Watching old footage of Independence leaders, Jomo Kenyatta, Kamuzu Banda, Kenneth Kaunda, Kwame Nkrumah, etc., one is struck by what Ali Mazrui called the “deification and personalisation of power.”
Effecting some traditional implement or garb, these modern presidents, channelling a traditional chief, stride among cheering and dancing crowds with studied aloofness and an affected benevolent air. Mazrui describes this phenomenon as “ancient kings and modern presidents sharing royal characteristics.”
