via Mugabe ranked among sub-Saharan Africa’s 26 worst leaders 5 August 2014 by Everson Mushava
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe has been ranked among sub-Saharan Africa’s 26 worst leaders in a poll released yesterday by Gallup, an American research organisation that studies approval rates for presidents worldwide.
The Gallup results, which were released as leaders were getting ready to attend the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit in Washington DC this week, are based on face-to-face interviews with at least 1 000 adults, aged 15 and older, conducted in the 26 countries.
Mugabe, who was ranked 21 out of 26 leaders, received an approval rating of 44% and was tied together with Chad’s Idriss Déby while Mali’s Ibrahim Boubacar Keita topped the list at 86%.
Botswana President Ian Khama (81%) was ranked second best in the region with Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta (78%) on third position.
According to the survey, Mugabe edged his southern neighbour, South African President Jacob Zuma, who was ranked 25th with 41% approval. Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan was ranked 23rd, with a single percentage point behind Mugabe.
Democratic Republic of Congo leader Joseph Kabila sat at the bottom of the log table with 24% .
Seventeen presidents, among them former Malawian President Joyce Banda (51%), Cameroon’s Paul Biya (70%), Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni (62%), Tanzania’s Jakaya Kikwete (59%), Ivory Coast’s Allassane Quattara (57%) and Benin’s BoniYayi (55%) managed to score above 50%.
Of the leaders with the highest approval ratings, only two, Biya and Museveni, have been in office for more than two decades.
Mugabe, who has been in power since 1980, is Africa’s longest-serving president.
“Across all sub-Saharan African countries surveyed in 2013, residents who said they are living comfortably or are getting by on their present income were far more likely than those who said they are less well-off to approve of their presidents’ job performance. This suggests that better-off residents may be benefiting, either directly or indirectly, from a certain economic climate nurtured by the leader and his or her policies,” the survey observed.
The survey also observed that leaders who have been in power for more than two decades have been approved by senior citizens. Mugabe received the lowest approval rating from people aged 15 to 24, but was approved more by those above 51 years.
“The generational gap is most acute in Kenya and Nigeria. Younger Nigerians are the most likely to approve of the job performance of their president compared with all other age groups. In Kenya, those aged 45 and older are the most likely to approve of the job their president is doing,” Gallup concluded.
Presidents in countries facing economic challenges received lower ranking, Gallup observed.
Zimbabwe is currently facing serious economic hardships that have seen companies closing down and workers retrenched, government struggling to pay workers and the country facing a debilitating cash crunch.
Mugabe is accused by his political opponents and economists of being clueless on resolving the economic challenges the country is facing.
COMMENTS
This is a misleading survey or the selection the people asked was terribly flawed. Not a single South African is a political or an economic refugee in any country.There is peace compared to many countries in the continent and yet their presidents are said to be better than Zuma. Presidents who have failed to unite their nationals forcing them to illegally settle in South Africa are better than Zuma who leads a government with the most democratic constitution but the craziest by African values and standards as it allows all sorts of lunatics to insult the sitting President any time any where they dream. Mugabe wont even allow criticism on the internet as evidenced by the Baba Jukwa case. Thousands of Africans are perishing in high seas as they desperately try to even go to poor European countries. Their presidents are better! Such surveys help to popularize leaders like our Robert Mugabe.
Bazur Wa KuMuzi for goodness sake shake your head man I think your brain is stuck!!
REverend he is right, Mugabe is in the bottom 26 of a terrible selection of presidents. What he says is that in Africa even those with a popularity of more than 50% are bad. Even Kenyatta at the top of the pole is (or was) wanted by the ICC? I would put Ian Khama at the top even though his legacy is one of a family lineage.
Twenty-sixth? Guess this was another stolen election. He should have come out first.
@BAZUR WA KUMUZI;if you were to be asked about your opinion on President Zuma’s endorsement of our Zim 2013 controversial elections where there was no voters roll in public,which is heresy on its on in any democracy-even in Zuma’s SA,what were you going to say?Remember the unconditional support also that his ANC administration gives to Zanu PF under the theme:LIBERATION MOVEMENTS.Lastly,if you were South African-what percentage of approval were you going to give the Zuma Nkandla-Gate?
Can’t you punctuate properly,
your posts are so hard to read,
every word crammed against the next…..
I am terribly disappointed. He should have won “Worst President” hands down and given a gold medal for arrogance and stupidity.
After all, long ago we beat Nigeria in the Corruption Stakes.
Is the next goal “poorest nation in Africa”?
Given Bob’s high level of education, vast experiance and the richly resoursed country he is ruining with ZimArsol and vetran victimhood rhetoric. Mugabe’s rating should be far much lower than it is. Zuma is running his country well, South Africans are just too hush with him, lets swap with Bob to complement malema. I think Zuma will enjoy wornking with Morgan. The population will grow as well as the economy
They are all everyone of them a disgrace apart from botswana
49 African nations are currently wooing Obama at a Washington bun fight. Mugarbage was kicked out !!!!!!!!!
No shopping for Disgrace. Shem, shem!
