Encyclopedia, supra note 11(, at &C1G. &&,'ee id.
(2

and the placement of +t. $ol. Fa#ubu ;owon as military dictator. &&. According to one scholarly estimate, about thirty-thousand Ibos were massacred in the aftermath of the bloody counter-military coup. &&2 -he culmination of the initial coup, counter coup, and massacres of the Ibos was the brutal and e cessively violent !igerian-Biafran civil war, which reputedly ran#s as the most brutal civil war of the twentieth century. &&3 0rom 1E22 through 1E3. Fa#ubu ;owon ruled !igeria, until he was overthrown in a bloodless coup by ;en. 5urtala 5ohamed and a group of officers which promised a return to civilian rule. &&G Barely a year into his administration, 5ohamed was assassinated in a bloody coup. &&E 5ohamed>s deputy, ;en. <lusegun <basan%o was chosen by the military to succeed the murdered ;en. 5ohamed. &(C <basan%o stayed in office %ust long enough to oversee the general election and hand over power in 1E3E to a civilian elected president, 'hehu 'hagari. &(1 $onsidering !igeria>s post independence history, 'hagari inherited a relatively stable political and economically vibrant country. &(& :owever, 'hagari>s indecisiveness soon provided the impetus to divisive and

corrupt politicians in the country, particularly within his party, to foment ethnic conflicts and destabili"e the new democracy.&(( 8espite the new government>s slogan of attac#ing corruption, political corruption erupted with unbridled ferocity.&(, )egrettably, leading the pac# of corrupt officialdom was one of 1resident 'hagari>s closest

&&.'ee id. &&2'ee A#a, 1olicy of Ethnic )econciliation, supra note 1., at (((. &&3'ee id, citing A.:.5 =ir#-;reene, $risis and $onflict in !igeriaL A 8ocumentary 'ourceboo# 1E221E2E, Kolume 1L 7anuary 1E22-7uly 1E23, p. ((( A1E31B. &&G'ee -he $olumbia Encyclopedia, supra note 11(, at &C1G. &&E'ee id. &(C'ee id. 'ee also, Under "e Mana'ement, -:E E$<!<5I'-, 7anuary 1., &CC&, 6'. EditionAhereinafter, 6nder !ew 5anagementB. &(1'ee Under "e Mana'ement, supra note &(C. &(&'ee, e.g., "i'eria. /econd Chance for $emocracy , !E/'/EE=, 6nited 'tates Edition, 5arch (C, 1EG1, at pg. ,& Ahereinafter, 'econd $hance for 8emocracyBA?'hagari inherited a relatively stable political and economic situation...by the time civilian government was restored, !igeria was snapping out of a deep recession, mostly than#s to oil production. 'hagari was given as good a start as he could e pect.@B. &(('ee id. &(,'ee id Anoting that corruption was fast on the rise, and had began undermining the confidence of foreign investors in the country, thereby wea#ening the economyB.
(3

associates, and brother-in-law, -ransportation 5inister 6maru 8i##o, who allegedly stole up to a billion dollars from the national treasury. &(. /hile officials under 'hagari were preoccupied with robbing the country blind, massive unemployment and staggering inflation were ma#ing the lives of the average !igerian unbearable. &(2 At the same time, the rate of crime was going through the roof. &(3 Adding to the crippling social and economic problems was the soaring foreign debt which had climbed to Q&C billion by 7anuary 1EG,. &(G !otwithstanding the woes facing the country, as a result of 'hagari>s inept rule, government officials continued to gorge on +ear%ets and 5ercedes limousines, in apparent indifference to the misery of the average citi"en. &(E 'eeing an e cuse for a military comebac#, the military overthrew the 'hagari administration on !ew Fear>s eve, 8ecember (1, 1EG( in a near bloodless coup, barely four months after 'hagari had won reelection to a second term. &,C At the head of the military %unta which overthrew 1resident 'hagari was a ,&-year-old 5a%or. ;en., 5ohammed Buhari. &,1 -he suffering citi"ens resigned themselves to the new leadership, which promised a vigorous fight against corruption, and the restoration of basic amenities, such as drin#ing water and

&(.'ee, e.g., )obert B. $ullen and -ony $lipton, %ritain. the Car'o@Crate 2idnapin', !E/'/EE=, 6nited 'tates Edition, 7uly 12, 1EG,, at pg. (2 Aobserving that 1resident 'hagari>s close associate, and brother-inlaw, 6maru 8i##o, was part of corrupt officials who ?siphoned anywhere from Q. billion to Q12 billion out of the country,@ before 'hagari was overthrown. According to the account ?8i##o, the president>s brother-in-law, allegedly got a large share Hof the stolen lootI-perhaps a billion dollars.@B. 'ee also 7ohn 5oody and Alastair 5atheson, #riumph of the #rou1lemaker. #he Man %eyond J%ehindKMany Coups ,inally Puts *imself in Po er, -I5E, 6.'. Edition, 'eptember E, 1EG., at pg. ,G Ahereinafter, 5oody 4 5atheson, -riumph of the -roublema#erBA?-he 'hagari regime>s tolerance of corruption only added to the country>s woes. In 1EG( alone, according to <il 5inister -am 8avid-/est, Q1 billion in petroleum was secretly diverted from state oil terminals to foreign tan#ers, with !igerian businessmen and politicians ta#ing the profits. 'ome reports say Q1 million a day was s#immed from the public treasury. -ransport 5inister 8i##o reportedly amassed a Q1 billion fortune, much of it outside the country.@B. &(2'ee 'econd $hance for 8emocracy, supra note &(& A?Inflation is running at more than &C percent a year, and although there are no statistics on unemployment, everyone agrees that it is massive.@B. &(3'ee id. &(G'ee, e.g., $raig $annine 4 )ay /il#inson, After the 4Aelvet -love3 Coup, !E/'/EE=, 6nited 'tates Edition, 7anuary &C, 1EG,, at pg. .G. &(E'ee id. &,C'ee idAobserving that the only fatality during the coup was a brigadier ?#illed during a scuffle to arrest 1resident 'hehu 'hagari@B. &,1'ee id.
(G

electricity for all. &,&

:owever, perceived as heavy-handed, and largely ineffective in reviving the lumbering

economy and wiping out endemic corruption, Buhari was overthrown by ,, year old Army $hief of 'taff ;en. Ibrahim Babangida in 'eptember 1EG.. &,( 6pon ta#ing the helm, Babangida, who allegedly had also been behind the overthrow of ;en. ;owon and 1resident 'hagari, &,, repealed a draconian edict promulgated by the Buhari regime which had banned criticism of the government. &,. In addition, Babangida released several %ournalists and political prisoners apparently %ailed under the draconian edict, and promised to reopen stalled tal#s with the International 5onetary 0und, with a view towards %ump starting the moribund economy. &,2 Babangida won over the !igerian public with charm and a disarming smile. &,3 :e even managed to charm the then British 1rime 5inister 5argaret -hatcher, who befriended and invited him on a state visit to Britain. &,G :owever, while Babangida maintained an appearance of humility and cheerfulness, &,E he was busy robbing his country blind. $orruption flourished under his roguish regime. &.C According to one survey of the wealth of African leaders, Babangida amassed billions of dollars during his shameless dictatorship. &.1 :e also ordered the e ecutions of many

