Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has won the special “Lifetime Non-Achievement Award” for his regime characterised by massive corruption, “unlawful arrests, forced disappearances, and torture”.
The Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), in its list of the corrupt persons of the year, published on December 31, said its judges awarded Mr Obiang the achievement for the first time in the contest’s 13-year history.
The report said Mr Obiang, one of the world’s longest-serving dictators, who led a coup to seize power from his uncle in 1979, has since then “mercilessly repressed any dissent with unlawful arrests, forced disappearances, and torture.”
“While Equatorial Guinea is a small country blessed with significant oil and gas deposits that have generated considerable revenue, Obiang has stolen much of the country’s wealth together with a ruling elite,” said the report.
It added, “Instead of developing the country into a model for Africa, he has squandered its natural resources, living an obscenely lavish lifestyle while the rest of the population suffers in poverty.”
The report said the president, whose influence in Africa continues to grow, failed to develop the country but continues to live a luxurious lifestyle even as the population grapples with poverty.
One of the judges at this year’s contest, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, a Ghanaian investigative journalist, said Mr Obiang had created a dynasty of wealth and impunity by instilling fear, repression, and corruption.
“His dictatorial tendencies are being rapidly replicated by leaders across the African continent, with coup leaders today looking up to him as a godfather, harbouring similar ambitions to become godfathers of corruption like him,” Mr Anas said.
OCCRP publisher Drew Sullivan said leaders like Mr Obiang use corruption to capture states and make autocratic governments powerful.
“These corrupt governments violate human rights, manipulate elections, plunder natural resources, and ultimately create conflict from their inherent instability. Their only future is violent collapse or bloody revolution,” said Mr Sullivam.
The infamous award came after OCCRP, a group that coordinates a network of global investigative journalists and activists, called for people worldwide to nominate individuals worthy of taking the spotlight for their roles in advancing criminal activities while aggravating poverty.
