LIKE JULIUS NYERERE BEFORE him, President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania is an affable man with a down-to-earth demeanour that has endeared him to millions beyond his country’s borders.

But while the late Nyerere’s dress sense reflected the humility of the working class, Kikwete is clearly a symbol of the capitalism that Tanzania now embraces; a scion of the elegance that has become the trademark of the emerging generation of African presidents.

Kikwete is easily East Africa’s best dressed head of state, being not only well groomed but with a charisma to match.

To big name fashion designers, he represents a new breed of youthful, urbane African presidents who make time to consult fashion designers and browse magazines to keep abreast of evolving trends in both formal and casual wear.

This new fashion-consciousness is a source of new wealth for mainly European fashion designers especially with the two five-year term limit ushering in more youthful and more trendy African heads of state.

They are worldly, being well travelled and thus more exposed to Western designer wear — not to mention having the trim figures needed to set it off.

As for Kenya’s President Mwai Kibaki, his wardrobe has not changed much since his days as a finance minister, while Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni wears his hat like a Mexican bandit in cowboy movies.

Neither of the two shows any concerns with style and could do with lessons from their predecessors on dressing for distinction.

The issue of the president’s clothes is now up for debate, with claims that much of the free spending by many of the continent’s heads of state on clothes is drawn from public funds by way of huge allowances.

The debate gained steam following the trial of former Zambia president Frederick Chiluba, whose high spending on sartorial items during his term of office came in for much scrutiny.

A recent report in the New York Times cites Chiluba’s penchant for designer suits, silk pyjamas and Italian shoes made from snakeskin and ostrich.

IT CLAIMS THAT CHILUBA SPENT $500,000 at a single shop in Boutique Basile in Geneva. His credit card bills were part of the evidence in court. They were a damning statement for a person whose official income was $10,000 a month.

He, however, denied stealing public money, saying sniffilly that, “The party’s president has personal needs.” Luckily for him, the court later acquitted him of corruption charges.

Classy dressing is central in the personal needs of a president; Chiluba simply followed tradition that has seen many African heads of state raid fashion houses in Europe and court top designers for custom made creations.

They may not have depleted their countries’ coffers in the process but their actions are a clear illustration of the importance of lavish dressing in the African corridors of power and its obvious impact on the economy of especially poor countries.

In May, Transparency International’s France chapter sought investigations into the finances of three African heads of state: the late Omar Bongo (Gabon), Teodoro Obieng Nguema (Equatorial Guinea), and Denis Sassou Nguesso (Congo Brazzaville) over possible corruption charges.

The anti-corruption agency cited among others, the presidents’ lavish spending on designer clothes and jewellery as a likely indicator of looting of their countries resources.
It did not put a figure but stressed that it was enough to warrant suspicion of corruption.

But in some countries, high spending on designer apparel by African presidents goes back to the 1960s when most countries attained Independence, effectively granting their leaders unlimited access to their national wealth.

There were two categories of leadership that defined sartorial preferences: While the socialist inclined leaders such as the late Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, former Zambian leader Kenneth Kaunda and the late Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana embraced modest dress, “capitalists” like Mzee Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya and Malawi’s Kamuzu Banda became the first symbols of consumerism of European high fashion.

Kenyatta’s taste for expensive clothes did not, however, begin with his entry to the high office. Rather, his close associates say, it was noted earlier on.

In an interview, the late A.R. Kapila who served as Kenyatta’s lawyer, confessed to a profound admiration for the late president’s dress sense saying; “Even in his earlier days, he was flamboyant, with an excellent taste for good clothes.”

Early photographs from London of the 1950s show him with a stylish leather jacket and Cary grant type hat that reflected the mores of his generation.
More significantly, Kenyatta is credited for bringing the beaded belt (Maasai belt) into vogue when he first wore it as an accessory for casual European styled apparel.

On assuming the presidency, Kenyatta never travelled abroad again (some claim that he had a phobia for air travel) but his wardrobe remained as stylish as ever.

While others travelled abroad to shop for clothes, Kenyatta regularly flew in a designer — allegedly at the state’s expense — to do the fittings for the desired outfits and finish the final job abroad — from where the clothes would be flown back for the head of state.

His most elaborate outfitwas the leopard skin African style outfit complete with headgear which he wore at state functions. Given the price of leopard skins, one outfit must have been worth the price of a three-bedroom house in then middle class locations in Nairobi.

But his successor Daniel Arap Moi was a frequent overseas traveller, where it is said he and his entourage spent generously at boutiques and on hand-made design.

He was not as trendy as Kenyatta but still had a fine wardrobe on both official and weekend wear.

One indication of his high spending on clothes and accessories came following the reported theft of the golden cockerel that adorned his jacket lapel on major occasions.

The coat lapel design ornament was in gold and reportedly valued at Ksh6 million ($77,000) which was certainly lavish for a head of state at a time when the country was going through hard times.

In Uganda, the early interruption to Milton Obote’s rule may have denied him the notoriety enjoyed by other longer serving presidents but he was noted for his aristocratic English taste.

Today, there is little to distinguish current President Yoweri Museveni for sharp dressing.

Rwanda President Paul Kagame comes out as too pragmatic to be bothered by the perceived benefits of trendy designer wear.

THE SAME CAN BE SAID OF Kenya’s Mwai Kibaki who is most at home in a dark, two-button suit or a golf outfit.

The latest inductee into the class of chic is South African President Jacob Zuma, who was this year voted his country’s sexiest politician.

However, observers see that more as a compliment to his dancing skills, though Zuma does have good taste in clothes from well before his ascension to the top political seat.

In an article last year, a South African writer noted Zuma’s penchant for Italian suits in luxurious fabrics. But Zuma is said to prefer a tie-less look these days.

Before him, Thabo Mbeki had also made a fashion statement with preferred fittings from Hugo Boss. He is said to have introduced the two-toned collared, stripped shirts with matching cuffs.

According to Karim Fazal of Little Red, the top designer fashion shop in Kenya and franchise holders for Boss in the region, a handmade Hugo Boss suit retails at approximately Ksh300,000 ($4,000). “We do not sell them here but that is what they would cost,” he said.

On the whole Chiluba is not alone in spending big on expensive apparel. Indeed, there are many who may be guilty of spending public funds to load their wardrobe in the belief that the public expects them to look their best even when it means draining resources that could be better utilised elsewhere.

The issue of the president’s wardrobe is finding its way to the public arena with a call to African heads of state to emulate their Western counterparts and wear clothes by local designers as a way of promoting their own fashion industry.

The thinking is that the president’s dress code has major influence on those around him and inevitably becomes a good marketing strategy for the national dress mode.

Good examples are West Africa’s leaders, where preference for traditional wear has continued to impact on the region both as a cultural and fashion statement.