&,&Id. &,('ee 5oody 4 5atheson, #riumph of the #rou1lemaker , supra note &(.. &,,'ee id. &,.Id. &,2'ee id. &,3'ee, e.g., )ichard 8owden, -eneral )ho 2eeps "i'eria in (ine: President I1rahim %a1an'ida of "i'eria Arrives in %ritain on #uesday for a /tate Aisit. Richard $o den Met the Huietly /poken (eader of One of Africa3s Most ,ractious "ations in (a'os, -:E I!8E1E!8E!- A+ondonB, 5ay 2, 1EGE, 0oreign !ews, at pg. 1&. &,G'ee id. &,E'ee id. &.C'ee, e.g., "i'erian E+@(eader /teers Aote. ,ormer /tron'man Puts ,unds %ehind *is Choice , -:E 8A++A' 5<)!I!; !E/', 0ebruary &2, 1EEE, at &EA Ahereinafter, !igerian E -leader 'teers KoteB A?HBabangidaI plunged !igeria into years of corruption and decay...@B* 5ichael 1eel, /milin' Eni'ma May Return to ,ore "i'erian Politics Pro@democracy Campai'ners Concerned Over (e'al Move A'ainst President O1asan8o 1y ,ormer Mili , 0I!A!$IA+ -I5E' A+ondonB 7uly &, &CC&, at pg. 1C Arelating details of a lawsuit filed by former president Babangida challenging the constitutionality of a panel appointed under the current president <lusegun <basan%o to investigate corruption and other crimes under previous administrations, while accurately observing that under Babangida corruption flourishedB. &.1'ee !igerian E -leader 'teers Kote, supra note &.C Ahighlighting the results of a 1EE3 survey by the
(E

people, many of whom were suspected of, or accused of plotting coups against his brutish regime. &.& According to both !igerian and international human rights groups, torture, arbitrary detentions, and the silencing of voices of dissent flourished under the Babangida cabal. &.( Babangida>s seemingly cheerful disposition while he was busy ruining his nation, earned him the adorable nic#name JIBB> in many !igerian newspapers. &., :owever, %ournalists with enough vision and foresight to wade through his facade, and brave enough to attempt to e pose the ingrained corruption within his administration, met with unpleasant endings, including death. 'uch was the outcome for the eminent %ournalist 8ele ;iwa, who met his tragic and young end when a letter bomb delivered by agents of the Babangida regime blew him to bits. &.. /hen public opinion strongly demanded a return to civilian rule, Babangida promised elections. But time and again he called off the proposed dates for a return to civilian rule, leading, in the words of a commentator, to the worst act of political chicanery ever visited upon a people. &.2 /hen finally in 1EGE Babangida called for the formation of political parties, the apparent deep yearning for a return to democratic politics yielded about eighty political associations. &.3 -he Babangida regime whittled the number down to si political associations, and

eventually banned all the new political parties, electing instead to create and impose two political parties upon the country.&.G /ealthy businessman 5oshod Abiola, who hailed from southern !igeria, became the flag bearer for 0rench wee#ly +>Evenement du %eudi, which estimated Babangida>s net worth at si billion dollarsB.

&.&'ee idAnoting that Babangida ordered more than GC e ecutionsB. &.('ee, e.g., )obert 5. 1ress, "i'erians Challen'e /tate On A1uses, -:E $:)I'-IA! '$IE!$E 5<!I-<), 7uly &(, 1EE&, at pg. . A?according to !igerian and international human rights groups, and the 6nited 'tates 'tate 8epartment>s human rights report on !igeria in 1EE1, the Babangida regime regularly tortures suspects in police custody, arbitrarily detains citi"ens, and tries to silence its most vocal critics, including %ournalists and human rights leaders.@B. &.,'ee, e.g., !eil :enry, "i'eria Confronts O1stacles in the Road to $emocracy , -:E /A':I!;-<! 1<'-, 8ecember &1, 1EGE, at A(E. &..'ee A#a, :uman )ights in Africa, supra note (,, at ,1CAobserving that during the Babangida regime ?8ele ;iwa...one of the founders of !ewswatch, an independent and fearless !igerian wee#ly, was blown into pieces as he unsuspectingly tried to open a parcel bomb sent to him by individuals many in the country believe to be secret security agents of the HBabangidaI government.@B. &.2'ee id. at (.2. &.3'ee :enry, supra not &.,. &.G'ee id.
,C

one of the two government created parties. /hen the presidential elections were eventually held in 1EE(, Abiola won.&.E :owever, Babangida gave short shrift to the hopes of millions of !igerians by annulling the election. &2C -he intense outrage over the annulment apparently resulted in Babangida>s resignation, &21 and ushered in the short-lived and virtually powerless interim administration of Ernest 'hone#an. 'hortly after the inauguration

of the interim government, another army general, 'ani Abacha, summarily overthrew the new government and installed himself president. Abacha imprisoned Abiola for having the temerity to claim the presidency which rightfully and legally belonged to Abiola. &2& Although corruption during and after independence had left the mineral rich nation severely underdeveloped, and crippled the hopes of a once vibrant people, Abacha>s ascent to the top leadership position mar#ed perhaps the worst period to date in !igerian post-independence history, with the e ception of the brutal civil war. Abacha ushered in a dictatorship which was unprecedented in its callousness, both in the mistreatment of the citi"ens, and the bra"en looting of the national treasury. 0irst, Abacha and his minions #illed anyone seen as a threat or a potential threat to his murderous regime. &2( 'econd, to ensure the absolute silence of any and all voices of opposition to or criticism of his despotism, the Abacha regime imprisoned countless number of !igerians, including retired ;en. <basan%o who had peacefully handed over power to civilian president 'hehu 'hagari. /hen the voices of dissent refused to be stilled, as was the case with the legitimate protests of the <goni people, Abacha ordered the hanging of their leader, the eminent writer =en 'arowiwa, notwithstanding pleas from world leaders. &2, -hird, having thoroughly stifled voices of dissent, Abacha and his band of rogues engaged in a

systematic and sustained looting of the national treasury, &2. and ushered in unprecedented political corruption. &22 Abacha and his aides literally loaded up $entral Ban# of !igeria truc#s with the public>s money for their

&.E'ee 1eel, supra note &.C. &2C'ee id. &21Id. &2&'ee A#a, :uman )ights in Africa, supra note (,, at ,1C. &2('ee, e.g., A%ani, supra note 1G&A?8uring his HAbacha>sI reign, many people were mysteriously #illed...-he list is endless.@B. :ighlighting the Abacha government>s brutal murder of 5rs. Abiola, whose husband had won the presidential election of 1EE(-only to be clamped in %ail where he died on the eve of his release, the writer appropriately observed that former dictator 'ani Abacha ?put !igeria on HtheI edge of the precipice.@id. &2,'ee A#a, Policy of Ethnic Reconciliation, supra note 1., at (,..
,1

own private use, and awarded about one billion dollars to front companies. &23 /hen Abacha and his men were not busy physically stealing from the $entral Ban# and looting the treasury through phony contracts, Abacha>s chief security officer 5allam Sua"o, at the behest of his boss, was busy inventing imaginary foreign enemies for the nation, and then using them as an e cuse to order the transfer of millions of dollars to foreign ban# accounts controlled by Abacha and his aides under the prete t of fighting these imaginary enemies of !igeria. &2G Although !igeria is an oil rich nation, and a member of the 1etroleum E porting $ountries A?<1E$@B, the Abacha regime ensured the scarcity of fuel within !igeria through a web of corrupt practices. 0irst, Abacha and his top aides supervised the sale of crude oil by the state-owned oil company-the !igerian !ational 1etroleum $orporation A?!!1$@B, and ensured that they got a portion of the sales revenue. &2E 'econd, Abacha and his aides intentionally starved the !!1$ of money intended to convert crude oil to gasoline so that !igeria would have to import refined crude oil such as gasoline, creating an opportunity for Abacha and his assistants to get #ic#bac#s from the importers. &3C -hird, Abacha ensured that his supporters obtained government subsidi"ed gasoline, which

&2.'ee :ugh 8ellios, In "i'eria& the Art of the /teal. Many *ope "e Ruler Can End 2ick1ack Era, $:I$A;< -)IB6!E, 7uly 3, 1EEG, at pg. 1 Ahereinafter, 8ellios, Art of the 'tealBAhighlighting the systematic looting of the !igerian economy by the then recently deceased ?#ingpin of corruption, dictator 'ani Abacha,@ and his croniesB. &22'ee id A?0rom the presidential palace in Abu%a to police roadbloc#s that have become nothing but tollgates, ?chopping@HbriberyI and ?dashing@Hanother term for bribery in !igeriaI are what greases the economy in !igeria. -he first is ma#ing sure you get a percentage of every deal that crosses your path, and the second is ta#ing a bribe from every person over whom you have sway.@BA9uotation on chopping and dashing in the originalB. 'ee also )upert, !igeria>s 'trongman 8ies, supra note 1C Aobserving that while !igeria>s former dictator and murderous despot 'ani Abacha ?was less #nown-but in terms of his legacy to !igeria, perhaps more important-Hhe was well #nownI for overseeing a web of corruption that !igerians and oil industry sources say has plundered billions of dollars from the economy.@B. &23'ee, e.g., -he +ost Billions, supra note 1G. &2G'ee idL
Abacha even turned !igeria>s democracy movement to his financial advantage by having his nationalsecurity adviser ?urgently@ demand money from the !igerian -reasury to fight critics overseas. ?America has gone berser# and seems to leave no stone unturned in ridiculing this nation,@ the adviser, Ismaila ;war"o, wrote in a 1EE, memo as#ing that Q(C million be wired to a ;eneva account. 5illions more were withdrawn in cash for ?covert purposes,@ and delivered to Abacha and his cronies in $entral Ban# truc#s. According to 1resident <basan%o, most of the looted money was transferred abroad.

