• Africa as of January 2022 has four unelected presidents who are all soldiers
• Three of the four are in West Africa
• The latest of them being 41-year-old Lt. Col. Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba of Burkina Faso
Despite most leaders across the continent being in their late fifties or well past their sixties, there is a new crop of young African leaders who are within their early forties.
All these leaders were produced in the last three years, three in West Africa and one in Central Africa.
Incidentally, all of them have stark similarities in their personalities and the manner through which they came into office – trained and serving soldiers, taking over via a coup d’etat.
They are:
Colonel Assimi GoïtaGoita of Mali
General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno of Chad.
Mamady Doumbouya of Guinea
Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba of Burkina Faso
Meet 39-year-old Col Assimi Goïta of Mali
He rose to prominence on August 18, 2020, when he announced the arrest of then-president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, IBK.
He served as Vice-Chairman of the first transitional government before taking full charge when he overthrew his then boss Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane for lack of consultation on appointments.
His second coup has however attracted suspensions from regional bloc ECOWAS and the African Union.
Mamady Doumbouya of Guinea
Tall and stout Doumbouya, a French-trained soldier had been handed leadership of the Special Presidential Guard of ousted President Alpha Conde.
But on September 25, 2021, when it emerged that a coup was underway in Conakry, the junta that emerged had the strong Conde-ally as its leader.
He has since been sworn into office as head of the transitional authority as consultations continue on how to return the country to constitutional rule amid suspension from ECOWAS and the African Union and sanctions from the former.
Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba of Burkina Faso
Until his ‘rise’ to the position of a coup leader, Damiba’s last held post as a Lieutenant Colonel of the army was head of security for the capital, Ouagadougou (the country’s third security region).
He had only been handed that post in December 2021 by outgone President Kabore in a move analysts said was to retain the support of the military at the time.
From Ouagadougou security chief, Damiba was announced on Monday evening as leader of the junta known as “Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration, or MPSR.”
Meet 38-year-old Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno
On April 20, 2021, Africa had its youngest Head of State in the person of Mahamat ibn Déby Itno, who became new Head of State of Chad, succeeding his father, former President Idriss Deby, who died whiles fighting rebels in the frontline.
After the army announced senior Deby’s death, the consitution was suspended and a transitional military council constituted with Mahamat as its leader.
He is a battlefield soldier who is credited with leading and or playing pivotal role in offensive at home or within the subregion.
What remains to be seen is if he would retire from the military within the transition period and like his father don the political garb to contest for office.