“The law is the law and no one person is the law, not even the president“.
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In the end, President Barack Obama may have gotten closer to the bones of ancient mankind than he did to ordinary Africans on what was probably his last trip to Africa as president.
“Democracy is not just mere elections”, he said.
“Nations can not realise the full promise of independence until they fully protect the rights of their people“.
“He was also very forthright about how it was wrong for leaders to hold onto power for too long”, Smith says.
Mugabe also chairs the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
At the end of his blunt-speaking safari, US President Barak Obama has praised Ethiopia’s contribution to the fight against terrorism.
“On the other hand”, he said, “we need only look to the Middle East and North Africa to see that large numbers of young people with no jobs and stifled voices can fuel instability and disorder”.
He added that changing the rules to stay in office is the “first step down a perilous path”.
George Charamba said this after Mugabe, who is the current AU chairperson was excluded from meeting Obama during his visit at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Tuesday. “It will mean more time with my family, new ways to serve, and more visits to Africa”. But none had the instant credibility African leaders confer on Obama, whose visit was heralded as a homecoming. Fellow African countries have to talk about these things.
“I want Africans and Americans doing more business together in more sectors, in more countries”.
As he did in Kenya, Obama briefly cited gay rights as he argued everyone should be treated equally no matter “who they love”.
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the African Union Commission chairman, told The Daily Telegraph she was “pleased” with the issues he raised.
At the same time, Obama said the world needed to “recognise Africa’s extraordinary progress”, and outlined how American businesses were increasing US trade with the continent.
They would go out of their minds with vitriol and hate with another Obama term.
As he spoke, he deviated frequently from his prepared remarks, turning one solemn passage about the importance of peaceful transfer of power into a amusing riff about how he’s turning over his office in 18 months even though he thinks he could win.
In fact, Obama said he was “looking for the life after being president… We can’t let old traditions stand in the way”.
“Yesterday he was a tricky and mischievous politician”, Yonathan Tesfaye, a spokesman for Ethiopia’s opposition Blue party, said in a reference to Obama’s comment that Ethiopia’s government was democratically elected.
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He also used the opportunity to call upon African leaders to open their doors wide for negotiation and discussion with political parties in order to take national conciseness to its peak.
