Dictatorland: The Men Who Stole Africa

by Paul Kenyon

The dictator who grew so rich on his country's cocoa crop that he built a 35-storey-high basilica in the jungles of the Ivory Coast. The austere, incorruptible leader who has shut Eritrea off from the world in a permanent state of war and conscripted every adult into the armed forces. In Equatorial Guinea, the paranoid despot who thought Hitler was the saviour of Africa and waged a relentless campaign of terror against his own people. The Libyan army officer who authored a new work of political philosophy, The Green Book, and lived in a tent with a harem of female soldiers, running his country like a mafia family business.

And behind these almost incredible stories of fantastic violence and excess lie the dark secrets of Western greed and complicity, the insatiable taste for chocolate, oil, diamonds and gold that has encouraged dictators to rule with an iron hand, siphoning off their share of the action into mansions in Paris and banks in Zurich and keeping their people in dire poverty.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Africa, Politics, Economics, Biography, Eritrea

432 pages, Hardcover

First published January 11, 2018

About the author

Paul Kenyon is a best-selling author and BAFTA winning journalist. He has reported from danger zones around the world for the BBC, making more than fifty documentaries and writing widely about his experiences. He reported from Ukraine in 2022 and 2014, and on the Libyan Civil War throughout 2011. He famously travelled the most dangerous migration route in the world, from sub-Saharan Africa to Europe, giving a compassionate insight into the lives of young Africans risking all for a better life. His film-making is noted for its irreverent style and his confrontations with the rich and powerful. During the Libyan Civil War, he tackled Gaddafi's son as he fed his pet lions. In Haiti he faked his own death and funeral to expose a gang of fraudsters. As well as Africa, Kenyon has travelled extensively in Eastern Europe, and describes Romania as his spiritual home after having met his wife there shortly after the revolution.

Reviews

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

My knowledge of 20th Century history is spotty at best. There are things I am reasonably well-informed about but large parts of history I have cursory knowledge of. The history of Africa is one of those areas (and even typing this makes me cringe - I have to admit to not knowing a lot about a whole fricking continent) and I was very eager to remedy this. As a starting point this book is absolutely perfect. Paul Kenyon manages to give enough of an overview to situate me to then give enough details to keep my interest.

The book is a reasonably comprehensive history of several countries and manages to also connect these parts to a greater whole that gave me a greater understanding how these different dictatorships happened (or are still happening is some cases). We get a greater look into such varied countries as Zimbabwe, Congo, Libya, Nigeria, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea and Eritrea. Paul Kenyon structures his book by way of resources the countries own and how these influenced the histories. Starting with diamonds and gold, continuing with oil, talking about cocoa to then showing the weird, tragic case of Eritrea where it is not even known what resources might be found there.

There are some things these countries all have in common: the way in which colonialism wrecked them, the way in which other powers influenced them (often in the way of proxy wars in the Cold War era), and the way in which power corrupted people who were considered heroes beforehand. It is an endlessly bleak and frustrating history and one that made me think more than once how much people can suck. It is due to Paul Kenyon's wonderful storytelling sensibilities that I managed to keep reading despite the bleak subject matter.

The things that did not quite work for me are probably not fair: for one I sometimes struggled with the structure of the chapters, the timeline was not always very clear and I did not always find the thread connecting these different scenes. However, it is near impossible to tell of history in a neat narrative because history is not neat but rather messy. I would also have liked the sources to be clearer and more extensive. I work in academia and as such I am more used to academic writing which this is not.

Overall, impeccably researched, super readable, important book.

__________
I received an arc of this book courtesy of NetGalley and Head of Zeus in exchange for an honest review.

[Daren · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of few books in recent years that I purchased new (although only because I was given a gift voucher), and an excellent choice it was. Five stars.

In this book Kenyon catalogues the actions of various dictators in Africa, noted below. It was surprising to me how much they were all alike, and how many common threads there were. Each typically started out as an underdog, with idealistic goals who triumphed against either colonial occupation or another tyranny, then rose up up take control and then ultimately be corrupted by that power. There is only one end to the dictatorships they set up, and none of them end well for the dictator. Whispers, subordinates plotting, and ultimately the coup are desperately feared by the always paranoid dictator, and their many millions of dollars of corrupt or stolen money can't stop their downfall.

Kenyon does an excellent job of scene setting and describing the situation in each country and what is happening in the adjacent countries as he tells each story separately. The background, the recent events and all that is in between are set out in a logical and readable narrative, and while each dictator could probably have carried off a book on his own, the power of this book is the comparative and additive value of each successive story to form an overall picture - and it isn't a happy one.

Mugabe passed away in the days I was reading his story. It is not the first book I have read about Mugabe, and he is clearly a nasty piece of work, who didn't deserve as longer life as he had. Certainly the world is a better place without him, but it reinforced how weak organisations like the League of Nations and then the United Nations are in their inability to deal with these despicable setups which cause such humanitarian crises to the detriment of so many.

The parts of this book are:
Gold and Diamonds-
Congo (Mobutu)
Zimbabwe (Mugabe)
Oil-
Before the Dictators (background)
Libya (Gaddafi)
Nigeria (Sani Abacha)
Equatorial Guinea (Obiang Nguema)
Chocolate-
Before the Dictators (background, incl Sao Tome & Principe)
Cote d'Ivoire (Felix Houphouet-Boigny)
Modern Slavery
Eritrea (Isaias Afwerki)

--

[Shabbeer Hassan · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this vividly written brutal book, British journalist Paul Kenyon explores the strange and stubborn rule of seven kleptocratic postcolonial African leaders:

Democratic Republic of Congo’s Mobutu Sese Seko (1965–1997)
Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe (1980–2017)
Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi (1969–2011)
Nigeria’s Sani Abacha (1993–1998)
Equatorial Guinea’s Obiang Nguema (since 1979)
Ivory Coast’s Felix Houphuet-Boigny (1960–1993)
Eritrea’s Isaias Afwerki (since 1993).

