AFRICAN STATES ‘PROTECT ELITES NOT THE POOR’

Recent protests in Kenya over a cost-of-living crisis and unpopular government policy sparked similar demonstrations in other countries including Nigeria, and Uganda.

In this clip, Zimbabwean human rights lawyer and Pan-African activist Brian Kagoro blames the unrest on leaders ignoring the plight of their people. He was speaking at the 2024 National Security Symposium held in Kigali, Rwanda. And he says many governments only look out for the interests of the political elite and multinationals.

In fact, you don’t have to try hard to think of other examples. Recent revolution coups in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger saw new military leaderships vow to regain control of resources from foreign interests. The takeovers had widespread public support, but the reaction of the regional bloc ECOWAS was very different. It imposed sanctions on the West African countries and threatened military intervention against Niger before it backtracked.

So, when Mr Kagoro says African states can be very ‘efficient at protecting a few elites’ at the expense of their people, he’s not wrong.

Video credit: @KigaliToday