&2E'ee, e.g., )upert, "i'eria3s /tron'man $ies, supra note 1C A?in a business that generated a daily river of cash, Abacha and several associates supervised every sale of !igerian crude by the state-owned oil companyH!igerian !ational 1etroleum $orporation-!!1$I, the sources said, sluicing off an un#nown percentage of the Q1C billion A6.'.B 1er year that !igeria earns on average in crude oil sales.@B. &3C'ee id.
,&

these supporters then either sold on the blac# mar#et in !igeria, or diverted to neighboring countries at astronomical profits. &31 -he fuel shortage became so dire that many citi"ens resorted to the highly dangerous

practice of rupturing fuel pipelines laid by oil companies in a desperate attempt to get fuel. &3& -he tragic result was the predictable e plosion of a ruptured fuel line, resulting in hundreds of deaths. &3( In addition to virtually destroying the effectiveness of the !!1$ in supplying fuel to !igerians, Abacha made corruption the cornerstone of his roguish regime. Abacha ensured that he and his aides got #ic#bac#s from every and all significant government contracts, &3, thus ma#ing it virtually impossible for honest businesspeople and companies to thrive.&3. /hile Abacha and his group were gorging on the nation>s wealth, his government ignored crumbling public infrastructures and failed to generate new ones. &32 1ower outage which was almost a regular feature of the !igerian economy, worsened with the near abandonment of the national electric company #nown as the !ational Electric 1ower Authority A?!E1A@B. &33 <ther public infrastructures remained without ade9uate

&31'ee id. 'ee also 6nder !ew 5anagement, supra note &(C.Acommending the new administration of 1resident <lusegun <basan%o for ta#ing steps to curb rampant political corruption, while observing ?6nder Abacha Hthe murderous former military dictator of !igeriaI, pumps ran dry and the president>s friends made fortunes cornering supplies at the low official price and selling them at the much higher blac#-mar#et rate. 8ay-long 9ueues formed outside petrol stations. 0or the citi"ens of one of the world>s largest oil-producing countries, not being able to buy fuel was perhaps the worst humiliation. 5r. <basan%o all but ended it with a few honest appointments.@B. &3&'ee <rr, supra note &1GAalthough <rr appropriately observed that ?decades of government mismanagement and corruption have led to almost perpetual fuel shortages,@ the Abacha regime>s capricious rule greatly e acerbated the crisisB. &3('ee id A?-hose #illed at the wee#end were trying to collect lea#ing fuel when they were caught in the blast, apparently caused by a spar# from a cigarette. 5any had become saturated by inflammable li9uid when engulfed by the inferno. /itnesses said that the scene-near the town of 7esse, 1GC miles southeast of the biggest city, +agos-was littered with corpses. Among the dead were many women and children who had been using bottles and buc#ets to hold fuel.@B. &3,'ee )upert, !igeria>s 'trongman 8ies, supra note 1C. &3.'ee, e.g., 8ellios, Art of the 'teal, supra note &2. A?-he Berlin-based groupHthe international corruption watchdog, -ransparency InternationalIreported that here and in other corrupt countries, ministers will accept cuts of . percent on Q&C million deals, while heads of state hold out for . percent on Q&CC million deals.@B. -his systemic corruption, shamelessly fueled and promoted under the Abacha cabal led one !igerian businessman in the -ribune article to lament ?In a society so entrenched in corruption, it is difficult to operate.@id. &32'ee )upert, !igeria>s 'trongman 8ies, supra note 1C A?6nder Abacha, corruption too# !igeria further into economic collapse than in the past. Besides the collapse in fuel distribution, the telephone networ# is decaying. -he electrical grid is failing. Almost no part of +agos, the steaming, teeming financial and commercial capital gets electricity all day, and vast tracts of the city of G million never get power at all.@B. &33'ee id.
,(

maintenance and dilapidated, &3G while mistreatment of college teachers and lac# of ade9uate funding for their salaries and institutions resulted in intermittent closings of the institutions of higher learning. &3E /hen public outcry reached a crescendo, Abacha and his group simply resorted to their well-established practice of murder and intimidation of dissenters. 'uch was the fate of the eminent writer =en 'aro-wiwa who championed the legitimate complaints of the <goni people, an ethnic group within an area of !igeria where a vast amount of the oil wealth comes from, but which has been left highly impoverished, severely underdeveloped, and ecologically decimated. &GC /hen Abacha could no longer tolerate 'arowiwa>s strident public appeals for the fair treatment of his people, Abacha had him hanged, despite urgent and fervent pleas from prominent !igerians and some world leaders. &G1 'uch was life under the Abacha regime. 6nder Abacha>s deplorable and regrettable regime, unemployment soared, &G& while crime s#yroc#eted. &G(

&3G'ee, e.g., -aylor, A !ation on the Brin#, supra note &1GAIn the interview, %ournalist and author of a boo# on !igeria entitled ?-his :ouse :as 0allenL 5idnight in !igeria,@ =ral 5aier described, among others, the terrible communication system in !igeria while he was a %ournalist there thusly ?-he phones were %ust catastrophic. -hey are still difficult Hbut nowI they>re much, much better@B. &3E'ee 1hilip $. A#a, Education& Economic $evelopment& and Return to $emocratic Politics in "i'eria , 1G 7. -hird /orld 'tud. &1, &,, A'pring &CC1BAhereinafter, A#a, )eturn to 8emocratic 1oliticsB Ahighlighting the neglect of public education in !igeria, beginning with the inept and corrupt government of 'hehu 'hagari in the early 1EGCs and culminating in the near destruction of the educational system during the roguish and murderous governments of ;enerals Ibrahim Babangida, and 'ani Abacha. A#a observedL 6nder ;en. Babangida A1EG.-1EE(B and ;en. Abacha A1EE(-EGB, universities and other institutions of higher learning were regularly closed down, sometimes for an entire year, and teachers> salaries, what little of them the hyper-inflationary economy did not wipe out, remained unpaid for several months on end. -hese unfavorable conditions of wor# were coupled with harsh repressiveness Ainternal citation omittedB. &GC'ee, e.g., $rawford Foung, #he Impossi1le "ecessity of "i'eria. A /tru''le for "ationhood, 0<)EI;! A00AI)', !ovemberP8ecember 1EE2, at 1(E A?<goni discontent germinated in the deepening conviction that <goniland>s ecosystem had been ravaged in pursuit of oil production, the revenues from which accrued entirely to the !igeria stateHwhich the brutal despot 'ani Abacha and his cabal shamelessly misappropriatedI, with little benefit returned to the <goni community.@B* A#a, 1olicy of Ethnic )econciliation, supra note 1., at (,3 Adescribing the destruction of the ecosystem within <goniland, including the fact that ?'hellH'hell <il $orpI had been operating in the area going bac# to the ?late 1E.Cs, resulting in the pollution of a stream, destruction of farm crops, and other losses to property. -he community had received little or no compensation, while villagers called for social amenities such as the provision of electricity.@?BA9uoting 7edre"e% ;. 0rynas, Oil in "i'eria: Conflict and (iti'ation %et een Oil Companies and Ailla'e Communities .. A&CCCBB. &G1'ee A#a, 1olicy of Ethnic reconciliation, supra note 1., at (,.. &G&'ee )upert, !igeria>s 'trongman 8ies, supra note 1CAhighlighting the deplorable condition of the !igerian masses under the brutal Abacha cabal, with ?unemployment...estimated by analysts to be at least &. percentHa very conservative estimate indeedI. 5illions of !igerians survive on ingenuity and doggedness as street vendors, curbside fi -it men, prostitutes, subsistence farmers.@B. &G('ee -aylor, A !ation on the Brin#, supra note &1G* 8ellios, Art of the 'teal, supra note &2..
,,