Kenyon paints a horrific picture of how these tyrannical leaders accumulated and exploited their countries’ vast mineral wealth be it oil, cocoa, gold or diamonds. The sheer brutality of crimes committed by successive dictators on their own citizens to ensure that their own and the western world's imperialistic/capitalistic greed remains satiated is shocking.

Kenyon makes a case that it's not just these dictators to blame for Africa what it is now, and not what it could have been, but part of the blame lies with the western world's insatiable greed for minerals, shiny objects and slaves. The backs of modern European and their offshoot civilizations are built on Africa's back, willingly and in the majority of cases, unwillingly. This comes off of an uneasy assertion, given that much of western Europe is called the land of free. But to move forward towards more peaceful times, it's quite important to accept and talk about the brutal imperialistic colonialism which was imposed on their "subjects" until the late '60s. Much of the modern angst which probably then feeds the hold of rampant religious fanaticism could be seen as a leftover rage since those times. And it's this, which power-crazy despots, misguided youths and genocidal religious leaders exploit, as the book minces no words about this.

The situation is of course, not so simple, and is indeed quite complex with shifting tribal allegiances, power struggles, capitalist greed by multinationals adding to this heady mix, but nevertheless, the two common determinants remain same - hangover of colonial lust for money/power by western European nations and post-colonial greed of despots/dictators.

For someone not acquainted with the African continent's savage history and present conditions, this book is rather a solid start.

My Rating - 5/5

[Ian Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the 19th century, European countries built their empires that included countries in Africa, but by the mid-twentieth century it became time for them to get out and let them have independence. This book is an account of the disastrous behaviour of some Africans who, like scum, rose to the top of these countries, together with that of these European countries and the US. What the West wanted was to control the vast riches of gold, diamonds, copper, oil, cocoa, and whatever that Africa had, and to do that they closed their eyes and helped facilitate corruption and the removal of human rights of the so-called "liberated" people on a scale that is almost unbelievable. They facilitated the return of slavery, and while it was not called that locally, it might as well have been. Political ends also required meddling. In the Congo, Lumumba was elected President in what was one of the few democratically legitimate elections. But Lumumba had talked to Moscow, so he had to be removed. The CIA assisted the rise of Mobutu, which led to the execution of Lumumba. After all, we could not have Communism in the Congo, with its big mineral resources. In São Tomé and Princípe, the West needed its cocoa; the fact the workers were essentially slaves was overlooked. The corruption of and the total ignoring of environmental issues in Nigeria and some other west coast African countries makes for awful reading. The book runs through the history of a number of countries, and how a small number of dictators, with the collusion of the West turned what could have been a paradise into a hell for the average African. A well-written well-researched history. Also a depressing history, but that was what happened.

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

yaaaa wow this is a 5-star book. I think it was well-structured and insanely informative and well-written and there’s some really fucking gobsmacking shit! Insane how contemporary it is overall and just had a really good time with it.

[Raj · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extraordinary book! Having struggled to find some books or resources that could sum up Africa's history and it's peoples' suffering, I came across this marvel and bought it instantly. I am extremely happy that this book is going to be part of my collection.

The author put great effort in offering most of the important events as interesting stories to read. He brought together all the dictators from the continent, their cruelties towards people, the corrupt minds, the greed, indifference towards victims, mass killings of innocent and armies alike, slavery, and the colonial powers' exploitations of these countries, just as elsewhere, for the massive natural resources.
It offers equally great insights into the decision making, priorities of the top layers of the governments, and business partnerships and investments that went into discovering diamonds, gold, cocoa and how those resources earned them high number of billions.

A few lines are just not enough in describing what this book can offer. It is a must read for anyone that is interested in knowing what went through in the past century in Africa.

[Andrew]

For what it is, I quite enjoyed this book, and got quite a bit from it. It's very much a history book written by a journalist, with the good (engaging, lots of eyewitness interviews) and bad (narrative prioritised over analysis) of that. It is a bit of a gawkfest picking out the worst dictatorships in Africa, but if you don't want that you shouldn't read a book called Dictatorland.

I found that the layout of the book into sections determined by what natural resources are in various countries was a little clunky and implied (which was semi-consistent throughout the book) that these natural resources were the main reasons for despotism.

Part One was about gold and diamonds. The first chapter was on Congo: I thought this was really interesting, I knew very little about Congo beforehand. It didn't linger much on the Congo Free State under Leopold II, but it was very interesting to read about the intellectual climate among young black Congolose people towards the end of the Belgian rule, a theme which kept on being one of the most interesting parts of a number of the book's chapters. There was less on the ongoing civil war in Congo than I would have expected, and I wanted to hear a little bit more about Che Guevara's time there, but I can find that in other books. It was good to get a basic outline of decolonisation, Patrice Lumumba's rule and assassination, and Mobutu's subsequent dictatorship.

Chapter Two (still in Part One) was about Rhodesia/Zimbabwe - this was one of my favourite chapters in the book, and I thought it gave a good overview of the white minority government, the dispute between ZIPRA and ZANLA, the Gukurahundi ethnic cleansing, the treatment of whites in Zimbabwe, and Mugabe's rule generally. I find the history of Rhodesia very interesting, and reading this made me want to read more. The best anecdote in it was during Wilson's visit to Ian Smith, where he got very upset at a dinner by a government minister telling a lewd story then doing a 'belly dance' in Wilson's face.

