WHEN JUSTICE COMES KNOCKING

They come and go, don't they? Yes, like every other immortal being, they don't last. Contrary to the wild belief, despots and dictators in Africa and in the whole world are not mortal. We may fear their rage, we may fear their brutality but they are every way like us, inhuman as they may be. They are not extra-ordinary. In the last days of their misrule, the weakness in them is put in public for all and sundry to see.

There was the fiery Mobutu Sese Seko W'zabanga from the former Zaire. Despite floating in stolen millions and in gold wealth, didn't he leave the stage humbled? Remember the Malawian life president, Hastings Kamuzu Banda? Not even his passion for ladies could save his skin. When the people's will came knocking, he could not resist any more.

Field Marshal Idi Amin Dada Oumee was everything to revere with awe. Robust, monstrous, harsh, cruel, everything. He had the tenacity to kill and the passion to lure his kill to the slaughterhouse. He had the pedigree to remain afloat as his enemies went down in their knees. Yet, he could not last. His brutality and rotten legacy ended in a cemetery in Saudi Arabia.

Does anyone still recall the last days of Siad Barre of Somalia? Or maybe the flamboyant Megistu Haille Mariam of Ethiopia? Definately! Remember Samuel Doe of Liberia? What about the Life Emperor Jean-Bedel Bokassa of Central Africa Republic? This guys come in style and all the glamor yet they don't last. Only the few lucky escape it. Daniel arap Moi of Kenya is a definate candidate here.

In a new world, some may face totally different times. Charles Taylor of Liberia has a sure case to answer for his atrocities against humanity in the neighbouring Sierra Leone. Whatever way his case goes, it will serve as an eye-opener to the power-hungry new crop of leaders in Africa and the developing world. In this line, our leaders should stand warned. Everything they do while in power counts. It surely does. The blood they shed and the souls they snatch in consolidation of their power bases will definately come to haunt them one day. The Taylor Cowboy will surely confess to this.

In this respect, our leaders should check their positions. I am sure President Museveni of Uganda is following Taylor's case keenly because one day, no matter how long, justice will come knocking thorugh the door. Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and Mwai Kibaki of Kenya should watch things with interest here. Passive dictatorship is as worse as active dictatorship. Hold your breathe guys and wait.