Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba's 48th Birthday, April 2022

Uganda's Yoweri Museveni and Rwanda's Paul Kagame are two of the African dictators who have been holding on to power the longest.  Despite their brutal and bloody rules, the two dictators have held onto power mostly through repression, kidnappings,  killings, and disappearances of real or supposed political opponents, journalists, and activists.  Anticipating chaos after their departure and potential dire consequences to their relatives and descendants, the top priority for the two leaders has been the preparation of their succession to the throne by their son and daughter.  Hence,  the two dictators have been taking additional steps, promoting their daughter and son to the top positions in the country political and military institutions. In the recent periods Yoweri Museveni's son, Kainerugaba Muhoozi and Paul Kagame's daughter Ange Kagame have been promoted and appointed to top leadership positions within the military and the government.

RPF Tutsi soldiers disguised in Hutu militias and systematically killing both Hutu and Tutsi civilians across Rwanda in 1994

In a statement released on September 14, 2016 by one of the Rwandan main opposition parties, the New Rwandan National Congress, led by former members of the current Rwandan ruling military organisation, Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), the party leaders have accused their former comrandes of having planned, executed and covered up the genocide of Hutus, a Rwandan ethnic group, through an international "scandalous conspiracy of silence as a means to deny genocide against the Hutu."

 One of the signatories is Dr Theogene Rudasingwa, the new party chairman. Dr Theogene Rudasingwa was Secretary General of the RPF, the Private Adviser to

Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki Speaking at Thabo Mbeki African School of Public and International Affairs in Pretoria, South Africa on March 13, 2024

On March 13, 2024, the former president of South Africa, Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki,  addressed students and alumni at Thabo Mbeki African School of Public and International Affairs at Unisa’s Muckleneuk campus in Pretoria, South Africa. In his speech, he focused on the on-going conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo or DRC). As he plans a visit to Rwanda  in upcoming weeks as an invitee of Rwandan dictator Paul Kagame, he has made controversial statements supporting the narrative by the Rwandan government and military  justifying the invasion of the DRC under the cover of M23 rebels,  with questionable claims of defending some ethnic groups.

Alaa Salah, Kandaka or Nubian Queen, leading protests in Sudan, in April 2019

As 2024 started, African dictators have persisted in holding onto power and grooming their sons and daughters as heirs. In the most recent years, some dictators were deposed or killed. Meanwhile, many African dictators have  remained in power, including some already featured among AfroAmerica Network African ruthless dictators (Africa: African Dictators of 2021; 3 Down, More to Go).  New dictators have been trying to join the ranks.

Rwandan refugees in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on a Visit to Rwanda during the Rome-Kisangani-Kasiki Peace Process in 2008-2009

On March 3, 2024, the  Eglise du Christ au Congo (ECC) issued a statement to the Government of the DR Congo, recommending to organize a national dialogue aimed  at addressing and resolving issues of peace, security and state governance.  Meanwhile, AfroAmerica Network has learned that the DR Government, in accord with the calls from the Eglise du Christ au Congo (ECC) and after constructive discussions with world powers and governments, including the United States of America (USA), The European Union (EU), Southern African Development Community (SADC), and the United Nations (UN),  has decided to reengage in a process to repatriate or resettle the Rwandan refugees who have been in  the DR Congo for 30 years and their descendants.

RPF Military Commander Paul Kagame (center - left) and FAR Military Officer Sylvestre Mudacumura (right) in Arusha, Tanzania during the Arusha Accords Negotiation

On February 27, 2024, the Congolese President Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi and his Angolan counterpart, Joao Lourenco,  held a meeting in Luanda, on the worsening security crisis  the east of the DRC, caused by Rwandan Defense Forces (RDF) who have invaded the DRC under the cover of M23 rebels. As the meeting was going on,  the Rwandan government  has been reading its troops near the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Catholic Church has been expressing worries, and  observers and political analysts pointed to potential human tragedy similar to the one in Rwanda in 1994.