The next Part was on oil - it began with the history of oil production during colonial times, which was alright but not really what I was most interested in. Chapter Four was on Libya, which was the country in the book which I knew most about before starting. I struggled to follow Chapter Five a bit, on Nigeria, but I knew next to nothing about Nigeria before starting it so it was interesting, and I'll probably re-listen to that chapter. Chapter Six was on Equatorial Guinea - the book I read before this was 'My Friend the Mercenary' which had a lot about the attempted coup in Equatorial Guinea that Mark Thatcher was involved with, but this didn't mention that I don't think.

Part Three was on chocolate - Chapter Eight was about Côte d'Ivoire, but Chapter Seven about cocoa production in colonial times was where the book really shone, and was one of my favourite chapters. It details the slavery of cocoa workers in Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe, and how this was received in Britain. Despite their anti-slavery Quaker reputation, the Cadbury family was very reluctant to take the reports of slavery seriously, and even after the report they commissioned reported that the cocoa farms relied on slaves, they did very little. Eventually a newspaper reported on this fact and was sued by the Cadbury family for libel - the newspaper's defence lawyer was none other than Edward Carson, what a cameo!

Part Four, on 'Modern Slavery', only had one chapter, on Eritrea. The classification system of the book fell apart here - there was some mention of modern slavery in Eritrea, but the book was mostly on the war of independence against Ethiopia and the dictator Isaias Afwerki. The chapter was still really interesting, and it shows the shameful episode of the USSR, GDR, and Cuba supporting the Ethiopian military dictatorship in its war against Eritrea.

Overall I liked the book. Some bits were better than others, and you have to take it as what it is, with the aforementioned limitations. It's made me want to read more about African history though, and I found it pretty decent as an introduction and something to make me more interested.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paul Kenyon is a renowned BBC journalist who's worked on various hard-hitting current affairs strands, not least the BBC's Panorama. He's someone whose work I've long admired. When I saw he had written a book on the dictators who've wreaked havoc throughout Africa, I was keen to read it.

Dictatorland is certainly well written and split into four parts, each corresponding to the "resource curses" which allowed brutal thugs to seize and keep power - gold, oil, chocolate and modern slavery - he troops out a succession of tyrants and their horrific idiosyncrasies for his readership to gawp at.

One of the strengths of Dictatorland is how the author demonstrates that Africa, a continent rich in natural resources, was uniquely placed for such misrule. First the colonial empires, and later those who replaced them, had untold wealth at their fingertips and thus had no need to consider the wishes, or even the needs, of the populace. The world's thirst for gold, diamonds and cocoa ensured that brutal misrule was tolerated at best, actively facilitated at worst, by the international community.

That said, there are a number of flaws to this book. While the author does give the background of colonialism and does demonstrate how the colonial rulers abused their colonies, the lion's share of the narrative focuses on the dictators that came after. I felt that the link between the two was missing somewhat. The brutalism of colonialism and how it stunted civic and political development; the arbitrary division of the continent into artificial states which often lumped hostile ethnic groups together; just how actively the Western powers turned a blind eye to the dictators' behaviour, was not fully fleshed out.

It is also unclear just how the author selected dictators to appear in the book. As The Economist pointed out in their review, some like Mobutu of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), Gaddafi of Libya and Mugabe of Zimbabwe are obvious choices. But why Félix Houphouët-Boigny, the first President of Ivory Coast, and not the far more brutal Idi Amin of Uganda or Jean-Bedel Bokassa of the Central African Republic? On can only presume that Houphouët-Boigny was chosen as he based his rule on the cocoa trade.

A final issue, is that while this is a fascinating read, it can also be a little tiring. Reading of the wickedness of dictator after dictator, with no real prognosis for change, is a bit repetitive and blunts the reader's outrage. Reading Dictatorland, one might be forgiven the temptation to write Africa off as hopeless, a continent uniquely susceptible to misrule and oppression.

That all said, this is a very well written book. Despite my misgivings outlined above, it did keep me turning the page. If you're interested in dictators, what colonialism has reaped, the damaging legacy the European empires left the continent and the misrule that more often than not results when a country's rulers have untold riches at their disposal, then this is an enlightening, if depressing, read.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a solid read. I thought the first three histories (Congo, Zimbabwe, and Libya) were the best. I had some familiarity with these dictators having read related books on these regimes previously. I petered out with the other four countries (Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Guinea and Etritrea) as the stories were not so compelling.

Thorough research and an important book.

4 stars.

[Ta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Choć ma ten typowy dla anglosaskiego non-fiction sposób wprowadzania bohaterów a la literatura piękna ("Wszedł do pokoju, usiadł i zaczął pisać"), to jest to szalenie ciekawa książka, po której z trudem przełykam czekoladę.

[Cav · Rating 2 out of 5]

"This is the story of how a whole continent has been robbed in broad daylight. And how it is still going on today. This is the story of the men who stole Africa..."

Dictatorland was a somewhat interesting book, but not without some fairly glaring flaws and unnecessary low-resolution partisan commentary. More on this below. This review will be a long one, so get comfortable.

Author Paul Kenyon is a BAFTA-winning journalist and writer who has reported from conflict zones around the world for BBC Panorama and has written several books. He made his name confronting criminals in his own prime time TV show on BBC.

Paul Kenyon:



The book gets off to a bit of an unconventional start, with an intro that focuses more on the history of the continent, than a primer on the book's thesis. He talks about the "missing link," The Scramble for Africa, Cecil Rhodes, colonization, and other history, before taking a deep dive into the recent history in the book proper.