I have no doubt that Robert Mugabe is on of the worst alive. Any person that could sanction the killings of over 20000 innocents in a systematic way has to be the Devil incarnate. Our brothers in Mashonaland (Chingwizi) are only seeing the regime when it is at it’s most merciful mode. Ask anyone who was there when they surrounded the western parts of Bulawayo. Ask anyone who experienced the Victoria falls road blocks. Ask the people of Gwayi, Sawmills,Igusi, Lupane and other parts in the region that survived. Now you can ask the Chingwizi people as well. The EU watch whilst the EU ambassador works for the regime. A lot has been said about Ian Smith and the Rhodesian Army. They were priests compared to this lot.
What a stupid, pointless article – I mean, to catergorize him with 25 other leaders who are no doubt NOT in his league is ridiculous! Sure there are many that may come ‘close’, but none could be as bad has him. There would probably be more merit in stating that Mugabe is in the top 3 worst leaders in Africa, that would probably be a bit closer to the truth! There are many, many reasons to justify why he is so useless – where do you start? Bottom line is, Kamudhara kapera basa aka!!
Is this not meant to say; “Mugabe ranked amongst the (6) worst of 26 sub-Saharan leaders”?
Strange poll results: Banda who has just accepted losing an election gets over 50% approval while Zuma who has just won an uncontested election is below 50% (and below Mugabe).
Zuma is being judged on the basis of speculation. Again, the world out there dont like him because he is too African and proud of it too!
Mugabe is about to become the chairperson of SADAC. He is also sitting as the sub chairperson of the AU. Little wonder, with one exception, there is such a leadership vacuum in Africa. It seems that tyrants that have distroyed their own countries, are the ones that are rewarded and doted on, in Africa. This continent needs a serious mental evaluation! It has gone mad!!
You shall know them by their fruit…..?????
Mugabe is so heartless his brain has worms that keep him alive thus the lack of any feelings whatsoever. The mongrel .
Mugabe has no problem, we are the fools that put him into power and only us can take him out..
Ummmm.. People, this is a Gallup poll… same style as is used to measure people’s approval rating of the president. This article is misleading… The approval pole does not determine who is the worst or best president. It simply measures what percentage of the population are happy with the way the president is doing his Job. At some point, Barak Obama, George Bush etc had an approval rating below 50%. All this poll shows is that 44% of people in Zimbabwe believe that the president is doing a good job. This should actually be an endorsement of the government. The lowest approval rating by Geoges Bush was 22%. Barack Obama has hovered at 47% and droped to as low as 42% in December 2013. According to this poll, can we then say that President Mugabe is a “better” or “worse” President than Bush was or Obama is?
Uneducated journalism…
Can anyone really believe that Mugabe & govt are “doing a good job”? In a country where the people are too terrified even to talk about politics?
There is nothing new here. In Zim we all know this; he is a gukurahundi after all.
The worst thing about this man is that he does not drink; does not smoke; does not take drugs and is always as sober as a judge everytime he carries out his evil deeds on humanity.
I wonder what psychologists call such a a piece of human shiit? Have they ever tried to scientifically evaluate the mental state of such a creature? Does he have a conscience?
Any normal human being with a past record like this gukurahundi creature is most likely to be a victim of high blood pressure; high stress levels? But this doesn’t seem to be the case with this evil two-legged dark-skinned thing; mara why
There are a few people in history that just had a way of captivating people. The are two types. The Nelson Mandela’s and the Martin Luthar Kings of the world had an effect on people who came before them. You felt you had been to listen to what they say.But they were for the right reason. Robert Mugabe is the same but different if you know what I mean. He captivates people like when they are in the presence of a snake. You cannot move. Then later on you know you were just in the presence of evil. I can remember even people who hated him that stood in awe of him. That’s why his subordinates are so mesmerized by him that the will agree to anything he says. He is a very dangerous man and Zimbabweans will begin to think straight when he is gone.
You hit the nail right on the head, GBU. The church should know this and they should know how to pray. Where is our discernment? The church must repent and pray to break this evil hold on Zimbabwe. Remember we wrestle not against flesh and blood……! Its the evil behind these people.
Tswangirayi was visited by highly drugged red-eyed thugs in police cells late at night in 2007 and was beaten to pulp. The skull was nearly cracked and the two-legged dark skinned gukurahundi thug simply laughed it off with absolute abandon.
Thats Catholicism for you mfethu!!
I bet you the children and wife think he is the best father/man in their lives. Makes you wonder!
This Jacob Zuma has not only got Nkandlagate he has Guptagate where his asian friend Gupta who has employed some of Zumas relatives ,used an airforce base to fly in wedding guests from India and they avoided customs and immigration and the guests were given a police escort. yes someone was relieved of his duties but his friend Gupta has never been brought to book. Before being elected president he was left off the hook for rape.-what does that tell you. He accused the EU people of Cherry picking -standing by the 90 year old geriatric.
This Zumas son killed a zimbabwean woman when his posh car hit a kombi – doubt if he has been brought to book
Petal
This is all speculation. I guess we all now have to take speculation as fact in our everyday lives mfowethu. We also need to ignore court rulings that we dont like and continue with speculations as long as they suit our agendas and expectations!!
No mention of Swaziland in the rankings where the people are suffering
In South Africa Mugabe is ranked as Africa’s best leader – it all depends on who you talk to – the South Africans love Mr Mugabe