In addition, government infrastructures rotted from lac# of maintenance and care, while generals and civilians in bed with the corrupt military cabal flaunted their ill-gotten wealth with impunity, &G, and siphoned the nation>s riches to money laundering havens in Europe and the 6nited 'tates, &G. with financial institutions in +ondon, !ew For#, and other /estern cities and countries acting as the conduits. &G2 Abacha>s regime is notable for its rec#less disregard for the life and liberty of the average !igerian, and his bra"en and shameless conversion of the national treasury to his personal piggy ban#. &G3 By the time Abacha suddenly died in 1EEG allegedly during a !iagra fueled tryst with foreign prostitutes, &GG he had reportedly robbed the nation of more than si billion dollars within his relatively short stay in office,&GE thus surpassing the rapacity of even the embodiment of #leptocracy-5obutu 'ese 'e#o of the $ongo )epublic.&EC Although corrupt rule had fostered an economic and social tragedy upon !igeria

&G,'ee, e.g., 8ellios, Art of the 'teal, supra note &2.. 'ee also <rr, supra note &1G. &G.'ee, e.g., 1eter $apella, (a yers /eek ,reeBe on A1acha3s U2 Accounts, -:E ;6A)8IA! A+ondonB, 7une G, &CCC, at pg. &2 Ahereinafter, $apella, Abacha>s 6= AccountsBA?-he !igerian authorities are trying to recover billions of dollars siphoned from !igeria>s economy during the five years of ;eneral Abacha>s military dictatorship...Assets fro"en in 'wit"erland and +u embourg turned out to be 1C times greater than e pected.@B. &G2'ee, e.g., -imothy <>Brien, Panel to ,ocus on U./. %ank and $eposits 1y Africans , -:E !E/ F<)= -I5E', !ovember ., 1EEE, at A11 A?-he accounts controlled by ;eneral Abacha>s sons were in +ondon and !ew For#.@B* 0iona 0lec#, / iss %anks (aunder #heir #arnished Ima'e , '$<-+A!8 <! '6!8AF, !ovember &., &CC1, at pg. && Anarrating the laundering of corrupt money in 'wit"erland by dictators 'ani Abacha, 5obutu 'ese 'e#o of the $ongo )epublic, and 'lobodan 5ilosevic of 'erbia, among othersB. &G3'ee A%ani, supra note 1G&.A?8uring his HAbacha>sI reign, many people were mysteriously #illed. 1a Alfred )ewane, =udi Abiola, 'uliat Adede%i, the attempted murder of Ale Ibru. -he list is endless.@B* 8ellios, Art of the 'teal, supra note &2.Aobserving that Abacha reputedly looted more than si billion dollars from the !igerian oil sector, in a country where millions struggle every day to merely survive, and the homeless and beggars aboundB. &GG'ee, e.g., -he +ost Billions, supra note 1GA?<n 7une G, 1EEG, as he HAbachaI was about to depart on a state visit, the general got an urge. :e left his marble state-house at , a.m., and had his driver ta#e him to a nearby villa. -he details are mur#y, but according to authoritative !igerian sources, the .(-year-old military dictator died there during a Kiagra-fueled orgy with three Indian prostitutes.@B. &GE'ee 8ellios, Art of the 'teal, supra note &2.A?Abacha is widely reported to have ?chopped@ Hta#en proceeds of briberyI more than Q2 billion from the nation>s oil wealth.@B. &ECIt is estimated that 5obutu robbed his country of about Q, billion during his lengthy ruinous and murderous rule, which left his mineral rich country of the $ongo )epublic in tatters. 'ee, e.g., 7immy Burns, 5ar# :uband, 4 5ichael :olman, Mo1utu %uilt a ,ortune of LM1n from (ooted Aid, 0I!A!$IA+ -I5E' A+ondonB, 5ay 1&, 1EE3, 0ront 1age Ahereinafter, Burns, :uband, 4 :olman, 0ortune of Q,bn from +ooted AidB A?@-hirty years of embe""lement by Daire>s ruling elite allowed 1resident 5obutu 'ese 'e#o to accumulate a fortune which pea#ed at Q,bn ...in the mid 1EGCs, an 0- H0inancial -imesI investigation reveals.@B. :owever, compared to Abacha who allegedly robbed !igeria of Q2 billion during only five years of rapacious and murderous rule, Abacha appears to have gained the title of the most greedy and rapacious #leptocrat to date in Africa. 'ee, e.g., 'ee 8ellios, Art of the 'teal, supra note &2. ...A?Abacha is widely reported to have ?chopped@ Hta#en proceeds
,.

during and after independence, the Abacha regime was a complete nightmare of #illings and unparalleled looting of the national treasury. &E1 Abacha>s capricious regime was, without a doubt, the most savage and unpatriotic of all post colonial governments in !igeria>s history. &E& It epitomi"ed the basest of human greed, and encapsulated the meanness of an unpatriotic Jleader> bent on wrec#ing the entire nation for his own personal profit. #*E E,,EC#/ O, PO(I#ICA( CORRUP#IO" O" A,RICA" /OCIA( A"$ ECO"OMIC (I, Although colonialism, as chronicled in this article, wrea#ed havoc on African lives and property, and virtually crippled the development of the continent because of the enormous colonial looting and siphoning to Europe and the Americas of Africa>s human and material resources, post-independence corruption has not only e acerbated Africa>s woes, but has become the albatross of the continent, and the greatest impediment to development. &E( -hrough corrupt practices, a few greedy and unconscionable Jleaders> and people with connection to the Jleaders> have stolen and converted to their private uses, enormous amounts of the public>s wealth and resources. -he result is the unavailability of funds and resources for critically needed public infrastructures, such as stable electricity generating sources and well-maintained roads* &E, well-e9uipped and clean medical facilities, among others. &E. In turn, due to unreliable power supply in many African countries, the wheels of industry of briberyI more than Q2 billion from the nation>s oil wealth.@B.

&E1'ee supra notes &G3 and &EC and accompanying te ts. &E&'ee, e.g., A#a, 8ividend of 8emocracy, supra note 1C2, at &(& A?'ani Abacha , was the most crudely repressive Hmilitary regimeI of them all.@B. &E(!otwithstanding the endemic corruption within many African countries, some countries such as Botswana and 5auritius, among few others, are 9uite well managed. 'ee, e.g., 1hilip $. A#a, Africa in the "e )orld Order: #he #rou1le ith the "otion of African Mar'inaliBation , E -ulane 7. of Int>l 4 $omp. +aw1G3, &CC A'pring &CC1BAhereinafter, A#a, -rouble with African 5arginali"ationB &E,'ee, e.g., 8ellios, Art of the 'teal, supra note &2. Adecrying the deplorable condition of the roads in +agos, !igeria, while late dictator 'ani Abacha and his band of rogues shamelessly plundered the nation>s resourcesB. 'ee also, 6nder !ew 5anagement, supra note &(C Anoting that due to the sad legacy of a series of dictatorships in !igeria>s history with their penchant for virulent corruption ?-he roads are pitted with potholes and clogged with rubbish. -elephone and power lines wor# intermittently at best, and often not at all. 0actories are idle.@B. &E.'ee, e.g., 7onathan 8imbleby, A $ecade A'o& (ife E+pectancy in U'anda as MN ?ears and Risin'. #oday it is M0 ?ears and ,allin'. #hat is Russian Roulette )ithout the Choice , '$<-+A!8 <! '6!8AF, August 1&, &CC1, at pg. 1. Ahereinafter, 8imbleby, )ussian )oulette /ithout the $hoiceBAnoting that he could have chosen almost any African city and found the same conditions, the writer describes the appalling condition of a hospital apparently intended to serve a population of 13G, CCC people. According to the disturbing account, the hospital was supposed to have seven doctors, but in reality, had only three full-time doctors. <f the three doctors, only one was actively attempting to attend to the over one hundred patients in all stages of illness. !either a nurse, nor a pharmacist was in sight, even though the hospital was supposed to have 2C nurses. Even
,2

virtually grind to a standstill or a crawl every day of the wee#, depriving these nations of economic growth and opportunities.&E2 0actories sit idly, andPor produce at severely below capacity, ma#ing it virtually impossible for companies to hire or e pand employment opportunities for millions yearning for %obs. &E3 -he tragic result is severe underemployment and unemployment, &EG which has propelled many to lives of crime, debauchery, and incredible misery.&EE In addition, the resulting lac# of opportunities and favorable %ob environments have led to massive brain of African intellectuals to other continents.
(CC

more disturbing, the hospital had no drugs to dispense. 'ee also, =imani, *ealth and Medicine: )hy $octors are ,leein' $o n /outh, A0)I$A !E/', 7uly ., &CC1 Adecrying the decrepit condition of =enyan hospitals, particularly public hospitals ?most of which lac# syringes, gloves, gowns and mas#s,@ and drugs, and the abysmal salaries paid to physicians, which in turn has compelled many to emmigrate to countries in 'outh Africa for greener pasturesB. According to the account, ?In 5ay last year, for instance, doctors wor#ing at the 5acha#os 8istrict :ospital were so frustrated by watching their patients die from curable diseases they went on stri#e to compel the ministry Hof healthI to supply their institution with drugs.@ -he chairman of the 'urgical 'ociety of =enya, 5ala#i /arambo, ?complained that he did not understand the rationale behind the ;overnment spending money to train surgeons, only to post them to decrepit hospitals without any surgical e9uipment or medical supplies.@

