Africa’s political betrayal and the death of Morsi like Lumumba

Although Egyptians, despite being Africans, like Sudanese and other people in the Magreb regard themselves as Arabs, the brutal and lily-livered death of the former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi once again recaps Africa of its perfidy by its own children. The first and only democratically elected president of Egypt was killed by the ruling military dictatorship that overthrew him six years ago. Led by general Abdel Fattah al Sisi the current dictator, the current regime   Egypt back into a nether world of stinking dictators next to the skunk of the continent among other brutes. Interestingly, when Morsi was elected, the tutors of democracy from the west were not happy with his victory despite the fact that he won a credible, free and fair election by all standards. However, what Morsi, a professor of engineering who spent years teaching in the US is his party, the Muslim Brotherhood. In the eyes of western democracy, anything that doesn’t dance according to western tune of democracy is undemocratic and even when it wins, it must be brought down.

For those who still remember what transpired in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) soon after gaining its short-lived independence, still remember how Patrice Emery Lumumba was killed after being overthrown. The difference however is that Morsi died a slow death while Lumumba dies a quick one. Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Human Rights Watch's Middle East and North Africa division was quoted as saying that “what we have been documenting for the past several years is the fact that he [Morsi] has been in the worst conditions. Every time he appeared before the judge, he requested private medical care and medical treatment.”

 Lumumba’s sin was to ally himself with communism while Morsi Morsi’s sin was to ally himself with Muslim Brotherhood hence Islamism. At the time Lumumba was overthrown and killed communism was as dangerous as Islamism is currently. What unites the duo in this war of isms is the fact that Africa, as a perpetual loser, has paid dearly since it got its independence.

            Even when Morsi was overthrown, the African Unity (AU) didn’t help him or show any signs of trying to. Like Lumumba, when Morsi was killed, he was disposed quickly on an unmarked grave to erase his history. Will this work really?

            Another similarity is the fact that the duo was the first elected leaders of their countries as and they were all incredibly betrayed by the people they trusted and appointed. Lumumba appointed Joseph Mobutu and Morsi al Sisi. Both betrayers grabbed powers from their bosses and became archetypal brutal dictators who jailed and killed thousands including their bosses and their countries.

Further, the duos were all overthrown under the instructions of foreign powers that did not like their policies of total coexistence and emancipation based on justice.  To know how foreign powers’ hand in this international conspiracy against Africa had, when the White spokesperson was asked her views on the death of Morsi, she shamelessly said that they had heard about it. And right away signified the battery of journalist to ask another question on other issues as if the death of Morsi was a death of an infant. On top of that, almost all tutors of democracy did not even issue any condolences either to the family or the country. Why? They were giggling about the death of one of the threats to their interests in the continent they turned into a perpetual no man’s land littered by many stooges in the office of the president.

             Another similarity is that when Morsi and Lumumba where martyred, to borrow a luffa from Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, their deaths became the genesis of corrupt and stinking dictatorships the west propped up and maintained in power for the detriment of Africa.

            If anything, if there is anything humans have proved to be good at is nothing but not learning from history. How long will this betrayal of Africa persist? How long will Africans keep on betraying each other and their continent for nugatory gains? How long will the world keep aside and watch this carnage unleashed on Africa and its true leaders as it is in the case of the two leaders above? How many will follow and why should this continue as if Africa has never birthed any sane humans who would adequately and timely address this betrayal.

Farewell Morsi. You fought a very good fight up to the end. As Erdoğan succinctly puts it “The oppressors may make attempts against the lives of the oppressed and may even lead them to be martyred, but they can never harm the glory of their struggle.”

A Luta Continua, struggle continues.