He writes with a decent style for the most part, although this was an extremely long book. IMHO, much of the writing here is long-winded and superfluous. The author adds many literary accouterments, tacking on many questionable dressings to his writing. Add-ons like "It was a cold day in May, and the little girl noticed a butterfly float past," or "The rain came down hard, making it difficult to see the road." Although these are not direct quotes, the author peppered the book with (IMO) too many of these unnecessary and dubious additions.

There were some pictures included at the end of the book, that helped provide some context to the writing.
The formatting was fairly well done, with delineated chapters detailing each country talked about.

Kenyon provides a bit of historical context with this quote:

"It is the era that followed Europe’s decolonization that this book chiefly explores, although the tendency towards authoritarian rule can only be properly understood in the context of what went before. The colonial retreat came about as a result of the rise of nationalist movements in the 1950s and ’60s, and the realization that attitudes towards imperialism had changed forever. Suddenly indigenous rulers were in control of the precious resources that had previously been in the hands of London, Madrid, Lisbon and Paris. Most were unprepared for governance. The nations they inherited were coarsely mapped European constructs, with borders that took little account of age-old tribal rivalries. Families were left separated by the draftsmen’s blunt pencil. Hostile people were thrown together and told to sort out their differences at the ballot box. The newly empowered leaders chose to advance the interests of their own tribes above the rest. Gems and precious metals were used to reward the loyal and silence the foes. Leaders clung to power for fear that their rivals would corner Africa’s resources and impose their own way of life. Maintaining dominance of a single clan or family mattered above all else. In the tiny oil-rich state of Equatorial Guinea, the Nguema family began a dynasty that has ruled since the Spanish relinquished control in 1968."

As the book's title intimates; it is an examination of the colonial and post-colonial period of modern Africa, with a focus on some of the more prominent colonies and historical figures.

Of course, the topic of African colonization is an extremely contentious one. The only way to accurately deal with it is to provide as objective an account as possible and refrain from adding unnecessary narrative and personal commentary. Sadly, the author failed miserably at this job here...

Some of the figures and countries covered here include:
• Patrice Lumumba
• Mobutu Sese Seko
• Glenn Kendrick and his diamond mines
• Nicolae Ceaușescu, his assassination
• Robert Mugabi, Ian Smith; Zimbabwe/Rhodesia
• Mohammad Mossadegh
• British Petroleum and Shell
• Libya
• Nigerian oil fields
• Algeria
• Muammar Gaddafi
• Nigeria
• Equatorial Guinea
• Cocoa; chocolate
• Côte d’Ivoire
• Eritrea

Some, or even most in the academic/media class paint colonization as unambiguouslly distilled evil. Predatory Europeans taking advantage of uncivilized tribal people. In the case of Africa, the racial element is heavily emphasized, despite the fact that colonization and warfare historically has happened between all shades of skin and ethnicities.
The many cases of mistreatment and brutality become the sole story of what colonization was.

On the other hand, some authors and pundits downplay the aforementioned brutality and greed that the native people were subjected to. They point out that the colonial powers bestowed complex systems of law, education, economy, and comprehensive infrastructure to their colonial possessions. They also argue that colonization resulted in higher life expectancies, and higher standards of living for all.

Instead of choosing between the above black-and-white binary options, the nuanced and educated reader can recognize that these things are not mutually exclusive. They can both be true and valid; to one degree or another.
"History is never tidy," despite many people's attempts to make it that way. Sadly, that balanced and nuanced view is not provided here by the author...

Also, despite the human rights abuses carried out by some colonial regimes, post-colonial Africa did not turn out to be the utopia that leftist academics and other assorted well-wishers hoped it would be. This turbulent period led to power vacuums, and saw many African leaders instill ruthless one-party dictatorships of "Big Man Rule," headed by corrupt strongmen. Kleptocracy, nepotism, and cronyism were (and still are) commonplace. A decent case has been made that many Africans fared better under colonialism than they did under the corrupt regimes that followed.

The author also did a piss-poor job of covering the modern country of Zimbabwe (formerly known as Rhodesia) and its important figures; Ian Smith, Robert Mugabe, and Joshua Nkomo.
He paints Rhodesia as an apartheid state. It was not. The author went off on a tear here, and I'm not sure how much of what he wrote was accidentally inaccurate, or deliberate lies. I would highly recommend the former Rhodesian PM Ian Smith's autobiography The Great Betrayal to any readers of this review. Most of what the author of this book asserts is dealt with in a long-form fashion there. Kenyon cites the book here, which makes me wonder how he ended up with the narrative he did.

The story of Rhodesia and her eventual downfall is not the one of white versus black racial conflict and fighting that many authors (like this one) would have you believe. Rather, the story of Rhodesia is one of fighting for the values of freedom and civilization against the destructive forces of socialism/communism. It is the story of how a brave and noble country fought to preserve the values that made Western civilization great in the first place, despite being abandoned by their closest allies in their time of need.

In fact, a large part of the story of post-colonial Africa is the story of communist agitation and revolutionary incitement. China, Russia, and even North Korea were trying to stoke the fires of socialism in the power vacuum of post-colonial Africa.

KGB dissident and defector Yuri Bezmenov says this in his book Love Letter to America about the communist M.O.:
"This process has many names: psychological warfare, ideological aggression, propaganda warfare etc. The KGB calls it активные мероприятия, or "Active Measures".