&E2'ee, e.g., Constraints /tunt -ro th of ,irms, -:E EA'- A0)I$A!, August 13, 1EEE Adescribing the ruinous economic conse9uences of unstable power supply on industry in 6ganda, which is typical of many other African countriesB. According to the article ?A total of E1 operating days are lost by firms due to power shortages a year.@ &E3'ee id. 'ee also Erich <goso-<polot, NOpc of U'andan ,irms -ive %ri1es@)orld %ank Report , A0)I$A !E/', 'eptember &1, &CCC Anarrating the gauntlet of bribes companies pay in order to carry out their wor#, and the corresponding effect on anemic investment e pansion and, loss of government revenue for public pro%ectsB* Under "e Mana'ement, -:E E$<!<5I'- A6.'. EditionB, 7anuary 1., &CCC Aemphasi"ing that as a result of shameless military misrule and unbridled corruption in !igeria, particularly under the misbegotten Abacha cabal ?-he roads are pitted with potholes and clogged with rubbish. -elephone and power lines wor# intermittently at best, and often not at all. 0actories are idle.@B. &EG'ee, e.g., 8avan 5ahara%, 2enya3s %i' Man is %ein' %elittled: President Moi has Ruled /ince ;PFN. "o a (ame $uck& *e is %ein' /corned Even 1y Allies for #ryin' to Pick a /uccessor 4)ho Can 1e -uided&3 +<' A!;E+E' -I5E', A'unday :ome EditionB, August 1G, &CC&, pg. 1 0oreign 8es# Anoting ?the meager wages of those fortunate enough to haveH%obsI,@ while ?1resident 8aniel Arap 5oi, a power-wielding autocrat who once silenced his critics by %ailing them,@ and ?reputed to be one of the richest men in East Africa@ schemes to handpic# a successor who would not have the guts to investigate 5oi>s rapacious rule which has left =enya in economic and social tattersB. 'ee also7im1a1 e. U/LQFOm Could 1e (ost to #o1acco %an , A0)I$A !E/', 0ebruary G, &CC1 Ahighlighting Dimbabwe>s ?debilitating fuel and power shortages,@ with attendant ?unemployment of 2C percent,@ while it struggles with threats to its tobacco industry which is its ?single largest foreign currency earner, accounting for (C percent of its annual e port receipts.@B. &EE'ee, e.g., 5ahara%, supra note &EG Aobserving that infrastructural collapse and poverty have resulted in a crime epidemic within the =enyan capital !airobi such that many people now refer to it as ?!airobbery.@B Aemphasis in the originalB. 'ee also 8ellios, Art of the 'teal, supra note &2. Anoting that many people were succumbing to fraud and corruption as a way of survival in a society that had been rac#ed by rampant misrule, particularly during the murderous and ruinous Abacha regimeB. (CC'ee, e.g., A#a, )eturn to 8emocratic 1olitics, supra note &3E, Asadly observing that due to lac# of
,3

In addition, the absence of stable supplies of electricity in many countries, due to lac# of funds for the maintenance and upgrade of electrical grids, (C1 has made life indisputably difficult for most Africans. Imagine ba#ing in the African heat in a sprawling metropolis such as +agos without the benefit of your air conditioner, because the electricity, when available, is constantly interrupted. Imagine traffic control lights, where and when installed, remaining nonfunctional during busy rush hour traffic because of the absence of electricity. Imagine medical e9uipment remaining unusable and idle, while the seriously and critically ill go without necessary and needed treatment in hospitals and clinics and die needlessly, because of the absence of reliable power supply. 'uch is life in many African cities and towns. (C& 5eanwhile, ta#e the case of road maintenance. 8ue to the absence of needed funds, which corrupt officials and Jbusiness people> have stolen and siphoned away to countries in other continents, many roads in African cities, towns, and villages remain death traps for motorists because of lac# of proper maintenance, or in some instances, the complete absence of maintenance. (C( -a#e the matter of medical e9uipment and supplies. 5illions of Africans die needlessly every year from easily treatable and curable diseases such as typhoid, malaria, and measles, among others, due to the absence of needed medical supplies and e9uipment. (C, )egrettably, medical e9uipment and supplies remain absent even when they have been provided for in government budgets. (C. /hen purchased, medical e9uipments remain uncared for in many places, because the officials in charge of the maintenance funds simply poc#et the funds, without regard for the lives and health that would be destroyed by the absence of properly maintained medical e9uipment. (C2

opportunities in the country of !igeria, and the shameful lac# of resources for educational institutions, educated !igerians emigrate in droves to other countries and continents, while institutions of higher learning ?including even the li#es of Ibadan and !su##a H-he 6niversity of !igeria at Ibadan, and the 6niversity of !igeria at !su##aI do without 9ualified faculty.@B.

(C1'ee supra note &E, and accompanying te t. (C&'ee id. (C('ee 6nder !ew 5anagement, supra note &(C. (C,'ee, 8imbleby, )ussian )oulette /ithout the $hoice, supra note &E.* =imani, supra note &E.. (C.'ee id. (C2'ee, e.g., =imani, supra note &E. Anoting the apparent indifference of the =enyan 5inistry of :ealth to the abysmal lac# of medical e9uipments in public hospitalsB.
,G

In addition to the foregoing problems generated by corruption, the compromised abilities of the governments to maintain, upgrade, and e pand needed infrastructures which are necessary for economic development and e pansion because of the continuous siphoning of the public wealth by a few unconscionable groups and individuals, has greatly contributed to the chronic brain drain in many African countries. Brain drain in this conte t involve situations where the best and the brightest of the teachers and other professionals emigrate to foreign countries, usually to Europe, and the 6nited 'tates in search of better opportunities. (C3 5ost of the best African minds may be found on the faculties of European and American universities and colleges, and in various other professional fields in these places. (CG 5eanwhile, the high cost of living in proportion to poor salaries, and the continued adverse effects of governmental corruption and plundering continually e ert a powerful pressure on those professionals who remain behind to %oin the bandwagon of corrupt practices or wallow in misery. (CE 1olitical corruption within African countries has so undermined the confidence of the governed that virtual states of anarchy e ist in many places. Anarchy in this sense refers to the inclination of most people to disobey the e isting laws on the boo#s, and to the belief that survival depends on Jeveryone for himself or herself.> -he end result is a belief among many that honesty impoverishes and brings misery, while embe""lement of public funds is an acceptable way of wealth ac9uisition. (1C In effect, corruption has undermined the effective implementation of the rule of law in many societies, and led to the moral debauchery of the citi"enry, who see no benefit in striving for a clean e istence. (11 /hile some may disagree with our assessment of the effect of corruption on the rule of law in many African societies, it is

