7 of Africa’s Most Brutal Post-Colonial Dictators

The most murderous of Africa’s leaders of yesteryear

(Image courtesy of E-International Relations)

Murder is the first chapter of the African Dictator’s handbook. Whilst history is replete with examples of bizarre and violent men, the characters on this list are notable not only for the scale but the creativity of their bloodletting. Also, you would hope that by the 20th century we would have left the barbarism of our ancestors behind because, you know, enlightenment, human rights, and all that good stuff. But apparently not. In fact, these monsters often managed to combine the pomp and sophistication of modern political systems with a brutality and disregard for human life that’s better placed in the Stone Age. Here are some of Africa’s more exceptional killers of the last century:

Jean-Bedel Bokassa: Pomp and Circumstance

Bokassa at his outlandish coronation ceremony in 1977 (image courtesy of Pierre Guillaud/AFP/Getty Images)

Speaking of pomp, there was no greater lover of the grandiose than his Imperial Majesty Bokassa the First, Apostle of Peace and Servant of Jesus Christ, Emperor and Marshal of Central Africa (this was his actual, self-given title, I kid you not). A former officer in the French Army, Bokassa clearly had the…