Kenyon blatantly lies about Ian Smith, saying: "As far as Smith was concerned, this ‘mad idea of a handover’, no matter how long it took, was ‘a sell-out of the European and his civilization’, and would inevitably lead to a Congo-style implosion. The violence and looting in Salisbury and Bulawayo, he warned, were evidence of that."
This was incorrect. Smith was not opposed to majority rule, but wanted the transition to be gradual, as just dumping complex systems of economy, law, and infrastructure to mostly illiterate tribal people who have no understanding of these concepts is a sure recipe for disaster. Smith mentions his view of "Evolution, not revolution" in the book many times, and notes that in all other neighboring countries that had seen a hasty colonial retreat - violence, corruption, and failed states inevitably resulted. He wanted to avoid those worst-case scenarios. IMO, Kenyon needs to go back and give it another read. It seems like his politically-partisan inclinations prevent him from seeing the bigger picture.

He paints Smith as an evil man, motivated solely by racism. This is a nefarious accusation and runs contrary to the historical record. Smith literally spent years trying to negotiate with Great Britain, but the author says: "He was Rhodesia’s prime minister, and would use his position to pursue a singular purpose; to achieve independence, at any cost, from Britain."

Even more upsetting, Kenyon waxes nostalgic about Nkomo and Mugabi's communist insurgent forces, which terrorized and killed both white and black people alike; raping and murdering white farmer's wives and daughters, and ruling the black tribal people with intimidation and violence.

Instead, he talks about a retaliatory cross-border raid by the Rhodesian Selous Scouts into neighboring communist-controlled Mozambique. He paints the killed FRELIMO communist insurgent soldiers as poor, helpless martyrs. There is no mention of the fact that it was the same communist insurgents that initiated these cross-border raids in the first place, effectively declaring war on the country, which then allowed the Rhodesian forces to go after them before they crossed the border and attacked again. What should the Rhodesian forces have done? Nothing, and let their country be invaded by thousands of murderous insurgents??

Joshua Nkomo is talked about with glowing language again and again. The author conveniently doesn't mention that he personally ordered the downing of 2 civilian passenger aircraft, killing dozens of innocent men, women and children. In one case, Flight 825, the survivors were shot and then bayonetted, including a mother and her 3-week-old baby. The book "A Handful of Hard Men: The SAS and the Battle for Rhodesia" details these attacks, and they will turn your stomach.

Finally, the book ends without a conclusion, epilogue, or post text of any kind, other than the author's acknowledgments. A strange end to a jumbled book.

***********************

As stated at the start of this review, Dictatorland covered some interesting ground. However, it is a very long book; the audiobook version I have clocked in at ~19 hours. A large chunk could have been edited out for the sake of brevity and clarity.
Also, the above-mentioned criticisms left me with a bad taste in my mouth.
I would not recommend this one.
2 stars.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dictatorland by Paul Kenyon is a grim and often brutal account of post-colonial Africa, tracing how moments of early hope in newly independent nations repeatedly descend into cycles of corruption, violence, and authoritarian rule. Kenyon paints a sobering picture of how fragile political optimism can be when institutions are weak and leadership lacks integrity. A recurring thread throughout the book is the reminder that strong governance is not just idealistic - it is essential. The legacy of arbitrarily drawn colonial borders looms large, with nations forced together despite deep cultural, ethnic, and political differences, creating conditions where instability feels less like an exception and more like an inevitability.

What sets the book apart is its narrative style: rather than a purely academic analysis, Kenyon tells these stories through the lives of key figures - both the powerful leaders shaping events and the ordinary people caught in their wake. This approach makes the consequences of dictatorship feel immediate and personal. The structure, grouping countries by their dominant natural resources, highlights how oil, minerals, and other commodities became magnets for Western money and influence, often fuelling the ambitions of dictators rather than benefiting populations. The result is a compelling but unsettling exploration of how external interests and internal power struggles combined to entrench systems of exploitation and control.

[Boudewijn · Rating 4 out of 5]

It might be impossible to understand Africa without knowing the colonial past. But at the same time it is also important what happened immediately afterwards: economic mismanagement and dictators who stole like the ravens. Mobutu, Mugabe, Gaddafi and many other: one even worse than the other.

Power and corruption still is on the agenda of many African governments, but at least there is hope for the future.

[R I · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shocking, stunning. Hard to read, harder to put down

[Jack Bresnahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

BANGER

Goes through a number of African countries, and their struggles with establishing a functioning democracy post colonialism.

Insane and tragic how so many countries fell into the same route of supporting a charismatic individual with good intentions, who let power and perceived threats corrupt him so much he began to mirror the rulers he helped overthrow.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Banger. First intro to the recent history of a bunch of these countries: DRC, Cote d'Ivoire, Sao Tome & Principe, Nigeria, Libya. Wild stories, well told.

[Brendan Day · Rating 5 out of 5]

With ‘Dictatorland’, Kenyon has brilliantly documented one of the great tragedies of history: the rape and pillage of an entire continent by merciless colonialist empires, insatiable industrial corporations and, most heinously of all, the very liberators and dreamers who debased their nations’ newfound freedom with corruption and cruelty.

Kenyon wisely builds his history upon the natural resources that should have been Africa’s saviour: gold, diamonds, oil, and cocoa. From The Democratic Republic of Congo to Libya, Zimbabwe to Eritrea, he details how these resources have been siphoned away from the general public and into the pockets of the elites, with prose that is rigorously researched, always intelligible and frequently beautiful. Beyond the deserved scorn afforded to the panjandrums, despots and criminals, there lies a moving compassion for the millions of innocent people who became the victims of poverty, torture and starvation.

[James Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

An all-round excellent modern history book. Such a fascinating subject that Kenyon allows it to speak for itself a lot of the time, allowing his expert knowledge, background research and crisp writing to come to the fore. He uses his own travels and visits to countries as added flavour, never as the main topic which some writers fall into the trap of. It's a fascinating series of histories on African nations, that have added to my own thoughts on the damage colonialism has done. Whilst a lot of these countries have fallen into even worse states since their colonial overlords left, it is naive to think a country can develop into a fully fledged democracy in a matter of years. We often forget our own nation took the best part of a millennium for this to take place. It is one of the trappings of empire that it stops countries from organically developing to this state. I think Kenyon treads this line very well, never coming across as patronising as a lot of conservative writers do.