(C3'ee A#a, Return to $emocratic Politics, supra note &3E, at &. Adescribing brain drain as a massive e odus of highly trained professionals from their country of origin to other countries in search of better opportunitiesB.. (CG'ee id. (CE'ee generally id. (1C'ee, e.g., 6nder !ew 5anagement, supra note &(C A?0or as long as most !igerians can remember, the rewards for honesty and industry have been miserable, whereas corruption has paid magnificently.@B. -he tragic conse9uences of corruption is that it not only undermines confidence in the rewards of honesty and hard wor#, ?corruption distorts mar#et forces, undermines the rule of law, erodes public trust, and, ultimately, threatens political stability,@ !ancy Duc#er, #he (a & E+pectation& and Reality in the Marketplace: #he Pro1lems of and Responses to Corruption, (C +aw 4 1ol>y Int>l Bus. 1(E, 1,C A1EEEBAhereinafter, Duc#er, 1roblems of and )esponses to $orruptionB. (11'ee id.
,E

abundantly clear that intentional and cavalier violations of the laws on the boo#s by the political leadership, and the citi"enry, as is the case in many of these societies, cannot be e9uated with conduct that is consistent with the rule of law. -he rule of law, at a minimum, re9uires compliance with, and enforcement of reasonable rules and regulations implemented for the benefit of society. 5any of the countries within this mineral rich continent do not 9ualify as nations under the rule of law to the e tent the dictators and tyrants chronicled in this article robbed and continue to rob their countries blind without fear of punishment, and orchestrated the murders of many. -he point which we stress is that corruption in Africa has been, and continues to be a threat to the health and well-being of the average African, and without a doubt, continues the severe underdevelopment of that continent. $orruption in Africa is not an esoteric sub%ect suitable only for occasional academic commentary, but is a debilitating and destabili"ing influence on the entire continent. It has deprived the average African of the

benefits of the enormous wealth and resources of that continent, while enriching a few unconscionable groups and individuals. $orruption has so pervaded many African countries that even ban#ing institutions, which would be e pected to guide their assets and those of their customers, have been #nown to lend indiscriminately to their ma%or share holders, and directors without regard to their abilities to repay loans. (1& -he endemic corruption in the African continent, and the resulting infrastructural inade9uacy and underdevelopment has predictably scarred off foreign investors,(1( thus ma#ing it even harder to realistically anticipate any economic boom in the foreseeable future. #*E RO(E O, #*E )E/# I" ,O/#ERI"- PO(I#ICA( CORRUP#IO" I" A,RICA

Although the reprehensible conduct of African Jleaders> such as the late 'ani Abacha of !igeria, and 5obutu 'ese 'e#o of the $ongo )epublic, among others, can neither be e cused, %ustified, nor be found to posses any redeeming value, it is also a sad fact that the rapacity of these unconscionable rogues were made possible by western actions and policies. -a#e for e ample 5obutu. 8espite virtually treating his people as slaves, robbing his country blind, and maintaining his roguish and brutal rule through murder and torture, the 6nited 'tates

(1&'ee =onyin A%ayi 4 'imisola <sosamii, On the #rail of a /petre@$esta1iliBation of $evelopin' and #ransitional Economies: A Case /tudy of Corruption in "i'eria , 1. 8ic#. 7. Int>l +. .,., ..E A'pring 1EE3BAregarding the ban#ing crisis in !igeria in the 1EECs, the writers observed that ?In some instances, about GCM of the bad loans given by ban#s were given to its ma%ority shareholders, directors, or promoters.@B (1('ee Ayittey, 5ultilateral Institutions, supra note 112, at .EE Aemphasi"ing that obstructive bureaucracy, ?unreliable water and electricity supplies, demands for bribes, and a collapsed infrastructure,@ among other factors, have deterred foreign investors, and even investment by the same leaders who have amassed illgotten wealth through corrupt practicesB.
.C

government, through the $.I.A., #ept him in power for more than thirty years by training and e9uipping troops loyal to him with millions of dollars of ta payer money. (1, Even when it was obvious that 5obutu was destroying his country through his shameless e propriation of the nation>s wealth and resources he remained a darling of the 6nited 'tates government. (1. 5eanwhile, governmental and financial institutions in the western world made it possible for 5obutu to continue stealing and laundering stolen billions. (12 Although some may argue that the tensions and alliances of the cold war %ustified western support for 5obutu, insofar as he was seen s9uarely within the western ideological camp, such a position would be specious at best. 5obutu>s unbridled stealing and corrupt practices gave capitalism a bad image, and in no way, in our

humble opinion, advanced the ideals allegedly cherished by the western camp during the cold war, i.e., capitalism, democracy, and a free society infused by the ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. -a#e another e ample, that of !igeria>s Abacha. Abacha, as we have set forth above, embodied the worst of any leader. :e maintained a regime unparalleled in !igeria in its brutality and stealing. Fet, even this meanest of #leptocrats found a safe haven for his stolen billions in American and European ban#s. (13 Although, western governments curtailed their contacts with the Abacha regime, (1G these same governments failed to hear no evil, and see no evil, while their financial institutions were laundering, sheltering, and profiting from Abacha>s stolen billions.(1E Apparently, these western countries did not care that Abacha was laundering billions of dollars into their financial institutions, while the vast ma%ority of !igerians were wallowing in ab%ect poverty and misery.

(1,'ee, e.g., Pro1lems ith Current U./. Policy, . 0<)EI;! 1<+I$F I! 0<$6' &, AApril ., &CCCB. (1.'ee id. (12'ee, e.g., Burns, :uband 4 :olman, 0ortune of Q,bn from +ooted Aid, supra note &ECA?/estern government and financial institutions supported and provided aid to 5r. 5obutu from even before he sei"ed power in 1E2., in spite of clear evidence that the national wealth was being systematically stolen.@B. (13'ee, e.g.,$apella, Abacha>s 6= Accounts, supra note &G.A?-he !igerian authorities are trying to recover billions of dollars siphoned from !igeria>s economy during the five years of ;eneral Abacha>s military dictatorship. 'o far more than 8ollars 1.& bn has been fro"en in ban#s in 'wit"erland and +u embourg, but Britain is believed to have been the focal point of transactions that spanned more than 1CC accounts in several countries. !igerian sources say they have evidence that some of the &C-(C accounts held in Britain were in ;eneral Abacha>s own name.@B* )ena 'inger, "e )ays to Monitor 2leptocrats, -:E $:)I'-IA! '$IE!$E 5<!I-<), 8ecember &3, &CCC, at 2 Aobserving that during Abacha>s five years of dictatorial rule ?his family and friends are accused of diverting billions of dollars from the -reasury to private accounts in Europe and the 6'.@B. (1G'ee, e.g., A#a, 8ividend of 8emocracy, supra note 1C2, at &.3. (1E'ee, e.g., supra notes (12 and (13 and accompanying te ts.
.1

-he unfortunate reality is that despots li#e 5obutu, Abacha, and the others chronicled in this article, were able to rob their suffering countries of billions of dollars and profit from their looting because western institutions protected their ill-gotten wealth. 'ince robbers of national treasuries must hide their loot somewhere, and since their continued looting is dependent upon assurance, either e plicit or implicit that the nations where they hide their booty will offer protection, (&C almost without e ception, the African despots chronicled in this article were able to steal from their unfortunate sub%ects because they #new that western institutions would protect their stolen wealth. )egrettably, western nations, not only laundered the stolen wealth of these Jleader-robbers> but in many instances, actively ensured their continued rule through military support and training. (&1 /e posit that perhaps the e tent of corruption among the despots mentioned in this article would have been less, or even substantially less, if there was no assurance that their loot could be laundered in western countries and protected. If the west had acted with the same appropriate "eal it displays in fighting money laundering from drug dealers in dealing with the loot of African despots we would perhaps, not have the present level of underdevelopment and misery in Africa, which have been caused in large part by the absence of wealth and resources siphoned to Europe and America by corrupt Jleaders.> (&& African corruption appears to be of the worst #ind imaginable in any region of the world, since the proceeds of corruption are siphoned to wealthy countries in the west, leaving the already impoverished African countries without desperately needed resources and investment. (&( PO#E"#IA( )A?/ O, A$$RE//I"- PO(I#ICA( CORRUP#IO" I" A,RICA

