MAKUENI COUNTY, Kenya — Former Botswana President Ian Khama has sharply criticized the state of governance in Africa, specifically leveling accusations of illegitimacy against Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan following the country’s recent general election.
Speaking at a forum on African renaissance held at Lukenya University, Mr. Khama, who served as Botswana’s leader from 2008 to 2018, accused President Suluhu of rigging the October 29, 2025 election and using force to suppress political dissent.
“The recent election in Tanzania and from what transpired, the killings around the election… I for once do not recognise the person who was inaugurated as the President of Tanzania. She is an illegitimate president,” Mr Khama said amid applause.
Critique of entrenched leadership
Mr. Khama cited the situation in Tanzania, alongside Cameroon’s long-serving President Paul Biya—who was recently sworn in at the age of 92, even though, Khama noted, “he can hardly walk”—as evidence of a profound governance blight affecting the continent.
He delivered a scathing indictment of leaders who cling to power through unethical means:
“It is totally unacceptable when an African leader, in order to stay in power, will resort to killing his or her own people. In order to stay in power, they will rig an election, as if they are God’s gift to their country. When you have a country with millions of people, for any leader to think they are the only ones who can be president is pathetic,” Mr Khama said.
The retired president also condemned the practice of intimidating opposition figures through arrests and the banning of opposition parties.
Kenyan leaders champion youth protest
The ceremony, held to mark the two-year anniversary of the Lukenya University Pan-Africanism Institute, became a platform for Kenyan political leaders and scholars to call for youth-led action against bad governance.
Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka urged young people to challenge flawed leadership and sustain recent protest waves across the continent:
“The surge of youth led Pan-Africanism is not accidental. Nineteen coups in just four years, coupled with the persistence of one-term presidencies are warnings we cannot just ignore,” Mr Musyoka said.
Meanwhile, a shadow of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga permeated the event, where students used songs and skits to hail him as a champion of democracy.
Also Read: From reformer to autocrat: How authoritarian regimes adapt — The case of Samia Suluhu
Makueni Governor Mutula Kilonzo Junior called on African leaders to challenge the misrule highlighted in Tanzania in the spirit of Mr. Odinga:
“We shall be failing Mr Odinga by not doing so,” the Governor said.
Governor Kilonzo Junior directly addressed the youth, empowering them to take the lead: “Do not wait for permission to lead. It is your right. As the youth, you are the generation that will take Pan-Africanism beyond rhetoric and make it a lived reality. In your hands lies the power to dismantle poverty, corruption and inequality.”
Scholar and lawyer Prof PLO Lumumba concluded the ceremony by urging the youth to draw inspiration from the great pioneers of Pan-Africanism, such as former Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere.