"Eritrea is bottom of the world's press freedom rankings, one place below North Korea"

[Daniel Polansky]

Short biographies of some of Africa's most destabilizing tyrants, and the aid invariably offered by western governments and multi-nationals to them.

[Anal Ghosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even in the modern day, a thing that bothers me is how Africa keeps getting referred to as a continent in political/economic/business discourse, and not by specifics of individual countries (barring few exceptions). As evident in the title, the author centres the premise around brutal dictators to unpack the stories of few of them - Congo, Zimbabwe, Libya, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire and Eritrea. We probably identify them just by their toxic and corrupt regimes, but their life journeys reveal much more - all of them started as well-intentioned liberating revolutionaries devoted to the country's future, gradually getting corrupted with power, and eventually morphing into lunatic despots. There are other common and defining themes - world-captivating resources (diamonds, gold, oil, cocoa), the shambolic residue of European colonialism, endless coups, Cold War and American/USSR insecurities.

From traveling across the continent, to establishing the historical & geopolitical context, to tracking & interviewing key players in each of these stories, Paul Kenyon's research is extensive. But he treads the right balance of not overwhelming the reader with too much details, while delivering a thoroughly engaging narrative. Hugely informative, disturbing, fascinating - I can't find any faults with the book, apart from wanting to read about more countries - maybe his next book :)

[Jamie Molea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite harrowing how there is a somewhat general trend of benevolent intentions at the start of the leaders' careers; broadly from socialist tendencies, coupled with a sense of nationalism to depose colonial resource ownership. This was seen with Macias (Equatorial Guinea), Mugabe (Zimbabwe), Isaias Afwerki (Eritrea), Gaddafi (Libya) and Houphouët-Boigny (Côte d'Ivoire). Mobutu (Congo) seemed like he took power from the outset just for his own benefit.

Regardless, the one characteristic that all share is that at the height of their powers, all men had the ability to control all the resources of their country, and either helped themselves to it, or used it towards their objectives. Additionally, there was no dissent. Any dissent was paid with one's life.

Kenyon outlines this really well in the book, with a mixture of important context surrounding the early life of each leader, as well as the struggles they faced to get them into their positions.

Remarkable read.

[Churchill Osimbo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took me two years to finish not because of the length or entertainment value but because of how painful the experience is. It's evil that's not even profound, just greedy and banal, and it existed not so long ago... here, in Africa. These are RECOLLECTIONS. A brilliant heroic piece of journalism here.

[Shilpa Caute · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genuinely brilliant- 10⭐️s from me

[AJ Payne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I became obsessed with this book almost from page one. It’s most definitely going on my list of ‘books people should read who want to know about africa’. And I’ve already recommended it to everyone I know.

Anyway, this book outlines the dictatorial histories of Congo, Zimbabwe, nigeria, Libya, Equatorial Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, and Eritrea based on their leaders’ exploitation of resources - gold, diamonds, oil, cocoa, or humans. Each chapter is a thorough history of the primary dictator that brought ruin to his specific country - a bit of background, how he came to power, and what he did once he got there. And it’s amazing, and depressing, and in some cases terrifying.

What I loved about it was that each history was accessible, and readable. And brings the people, places, and events to life. It’s a history book, but it reads like a dramatic thriller or movie. It keeps you turning the pages. It’s well arranged and brings tidbits from so many corners to paint a picture of a man’s ruin. There isn’t any new ground here - all of this stuff is available in other books, but this one just brings it together so perfectly.

My minor complaints - there were many typos in my edition (and it was from a book store, so not a prepublished edition). Minor, but annoying. Especially when the typos involved regular misspellings of someone’s name. Next, there were many events glossed over which led to a few mischaracterizations in the timeline of events, or what affected what. No one who hasn’t read a million books on these topics would probably notice though. Finally, I know it was a history book, but having even a little analysis about the legacy of each of these men (other than for Equatorial Guinea and Eritrea whose dictators are still in power) and how it affects the country today would have been nice. I know that would have made it longer and brought it a bit out of the history realm, but I think those things are important.

At the end of the day though, I loved it, and I’ll continue to recommend it to everyone. Even understanding that 99.9 percent of people will never take me up on that recommendation :)

[Jeremy Randall · Rating 5 out of 5]

The end of this book made me so sad because it is still happening. This incredibly written look at power hungry men isn't about some long forgotten past. I asked my father about Libyas influence on oil prices worldwide. And Mum chimed in and spoke about having to fill up according to their license plates. But they didn't know why. These crazy powerful men begin with a simple ideology. - Overthrowing the oppressor. And then next minute, they are the oppressor. They are the mass murderers, the thieves, the manipulators. And no longer for the end game of liberating their people. But now, they just want more and more. and when one is dealing with billions of dollars in oil, or diamonds, or most of the worlds supply of chocolate...

The last chapter is about the current leader of Eritrea. One who seems to live quite a lowly life. He doesn't have multiple properties in France like others in this book. He hasn't filled up bank accounts in other places in the world, he hasn't financed liberation movements elsewhere. he simply imprisoned much of his countrymen and women, and all of his opponents to keep power. So many smart, service-minded people dead. Because of an insecure, quiet man who thought being in power was more important than his initial hopes of independence and rebuilding after being oppressed by the Italians, the Ethiopians, the British, the Muslims.....