(&C'ee, e.g., Kogl, 'upply 'ide of ;lobal $orruption, supra note 1GAobserving that multinational corporations which are ma%or payers of bribes to government officials, apparently assist those officials to hide their loot since ?those who ta#e bribes must find safe international financial channels through which they can ban# their ill-gotten gains (&1'ee, e.g., 1roblems with $urrent 6.'. 1olicy, supra note 113Astressing how 6.'. and 0rench support propped up the vicious regime of 5obutu 'ese 'e#o of the $ongo )epublic, formerly #nown as Daire, and also, how 0rench support for the dictator 7uvenal :abyarimana in )wanda made possible the 1EE, genocide in that countryB. 'ee also #o'o3s #akea ay Economy, -:E E$<!<5I'- A7une 12, 1EECBAchronicling 0rench support for -ogolese dictator ;eneral ;nassingbe Eyadema , including physically rescuing him from a coup, even as his incipient misrule plunged his countrymen and women into ab%ect povertyB. (&&'ee, e.g., -aylor, A !ation on the Brin#, supra note &1GAappropriately observing that African corruption is of the worst #ind imaginable, because the proceeds of corruption are ?actually sent to ban#s in the 6nited 'tates or 'wit"erland or Britain...ripping the guts out of the country, because there can be no investment,@ unli#e corruption in the 6nited 'tates where the proceeds of corruption stays within the 6' economyB. (&('ee id.
.&

<ver the years many commentators have offered e cellent suggestions on dealing with corruption in general. -hese suggestions have ranged from calling on multinational corporations to adopt codes of conduct prohibiting their employees, agents, and representatives from paying bribes, (&, since corporations constitute the primary group of bribe payers, (&. to calls for the vigorous enforcement of the 6nited 'tates 0oreign $orrupt 1ractices Act, which prohibits 6.'. citi"ens and corporations from, among other things, paying a bribe to a foreign official to secure a contract. (&2 -hese are e cellent suggestions. Although we do not pretend to have a magic

wand for solving the problem of corruption in Africa, we strongly believe that the following measures we recommend, if effectively and properly implemented, will nicely compliment the aforementioned suggestions by other commentators, and go a long way in curbing the pervasive rapacity among African leaders, and substantially increase the prospect for Africa>s economic and social development. 0irst, crucial to discouraging the type of enormous looting perpetrated by the li#es of Abacha and 5obutu, are measures to ensure that stolen loot do not find a safe haven. As we have already intimated, Jleader-robbers> must of necessity find a place to hide their stolen millions and billions, and be assured, either e plicitly or implicitly, that their loot will be safe.(&3 -hus, we applaud the recent international movement toward the

criminali"ation of bribery in transnational commerce. /e applaud particularly the <rgani"ation for Economic $ooperation and 8evelopment A?<E$8@B $onvention on $ombating Bribery of 0oreign 1ublic <fficials in International Business -ransactions ?which entered into force on 0ebruary 1., 1EEE.@ (&G -he <E$8 $onvention ?re9uires signatories to criminali"e the bribery of any foreign public official and prohibit accounting practices that

(&,'ee, e.g., -homas /. 8unfee 4 8avid :ess, Perspectives: -ettin' from /al1u to the D#ippin' PointE: #he Role of Corporate Action )ithin a Portfolio of Anti@Corruption /trate'ies , &1 7. Intl. +. Bus. ,31, ,3,-,3G A/inter &CC1B. (&.'ee id. at ,3,. 'ee also ;raham +awton, ,i'htin' %ack A'ainst the %ri1ery Culture. Multinational Chemical Companies, $hemistry and Industry H5aga"ineI, 8ecember 3, 1EEG, !o. &(, at 1g. E.3 Aobserving that ?'ome multinational companies routinely set aside &CM of their foreign pro%ect budgets to pay bribes,@ and noting that ?some companies have been #nown to bribe environmental enforcement officials to overloo# pollution.@B. (&2'ee generally Beverly Earle, #he United /tates ,orei'n Practices Act and the OEC$ Anti@ %ri1ery Recommendation: )hen Moral /uasion )on3t )ork& #ry the Money Ar'ument , 1, 8ic#. 7. Int>l +. &C3 A/inter 1EE2B. (&3'ee Kogl, 'upply 'ide of ;lobal $orruption, supra note 1G. (&G'ee 8unfee and :ess, 0ighting $orruption, supra note 1(, at 2C&.
.(

facilitate the payment or concealment of bribes.@ (&E 'ome other conventions worthy of praise include the <rgani"ation of American 'tates A?<A'@B InterAmerican $onvention against $orruption, adopted in 1EE2, which ?re9uires all signatories to criminali"e bribery,@ and ?provides for financial disclosure and transparency in accounting practices, as well as asset sei"ure, e tradition, and international cooperation in the collection of evidence.@ ((C And the 1EE2 6nited !ations ;eneral Assembly 8eclaration Against $orruption and Bribery in International -ransactions which ?calls for countries to eliminate ta deductions for bribes and to criminali"e bribery,@ and ?encourages cooperation between countries in sharing information necessary for criminal investigations and other legal proceedings.@ ((1 /e applaud these conventions, and advocacy groups such as -ransparency International A?-I@B which advocate the vigorous enforcement of anti-corruption practices to ?reduce money laundering and facilitate the return to developing countries any money illegally obtained by corrupt public officials,@ ((& because we believe that corruption in Africa should be seen as an international problem worthy of attac# through international treaties and cooperation. /e believe that western nations, which are the ma%or launderers of the loot of corrupt African leaders, have an obligation to help address the suffocating effect of corruption on ordinary Africans. -o that end, these countries have an obligation to loosen some of their laws, which ma#e it very difficult to trace, impound, and free"e stolen assets from abroad, i.e., from corrupt leaders. ((( As it stands now, it is pure hypocrisy for western

(&E'ee idAinternal citation omittedB. ((C'ee id. at 2C(. ((1'ee id. at 2C(-2C,. ((&'ee id. at 2C.. ((('ee, e.g., 0iona 0lec#, / iss %anks (aunder #heir #arnished Ima'e , '$<-+A!8 <! '6!8AF, !ovember &., &CC1, at && A?0or decades, it H'wit"erlandI was the country where the ill-gotten gains of the 5afia and corrupt dictators were salted away, safe in the #nowledge that their money would be safe from investigation.@B* -om 5cghie, )hen the )alls Came #um1lin' $o n on the Money (aunderin' Capital of the )orld , 5AI+ <! '6!8AF, 7uly 12, &CCC A?0or decades, strict ban#ing secrecy, allied to a cunning in hiding money and an obstructive attitude to appeals for help from foreign ta authorities and governments, has earned the little principality Hof +iechtensteinI a reputation as an attractive place for money laundering...;erman intelligence agents say one of the main ban#s in +iechtenstein is also believed to have held accounts for the late, corrupt Dairean president 7oseph 5obutu and $olombian drug boss 1ablo Escobar@B* Alan Beattie, Money (aunderin' Approach 4#hreatens City3 Corruption Investi'ation MPs Call for Chan'es in (a to make it Easier to ,reeBe /uspicious Assets from Oversea , 0I!A!$IA+ -I5E' A+ondonB, April ,, &CC1, at & Alamenting the regrettable silence and complicity of the British government in safeguarding the proceeds of corruption from poor countries, the writer observed ?-he :ome <ffice Ha government departmentI has yet to respond to a re9uest made last 7une by the !igerian government for assistance in tracing 8ollars 1bn A1ounds 3CCmB of funds stolen under the regime of the late ;eneral 'ani Abacha. A lawyer told the committeeHthe :ouse of $ommons> International
.,

nations to decry the poverty of African nations, and to preach the golden virtues of a free and democratic society, while doing virtually nothing to actively combat corruption, and support progressive leaders such as !igeria>s 1resident <lusegun <basan%o who appear to be serious about dealing with political corruption. :aving cuddled

and helped dictators li#e 5obutu and Eyadema maintain power at the e pense of the well-being of their unfortunate sub%ects, the least western nations can do for Africans in this new world order is to actively help relatively anti-corruption crusading leaders trac# down and recover the billions stolen from their national treasuries. -hrough instruments such as the <E$8 and <A'> conventions, and the 6nited !ation>s declaration against corruption, the international community, particularly the economically and militarily powerful nations of the west, should criminali"e and actively police the laundering of the proceeds of corruption, %ust as is the case with the laundering of drug money, and proceeds from terrorist organi"ations. Although such measures may not

stop the incipient corruption among African Jleaders> it may cause them to pause before stealing and siphoning to western nations the treasuries of their impoverished nations. 'econd, western nations such as Britain, 'wit"erland, +iechtenstein, and to an e tent, the 6nited 'tates, which serve as havens for laundered proceeds of corruption, ((, if they are genuinely interested in the plight of Africans, must ree amine their ban#ing and other financial laws which seem to attract treasury looting tyrants

from Africa and other regions of the less developed world. It is easy to pout that only Africans can solve their own problems. But the reality is different. Africa>s problems are not only due to the actions of Africans, as various sections of this article have made clear. ((. Accordingly, any solution to the problem of corruption in Africa re9uires the assistance of the international community, particularly of the nations where the loots are laundered, if such a measure is to have any chance of success. Any combination of effective measures to address corruption in Africa must include ma#ing it harder for looters such as the Abachas and the 5obutus to launder their loot outside their countries. 8evelopment $ommitteeI that evidence to bac# a similar re9uest from 1a#istan under its last democratic government had sat in the :ome <ffice for & T years.@B.

