Earlier this year, a TikTok trend by the name of #CorruptTok captured global attention. Satirical clips poking fun at African politicians went viral, from Nigerian President Bola Tinubu to Ghana’s Johnson “General Mosquito” Nketiah and a host of Ugandan MPs. Tinubu, for one, was mocked for his dance skills while the country he governs falls into ruin. His fellow Nigerian, Daniel Pondei, was mocked for his “collapse” during a select committee probe into his corruption. Clips resurfaced of Ugandan President Museveni’s less than favourable view on homosexuality, while his Finance Minister made comments about the economy, which amused TikTok’s audience. Perhaps most notable was a Kenyan activist saying, “Corruption is not bad, corruption is only bad if I’m not involved. But if I’m part of that corruption, I will defend it”. Young people are TikTok’s biggest audience, and so it seems that yet another generation may associate the whole African continent with corruption. The benefit is that corruption in Africa is brought into the limelight.
The perception of African politics at large has long been mired in narratives of corruption, stagnation, and perpetual crisis. While many such portrayals are grounded in truth, they paint an incomplete picture. Africa, a continent of 1.5 billion people and 54 sovereign nations, is undergoing a political evolution, one that defies simplistic characterisations. To understand where African politics stands today, we must look both to the politics of the past and the future.
Towards pan-African unity and democracy?
Despite popular narratives, some African countries are making positive strides toward accountable governance, reduction of colonial influences, and expansion of human rights and democratic freedoms. Pan-African rhetoric is once again on the rise, and the growing democratic voices of Africa are helping to elevate this sentiment.
In Burkina Faso, junta leader Captain Ibrahim Traoré has rapidly emerged as one of the most charismatic leaders in West Africa, whose rhetoric of sovereignty, security, and pan-African unity has won him admiration beyond national borders. Taking power in a 2022 military coup, the second that year, Traoré became the world’s youngest head of state at the age of 34 (now 37).
While coups across the continent have typically sparked international condemnation, Traoré has cultivated an image that resonates strongly with many Burkinabè citizens, especially the country’s youth. He portrays himself as a revolutionary patriot, rejecting French influence, expelling foreign military forces, and forming new alliances with Russia and other non-Western powers. Traoré’s administration has also gained support for doing what his predecessors could not: launching a major military offensive against Islamist insurgents.
However, under Traoré’s transitional government, Burkina Faso has suspended political parties, postponed democratic elections, and limited press freedoms—measures that have alarmed human rights observers. On the other hand, his administration has strived to create civilian defence brigades and begun infrastructure projects in neglected rural areas. Traoré’s rejection of democracy in favour of a “popular, progressive revolution” is closely linked to state-led initiatives like his rural housing programme, which he frames not as a product of democratic consensus but as a top-down effort to deliver tangible development through disciplined, centralised governance. Democracy, he says, is the end goal.
Further south, in Gabon, there has been another significant shift. After a bloodless coup ended the decades-long rule of the Bongo family in 2023, General Brice Oligui Nguema assumed the role of transitional president (although it is important to note that Nguema is a maternal cousin of former President Ali Bongo). What followed was not repression, but reform.
Under his leadership, a new constitution has been drafted with term limits and independent electoral oversight, the key demands from opposition parties and civil society. Presidential elections took place on 12 April 2025, which Nguema won with more than 90% of the vote. For the first time in decades, Gabonese citizens were able to cast their votes in a largely competitive and transparent election with international observers present. Though it is important to note that many of Nguema’s most significant rivals were barred from running, given their ties to the previous regime.
Meanwhile, in South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa has not only survived internal scandals and factional battles within the African National Congress but also taken up the first African presidency of the G20.
He has committed to balancing economic reform with social transition, aiming to use his influence within the BRICS bloc to shape a multipolar global order in which African states are not mere recipients of global decisions, but active participants in setting them. His recent criticisms of Donald Trump’s foreign policy approach and remarks about Africa as a failed or “beggar continent” have made global headlines. The legacy of apartheid in South Africa still remains an issue, however, and while race relations are not yet ideal, they are on the mend, uplifting the large working class.
Slightly north, Botswana continues to serve as a beacon of democratic stability and good governance. Under former President Mokgweetsi Masisi and current President Duma Boko, the country has maintained its tradition of regular elections, low corruption, and high transparency.
Botswana’s model of diamond-backed economic development, combined with strong institutional checks and balances, makes it one of Africa’s most consistent performers in terms of governance indicators. While a single party has dominated Botswana’s politics since it gained independence, the opposition party took power for the first time in 58 years last year, with no conflict.