Rewind to the early 1900s. How different would it be if the colonies trained and handed back countries without the sneaky sneak. And without the cold war. and without the need to rap and pillage.
Or how different it would have been if now border lines were drawn on the maps by anyone that wasn't born in these lands. instead of 52 nations, what if there had been 300. That continued cultures and traditions and languages further into the future.

history is a freakbag of stories that are uncomfortable but understandable. I loved this book. And apparently my Dad is going to read it too :D Skype dates are about to get even better for us and even worse for mum :D

[Noah · Rating 5 out of 5]

massively miffed I gave this to Susannah when I was drunk. I miss it dearly, cannot stop talking about it incredible book

[Camilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each chapter is dedicated to a different dictator or element of African history. I listened to the audiobook which was excellently narrated. I found the chapters where I had some prior knowledge or at least had heard of some of the political figures easier to follow. The chapter on Nigeria was very tricky to follow and keep track of all the unfamiliar names. I'd recommend reading up on some basic history beforehand if you are listening to the audiobook. I found the chapters on DRC, Zimbabwe, and history of cocoa particularly interesting.

[Vaiva Sapetkaitė · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enlightening. Informative. And very sad.
Must-read to all who is interested in global affairs.
P.S. Many western countries, their business and banks were/ are immoral greedy bastards also.

[Miki Persson Caracciolo · Rating 5 out of 5]

very interesting and engaging. the book is very well researched and written.

[Debjit Sengupta · Rating 4 out of 5]

A century back, if you had to define Africa, you would describe its dusty and barren landscapes, scorching weather and hostile tribes. There was nothing that could excite. These myths and the wrong notion were broken. The Europeans were not fool. They would invest their resources simply not to colonize the nation. Africa was one of major hotspot for slavery. Now this cannot be the sole reason for the European powers to scramble for Africa. They had sensed long back about the continent’s untapped potential. During the Berlin Conference of 1884-85, the European powers divided the continent among themselves. Later, diamonds were discovered across several places like Belgian occupied Congo, Portuguese occupied Angola and British Colonies Sierra Leone and South Rhodesia (Present day Zimbabwe). The geologists were drawn towards the termite mounds on the parched and near lifeless plains of Kalahari desert. Now to build these mounds, the termites require moisture and damp clay for which they have to burrow down deep. When the particles collected by these termites were examined, it gave evidence of diamonds beneath the surface. More such traces were found in other areas too. Eventually, in one of the most sparsely populated country in Africa – Bechuanaland (Present day Botswana), dozens of diamond filled volcanoes were found.

The most demanding source of electricity was coal. It was coal that powered the steam engines in ships and trains. It also drove the electricity. There was no reason for anybody to look for an alternative. During the turn of the 19th century, the age of automobile dawned. The entire British maritime capabilities were dependent on regular and reliable supply of oil. There was nothing suitable in UK and Winston Churchill knew they would have to look elsewhere. Both US and UK looked for unchartered land for oil. The oil was already discovered in Middle East Asia but for strategic reasons, it made sense not to rely exclusively on this continent alone. For centuries, nomadic tribes crossing the Sahara desert have found curious rainbow sheen on the surface of oasis water. Portuguese sailors had observed dribbles of hot tar seeping through the rocks in Africa. Something curious was definitely lying underneath. During the mid-19th century, however oil reserves were being discovered at various places in Africa. However, the colossal oil reserve was unlocked more recently.

On the narrow belt of land ten degrees on either side of the equator, there are shades of jungle canopy, regular rain and absence of hot winds. These are rare climatic conditions which are offered by just few regions of the world. The west Africa is among them. These rare conditions allow cocoa bushes to thrive. The region became most sought after for major chocolate manufacturers of the world including Cadbury. Most of the chocolate bars consumed today are coming from cocoa bushes of Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire (also known to many as Ivory Coast). The cocoa has been driving the economies for these two regions for the last 4-5 decades.

The book is not exactly about which minerals was unearth at which location. Now why then these are needed at all to be mentioned? It’s the lure of these minerals and plants that tethered western nations to the continent for long, even after their colonies gained independence. It’s the wealth that generated power post-independence. The Western nations were compelled to retreat because after World War-II, the international opinion on imperialism was changing. It was even more difficult to hold on to their colonies due to rise in nationalist movements in the 1950’s and ‘60s. Suddenly local rulers were in control of the vast minerals that were in the hand of England, France, Portugal and Belgium. The local rulers were underprepared for governance. The centuries old tribal rivalries again were exacerbated. Hostile people were thrown together to sort out their differences at the ballot box. A lot of hope and optimism was pinned on the newly elected rulers but they were seeking aggrandizement and choose to advance their own interests. These minerals either directly or indirectly were used to reward the loyal and silence their foes. The leaders clung to power with chicanery for fear of their safety. They became paranoid. A single clan or families brazenly began to dominate by dirty means. Democracy was procrastinated for indefinite period. Unfortunately, the embryonic nation never saw the dawn. The book is all about how the continent was looted on a broad daylight and how it still going on.

In Congo, idealist Patrice Lumumba was in the forefront during nationalist movement for independence from Belgium rule. He was a national hero. He became the first Prime Minister. Soon secessionist movement supported by Belgium began to gain steam. He appealed to USA and UN but in vain. He then turned to USSR for support. This led to his differences with the President Joseph Kasa-Vubu and Lumumba staunch supporter Mobutu Sese Seko. Ultimately he was imprisoned by State authorities under Mobutu and was executed. It was alleged to be USA and Belgium conspiracy. They also supported Mobutu in a coup and he was installed in power for next three decades. The Parliament was reduced to naught. He took control of the press. He formed a political party which was hurriedly joined by all politicians for their own safety. Dissidents were caught, tortured and treated mercilessly. He and his family looted the country of billions of dollars. The money resulted from national treasure was siphoned off to his Swiss, Belgian and US account.