((,'ee supra note ((( and accompanying te t. ((.In addition to the sections in this article addressing the role of the Europeans and the Americans in the economic woes of Africa, see also A#a, #rou1le ith African Mar'inaliBation, supra note &E(BAappropriately emphasi"ing that the western countries also bear responsibility ?for the e ploitation that came with coloni"ation, and for some of the economic ine9ualities seen today in developing countries.@B.
..

-hird, the new African 6nion AA6B which recently replaced the moribund and ineffective <rgani"ation of African 6nity A?<A6@B, ((2 must abandon the A<6>s handoff approach which allowed murderous tyrants to flourish without the fear of outside intervention or interference. ((3 -o that end, the A6 needs either a standing military force, or a provision for mobili"ing a force to oust leaders when their misrule, i.e., tactics, ineptitude, and robbery, etc., endanger the social and economic viability of an African country. -he main ob%ection to such an

approach, however, may be a fear that such a measure may compromise the sovereignty of the implicated country. /hile such a criticism may have some merit, we must not lose sight of the ob%ectives of the doctrine of sovereignty. -his cherished doctrine, in our opinion, is intended to protect the right of a nation to determine its own fate and to be free from interference by other countries with its internal concerns. -he doctrine,however, is not absolute. Eminent writers over time have recogni"ed the necessity of humanitarian intervention when a state treats its own people ?in such a way as to deny their fundamental human rights and to shoc# the conscience of man#ind.@ ((G :umanitarian intervention has gained so much acceptance among respectable writers, and even governments, that it is deemed ?traditionally a part of international law,@ ((E even though Article &A,B of the $harter of the 6nited !ations A6!B, appears to prohibit humanitarian intervention. (,C In the words of one particularly perceptive scholar of human rights ?:ow a country treats its own citi"ens is no longer e clusively its internal affairs but rather has emerged today as the legitimate business of the world.@ (,1 /e agree with the concept of humanitarian intervention as a means of wrestling the reins of power from

((2'ee, e.g., )achel +. 'warns, African (eaders $rop Old -roup for One #hat *as Po er , -:E !E/ F<)= -I5E' <! -:E /EB, 7uly E, &CC& Ahereinafter, 'warns, +eaders 8rop <ld ;roupBA?6nli#e the <rgani"ation of African 6nity, the new group will have the right to intervene with member states in cases of genocide, war crimes or gross violations of human rights. Its members must promise to hold free elections and to allow opposition parties to campaign freely.@B. 8espite the re9uirement that member states must promise to hold free elections, it is doubtful whether this re9uirement will be enforced, since one of the influential founders of the new body, 5uammar el-Saddafi ?the +ibyan leader...has yet to hold elections during his more than (C years in power,@ id.B. ((3'ee, e.g., A#a, *uman Ri'hts in Africa , supra note (,, at (E,-E. Ahighlighting the silence of the <A6 in the face of atrocious human rights abuses by despotic African Jleaders.>B. ((G'ee, e.g., ;erhard von ;lahn, (a Amon' "ations: An Introduction to Pu1lic International (a A0ourth Edition. 1EG1BA5ac5illian 1ublishing $ompany, !ew For#B at 12. Areferencing ;rotius, Kattel, and /estla#eB. ((E'ee id. at 122. (,C'ee id. (,1'ee A#a, :uman )ights in Africa, supra note (,, at (2E
.2

leaders who bra"enly steal from their poor countries, thus depriving their unfortunate sub%ects the fundamental right to the resources of their own nations. -he A6, in order to serve as a chec# on rampant misrule in Africa, must have an avenue, and the will to humanely intervene in African countries to remove the li#es of Abacha, !guema, and 5obutu, among others. -he protection of African citi"ens must ta#e precedence over the right of corrupt tyrants to use sovereignty as an e cuse to mistreat their own people and escape action by the international community.(,& 0or what good came out of a strict adherence to respect for sovereignty while !guema of E9uatorial ;uinea and 1ol 1ot of $ambodia were massacring and dehumani"ing their own peopleO /ould it not have been more logical, humane, and sensible to have saved the millions of innocents who perished under the murderous and barbarous rules of !guema and 1ol 1ot, instead of the hands-off approach which allowed the senseless carnage to continue until it was too lateO 0ourth, foreign aid constitutes a substantial part of the money coming into

African countries each year. (,( 'ome commentators have appropriately observed that donated funds, have in some instances, e acerbated the problem of corruption in Africa, because of lac# of accountability for the donated resources.(,, 8onors must not compound the problem of corruption in Africa with la oversight of donated

resources. -o that end, we implore donors to insist on accountability, and in some instances, insist on being allowed to physically supervise the bidding and awarding of contracts involving donated funds. -hese donors, in appropriate situations, may also insist on physically supervising contractors> performances under the contracts. Although this proposal runs the ris# of diminishing the donee countries> sense of control over their internal affairs, as we have previously indicated, concerns over the doctrine of sovereignty, while appropriate, must not be allowed as an e cuse for robbing despots to continue the looting of resources that belongs to the public. -hus, we applaud the recent and emerging reali"ation by organi"ations such as -ransparency International, which stridently advocate the indispensability of accountability in government and international aid programs. (,. -o the e tent donors of

(,&'ee id. at (23 Aemphasi"ing that ?'overeignty needs to be creatively reconciled with human rights, rather than pose barriers to human rights en%oyment.@B. In addition, it is heartening to hear important African leaders such as !igeria>s <lusegun <basan%o, 'outh Africa>s -habo 5be#i, and 'enegal>s president strongly advocate the view ?that sovereignty no longer be used as a shield to hide gross official misconduct,@ )achel +. 'warns, supra note ((2. (,('ee, e.g., Ayittey, Multilateral Institutions, supra note 112, at .E3 Anoting that over 1& billion dollars in foreign aid is pumped annually into AfricaB. (,,'ee id. at .E3-EG (,.'ee, e.g., Duc#er, 1roblems of and )esponses to $orruption, supra note (1C.
.3

foreign aid intend their gifts to benefit the vast ma%ority of the intended beneficiaries, it behooves them to e plore the best ways of utili"ing the donated resources to directly impact the lives of the intended beneficiaries by insisting on strict accountability. In light of the deplorable record of widespread political corruption in Africa, donors must abandon the notion that the political leaders are better suited to utili"e donated resources for the benefit of their sub%ects. Although there is a genuine concern that some of the strings currently attached to foreign aid are counterproductive,(,2 such a concern does not obviate the need for reasonable and necessary accountability over donated resources to ensure their effective utili"ation. CO"C(U/IO"/ Although colonialism, with its inhumane and barbarous ways, robbed African societies of their natural resources, and sub%ected Africans to cruel and humiliating treatment, the licentious rapacity of many post-colonial African leaders continues the brutali"ation of the average African, and ensures crushing poverty among the vast ma%ority of the inhabitants of that continent. /e believe that the international community, particularly the western countries which supported the rule of these despotic robbers, and helped launder their loot, have an obligation to help combat corruption in Africa. Although it is easy to assert that only Africans can solve their own problems, it

is also indisputable that the international community, particularly western nations, contributed to Africa>s number one problem-corruption by actively supporting bra"enly corrupt and murderous African leaders, and then helping protect their ill-gotten wealth. -o that end, Africa needs all the help it can get in addressing the enduring cancer within the continent-political corruption.

(,2'ee generally Ayittey, 5ultilateral Institutions, supra note 112.

.G