African Politics Quotes

In the majority of African countries, the electoral bodies have been the personal choice of the imperial president….these bodies are not strong enough to withstand executive pressure to manipulate the results.

I have no intention of being an indifferent looker-on if the distant Powers have the idea of dividing up Africa, for Ethiopia has been for more than fourteen centuries an island of Christians in the middle of a the sea of pagans.

A whiter, brighter Rhodesia

Well, no one gives aid to Zimbabwe through the Mugabe government.

If the Soviet Union and the United States have not experienced direct military confrontations, on the other hand, they supported, armed and trained Africans, to fight other Africans.

Democracy is not for Africa. There was only one African chief and here in Zaire we must make unity.

An old African leader says about leadership, he says that leadership should never be shared; it should always remain in the hands of the dispossessed people. We will lead the revolution.

We Africans continue to allow tyrannical regimes to impose themselves on us.

Under the all-encompassing aid system, too many places in Africa continue to flounder under inept, corrupt and despotic regimes who spend their time courting and catering to the demands of the army of aid organizations.

I will never be known as the former President of Zaire.

For every African state, like Ghana, where democratic institutions seem secure, there is a Mali, a Cote d'Ivoire, and a Zimbabwe, where democracy is in trouble.

Mobutu was mainstream Africa. Every independent African Government was a one-party state at the time. None allowed opposition. Every one of them had rent-seeking political leaders. The only thing that set Mobutu apart was how ostentatious his theft was.

We were asked to host the Pan African Parliament and we agreed to this.

One of the key lessons of Africa, where state-directed mobilizations of women have been a regular feature of national politics, has been that women’s movements need to retain a degree of independence from the state and ruling parties.

If President Barack Obama wants me to allow marriage for same-sex couples in my country (Zimbabwe), he must come here so that I marry him first.

Every man, woman and child knows about Mugabe, but people say, 'Mogae, who is that?'

African history is filled with experiences of people shooting their way to power and then splintering into factions, like in Somalia and Liberia.

My campaign to become leader of the ANC was pivoted on two things: Renewing the ANC and taking back to the values the were espoused and subscribed to by Nelson Mandela, Oliver Thambo, and many other leaders.

Zimbabwe is an unusual case study in African colonialism in that it was invaded by a private company under Royal Charter.

Zaire is among America's oldest friends, and its president - President Mobutu - one of our most valued friends...And so I was honored to invite President Mobutu to be the first African head of state to come to the United States for an official visit during my presidency

Right. So you go into Darfur and you go into South Africa, you get rid of the white government there. You put sanctions on them. You stand behind Nelson Mandela - who was bankrolled by communists for a time, had the support of certain communist leaders. You go to Ethiopia. You do the same thing.

Africa's downfall has always been the cult of the personality. And their names always seem to begin with M. We've had Mobutu and Mengistu and I'm not going to add Meles to the list.

The richest persons in Africa are heads of state, governors and ministers. So every 'educated' African who wants to be rich - and there is nothing wrong with wanting to be rich - heads straight into government or politics.

The painful truth may be that Zimbabwe, the youngest of Africa's former colonies, has simply followed where the continent has led, treading the well-worn path beaten out of the lie that taking power from the colonialists and delivering democracy to the people are one and the same.

Political authority is problematic in Africa because of the blurry dividing line between the public and the private realm. Formal rules matter less than a series of informal institutions that regulate politics.