Challenging economic management for development
While Botswana is looked upon by neighbours and global spectators alike as an aspiration, many more African leaders look to root out corruption in the aim of developing stronger national economies and pan-African alliances.
Burkina Faso’s Traoré has pushed for the creation of an Alliance of Sahel States, a new bloc with Mali and Niger, which openly challenges the regional leadership of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). International donors have largely withdrawn, and yet Traoré has encouraged economic self-reliance, shifting the country’s economic policies away from reliance on traditional aid flows. This has included state intervention in gold mining, a sector historically dominated by foreign firms, and increased investment in local agriculture and food security. His leadership style reflects a broader trend across parts of Africa: frustration with the failures of post-colonial democracy to deliver stability and prosperity, and a willingness to gamble on more radical, nationalist alternatives.
In Zambia, President Hakainde Hichilema has made strides in reversing years of economic mismanagement. Since taking office in 2021, he has prioritised debt restructuring, anti-corruption reforms, and media freedom. His government has also strengthened ties with multilateral institutions and promised to bring transparency to mining contracts, a key issue in Zambia’s economy. Zambia depends on copper mining for over 70% of its export earnings and around 40% of government revenue, though previous contracts allowed full tax exemptions and profit shifting (moving profits to tax havens) abroad while declaring a loss. Mining contract reforms will directly impact Zambians, giving the state greater financial freedoms and improving GDP per capita. Although challenges remain and critics are concerned about the pace of change, Hichilema’s leadership has restored investor confidence and earned praise from civil society groups.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a country rich in minerals but fraught with instability, former Prime Minister Augustin Matata Ponyo was sentenced to ten years of hard labour after being found guilty of embezzling public funds. The verdict has been criticised, suggesting that the judiciary is being used as a tool of political vengeance by President Félix Tshisekedi’s administration. In spite of this, it has been hailed by some as a victory for accountability, showing the DRC’s renewed commitment to reducing corruption and ensuring state funds are spent on solving agricultural problems.
The threats to regional stability
Despite positivity in other areas of Africa, strengthened ties with states like Russia and China, combined with the weaponisation of judiciaries and the growing distance between West African states, threaten to worsen continental stability.
In West Africa, ECOWAS is under severe strain. The formal withdrawal of military-led governments in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, accusing it of political interference and an unbalanced preference for Western allies, have shattered ECOWAS’s credibility as a mechanism for regional diplomacy and crisis management. Coupled with the rise of pan-Africanist rhetoric and alternative partnerships with Russia and China, this has led to a realignment in the region’s geopolitics and a potential unravelling of decades of integration efforts.
In Uganda, President Yoweri Museveni remains one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders, having ruled since 1986. Despite his early reputation as a reformer, Museveni has increasingly resorted to authoritarian tactics.
The suppression of opposition figures like Bobi Wine and ongoing and repeated human rights abuses have drawn sharp international condemnation. This may not be surprising given that Museveni is perhaps best-known for his 2014 CNN interview where he condemned homosexuality as “disgusting”, reflected in the development of laws targeting LGBTQ+ communities.
The country’s democratic institutions are now viewed as weakened, and concerns over dynastic succession, especially involving Museveni’s son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, continue to circulate. Kainerugaba publicly fell out with his father this year and is described by some as a “loose cannon” due to his activity on X (fka Twitter). Furthermore, Museveni recently allowed military courts to try civilians, despite the Supreme Court of Uganda deeming it unconstitutional earlier this year.
Despite this, Ugandan Finance Minister Matia Kasaija has been praised for his work in steadily growing the Ugandan economy, which is projected to grow seven per cent next year, despite Kasija’s viral comment about how “the economy is doing wonderfully” being mocked by many.
Following the discovery of gold in Uganda, as well as sustained investment in mining, construction and tourism the economic future of the nation may look bright. However, this economic potential is overshadowed by Museveni’s actions, threatening the social stability of the nation.
Elsewhere, Kenya and Nigeria, two of Africa’s most populous and strategically significant nations, are under the microscope. The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) named Presidents William Ruto and Bola Tinubu among the three most corrupt world leaders in 2024, citing allegations ranging from illicit wealth accumulation to misuse of state funds.
Though both presidents reject these claims, the accusations have stoked disillusionment among young voters already frustrated by unemployment, inequality, and the soaring cost of living.