The Zimbabwe was a British colony. One of the major contributor was white farmers who used to make significant contribution in agricultural production. The local black population passively tolerated white dominance for years till Robert Mugabe came and mobilized his people against the injustice. Robert Mugabe became the first head of the government. He also declared that white farmers were integral part of the nation. There was a new hope but in years to come, it turned into a despair. His rule is now remembered more for murder, torture, bloodshed, intimidation and persecution of political opponents. White farmers land was forcibly taken and handed over to war veterans as a compensation. The new black farm owner had no skill to manage a farm. They ended up tearing irrigation pipes to sell the lead and abandoned farm machineries. The fields reverted to wilderness. Newly unproductive farms and economic mismanagement led to spiraling of food prices. The country experienced mind blogging hyperinflation. Few became billionaires and most were at the brink of starvation.

The Nigeria was a British colony which gained its independence from the British. After independence, it’s political landscape was dominated by perpetual rise and fall of dictators. It has legacy of violent dictators. Their north, east and south factions were dominated by powerful leaders. Still they managed to elect their first president and turn themselves into a federal republic. However, there was division in army too and the nation followed the path of civil war. After each coup, a dictator was overthrown and murdered. Though the elections were held in 1993 but it was annulled and an interim government was set up. This too was overthrown by Sani Abacha. He banned all political parties and controlled the press too. He brutally suppressed all kind of dissents at home. His most brutal act was execution for treason of a writer Ken Saro-Wiwa and other activists who protested against the environmental exploitation. Despite the oil wealth, the life in Nigeria was all about starvation, poverty and murder. His family enriched themselves with huge wealth which was parked in European bank.

In Equatorial Guinea, Macias Nguema eliminated his perceived enemies in a more gruesome manner. There have been hurried mass executions. Entire village was torched to eliminate a single suspected subversive. His militias were cut loose and they would drunkenly kill people or bury them up to their neck in sand to be eaten by ants. He had killed intellectuals, government officials, members of assembly and some of his closest ministerial colleagues and supporter. He was overthrown by his nephew Obiang Nguema in a bloodless coup. Macias was later killed. Obiang ruled for more than 3 decades. As had been the case with other African nations, wealth due to huge oil reserves is concentrated in the hands of the few. Most Equatorial Guinean are living in abject poverty. There is no access to healthcare or education. Opposition is non-existent. Torture and intimidation is common in places.

It’s similar storylines in other countries too. The leader who lead the cause for independence became head of the state. The nation founding father was chosen to lead their nation towards democracy, prosperity and development. The newly acquired wealth was a big booster. However, the outcome turned something else. Though Colonel Gaddafi and Felix Houphouet-Boigny, head of Libya and Ivory Coast respectively had spend huge amount for welfare activities but nevertheless their rule was an authoritarian, one marked by gross human right violation. They ruled for decades and never allowed democracy to flourish. Gaddafi was known more for his outlandish behavior, staying with harem of women soldiers in tent and promoting global terrorism. Felix Houphouet-Boigny became so rich on his country’s cocoa crop that he built a thirty-five-storey high basilica in the jungles of the Ivory Coast

Do the Western nations have any role to play in the abysmal condition of Africa? On the surface it seems no. They are no way responsible. Drill down to the bottom and do the analysis. Behind the facade, their double standard come to the fore. Even though they relinquished controls but still some lingered on to keep a hand on Africa’s mineral wealth. During the cold war era, the ex-colonial powers stayed on citing perceived communist threat. They shamelessly channeled the profits to their nation. The multinational companies from western nations cut deal with authoritarian African rulers. These companies continue to prosper by securing mineral rights. The West ignored and tolerated continent’s most brutal dictators and the human right violations perpetuated by them, for their own vested interest. Actually, the West is directly responsible for endemic corruption and authoritarianism. Though the slave trade came to an end in the 19th century but at the back of this trade, Europeans and North Americans developed wealthy, militarily powerful and technologically advanced society. The irony is that they were treated shabbily and lakhs of people were decimated. If you have seen the movie Apocalypto, directed by Mel Gibson then recall the scene where a tribal village was raided by a group and how they were taken to a city. The reel life event was a reality. This is how slaves were treated by Western nations. Due to slavery and colonialism, the West developed at Africa’s expense. In the present scenario, the exploitation still continues in the name of development. Conditional loans are given to these African countries. Public services such as transport, water supply, sewage and health were privatized. The wealth still flows from Africa to the West in the name of debt repayments. Western corporations are still buying privatized infrastructure and the exploitation of African slaves still continues.

Colonization, nationalism, independence, mineral wealth and dictatorship are the common points that you would find in the narratives. Had the book been simply on dictatorship in Africa then other countries like Rwanda, Togo, Somalia, Liberia, Chad, Cameroon and Uganda too would have found mentions. Such is the sorry state of the continent. Sordid and shoddy deals have become the norm. The widespread shenanigans have ruined the continent. The Machiavellian and diabolic rulers are obsessed with power. Slowly and steadily the countries are falling into China’s debt trap. The most recent example is Djibouti and Zambia is expected to follow suit. The continent itself seems to have been cursed to be a slave state. That’s their predisposition and febrile symptoms refuse to leave. However, the book has been well researched and presented. The manner in which the author had collected information for his book is commendable. He has devoted few pages on his source of information. If you are reading this book, then please don’t skip this part. The wealth of the nation has been linked to dictatorship. The Eritrea conflict with Ethiopians is the only quibble. Otherwise It has been a riveting and engrossing read.