Coups and the clowns they propel to power

The problem with African coup d’etats is not just the fact that they flout constitutionalism — they also have an unfortunate tendency to propel virtual clowns to power whose only distinction is force of arms.

Moussa Dadis Camara in Guinea is a perfect example.

A small-time army captain whom nobody had heard of before, stormed to power in December last year promising a clean sweep.

The regime of Lansana Conte, who had just died, had presided since 1984 over a basketcase of a country, dirt-poor despite having perhaps the leading deposits of bauxite in the world, plus a fair amount of diamonds and other minerals.

The first thing Captain Camara did was to demand an audit of the lucrative bauxite mining contracts awarded to foreign firms like Rio Tinto.

Next was a crackdown on drug trafficking, in which Guinea was becoming a major staging post owing in large measure to official complicity and lax policing.

At first, there was tremendous public goodwill especially when he promised to eradicate public corruption, which had become the bane of the sclerotic Conte dictatorship.

But the eccentric manner with which he went about the clean-up provoked early fears that Africa may have acquired a new egomaniac.

Troops from the elite presidential guard were paraded on live television begging on their knees for forgiveness in front of a stern Camara lounging on a comfortable sofa.

Top people accused of being part of drug trafficking rings were likewise paraded on live TV.

Among those who were humiliated this way was the former president’s son, Ousmane Conte.

Guineans were left all the more puzzled by the haphazard ways of their leader since it was already public knowledge that the young captain was very close to the Conte family.

Camara’s fleeting popularity has since turned to international opprobrium after last month’s  massacre by his troops of 200 opposition supporters (according to the BBC) who had gathered in Conakry, the capital.

For some reason, there is a political culture in West Africa that tends to breed such thugs.

Take Master-Sergeant Samuel Doe and Yahya jammeh for example.