In Nigeria, Tinubu’s first two years in office have been defined more by symbolic gestures and optics than concrete improvements in governance. Perhaps the clearest example is his decision to change Nigeria’s national anthem from “Arise, O Compatriots” back to the colonial-era “Nigeria, We Hail Thee”.
The move, widely criticised as tone-deaf by the likes of famed activist Oby Ezekwesili, was framed as an embrace of cultural heritage and national pride. However, for many Nigerians facing soaring inflation, record unemployment, and rampant insecurity, it felt like a distraction from pressing realities.
Tinubu has also made a show of repaying over $3.4 billion of Nigeria’s debt to the IMF ahead of schedule, casting it as a demonstration of fiscal responsibility. Yet this has done little to alleviate the burden of domestic economic hardship: the Naira continues to depreciate, food prices have spiked, and millions are pushed deeper into poverty.
As it stands, an estimated 40% of Nigerians (87 million) are in poverty. Insecurity across the country remains rampant, with consistent terrorist attacks, banditry, and kidnappings still routine in the North, while separatist unrest simmers in the South-East.
Critics argue that Tinubu’s administration seems more concerned with securing investor confidence and Chinese approval than it is with instituting meaningful change on the ground. Meanwhile, domestic frustrations have intensified, particularly among young Nigerians who feel they are being governed by elites more interested in appearances than action.
Even in relatively stable Tanzania, concerns have been raised about creeping authoritarianism under President Samia Suluhu Hassan. While she was initially praised for opening political space after the death of her predecessor, recent crackdowns on opposition rallies and media freedom have raised eyebrows about the long-term health of Tanzanian democracy. Human rights groups have accused her government of abducting and killing several political rivals. Last year, senior opposition leader and Hassan critic Mohamed Ali Kibao was beaten to death by security forces and then doused in acid.
African nations in peril
As corruption threatens to spark conflict and instability, several nations already live this reality. Protracted conflicts and humanitarian crises continue to devastate large swathes of the continent.
Sudan is in the midst of a brutal civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The conflict, which began in 2023, has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions, creating one of the world’s most urgent but underreported humanitarian emergencies.
Cities such as Khartoum have been transformed into active war zones, while renewed ethnic violence in Darfur has revived fears of genocide. Entire communities have been displaced, infrastructure destroyed, and humanitarian access severely restricted, leaving millions without basic necessities. Despite international mediation efforts, both factions persist in disregarding calls for a ceasefire.
Ethiopia is also grappling with lingering instability following the Tigray War. While a 2022 peace deal formally ended hostilities, violence has erupted in other regions, particularly Amhara and Oromia.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, once hailed as a reformer and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, now faces criticism for centralising power and failing to address the root causes of ethnic tension. Mass arrests, internet shutdowns, and restrictions on journalists have raised concerns about the erosion of democratic gains made earlier in his tenure.
In Mozambique, an Islamist insurgency in the northern Cabo Delgado province has left thousands dead and hundreds of thousands displaced. Government forces, with the support of Rwandan troops and the Southern African Development Community, have made some significant gains. The root cause of the crisis lies not simply in extremist ideology or external influence, but in the chronic socioeconomic deprivation that has long defined life in northern Mozambique. Poverty, youth unemployment, and political marginalisation have created a fertile environment for recruitment by insurgent groups, who often capitalise on local grievances and disillusionment with the state.
These conditions are not incidental, but rather the enduring legacy of Mozambique’s colonial and post-colonial political economy. Under Portuguese rule, the north was systematically underdeveloped and excluded from the extractive infrastructure and investment directed toward the southern regions. That pattern has persisted into the post-independence era, where the central state, based in Maputo, has struggled—or at times failed—to integrate the north meaningfully into national development agendas.
As such, any lasting solution to the crisis must go beyond military containment and address the structural inequities that underpin the violence. Without targeted investment in education, infrastructure, and job creation – alongside genuine political inclusion—the underlying drivers of instability will persist.
The future of African politics
The narrative of African politics is not singular. It is dynamic, contested, and alive. To understand the state of African politics, one must go beyond the simple stereotypes. Yes, corruption exists and is problematic. Yes, conflict endures and is devastating. But so does reform. So does hope. From the resurgence of pan-African sentiment to the growing political consciousness among African youth, there are real signs that change is not only possible but inevitable.
For a continent with the youngest population on earth, it is these very youths, laughing at #CorruptTok, who may soon take centre stage. But one thing is for sure, the ‘forever wars’ across Africa need to become a thing of the past and allow the leaders of tomorrow to grow up in peace.