Africa

Alaa Salah, Kandaka or Nubian Queen, leading protests in Sudan, in April 2019

This year, some African dictators were deposed or killed. Those deposed include Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta and Guinean President Alpha Condé.  Chadian President Idriss Déby was killed. Meanwhile, many African dictators remain in power, including some already featured among AfroAmerica Network African ruthless dictators of 2018 (see AfroAmerica Network African Dictators Who Mattered In 2018: Congolese Joseph Kabila, Rwandan Paul Kagame, Ugandan Yoweri Museveni of Dec 27, 2018). New dictators are also joining the ranks.

Joshua Tuyishime aka Jay Polly's Umusaraba wa Joshua

“We are the captives of who we are and where we come from;  that we do not dare to speak up is not that ours brains are empty.  In life, a wise man watches out; the fact is that currently our hearts are full of pain and  worries". These are some of the lyrics that have allegedly landed the Rwandan renowned rapper Joshua Tuyishime aka Jay Polly, into a lengthy detention by Rwandan Police  since April 2021. On September 1, 2021, only a few hours after a court hearing in which his request for release while awaiting trial was denied, he was dead.  On social media and other circles, it is alleged that the music icon was killed for criticizing the Rwandan government for widespread repression against critics, being responsible for rampant poverty, ethnic discimination, and other human rights abuses and being connected to military leaders plotting a coup, including Gen Fred Ibingira, Rwanda Defence Force Chief of Staff  of the Reserve Force and  Retired Lt Gen  Charles Muhire.

Former University Lecturer, Rapper and Government Critic, Aimable Karasira

Aimable Karasira, a Rwandan former university lecturer, has been in jail since May 31, 2021. He has been accused of undermining the current Rwandan government, after he pointed to crimes and mass murders committed by the military leaders of the ruling RPF-Inkotanyi, including the assassination of his own parents and two brothers in 1994. Aimable Karasira was arrested, after he publicly criticized the  Rwanda the government's repressive policies and actions on his youTube Channel. Following the critics,  media and individuals, allegedly funded and sponsored by the government, filed a petition to have him arrested along with another journalist, Ms. Agnès Uwimana.
The government prosecution office, know as Rwandan Investigation Bureau (RIB), has charged Aimable Karasira of "denying and justifying the genocide against the Tutsi." According to AfroAmerica Network sources close to RIB, he has been moved to a high security detention area.