Mo Ibrahim warns of decline in African rights and democracy
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Club of Mozambique
Mo Ibrahim, founder of the foundation monitoring governance in Africa, says rights and political participation are declining amid the rise of authoritarian leaders. His foundation’s report finds that 30 countries, representing half of Africa’s population, improved their overall score between 2016 and 2025, while 23 countries regressed, according to AFP.
Human rights and political participation are declining in several African countries, despite progress in economic opportunities and human development over the past decade, Mo Ibrahim told AFP. The founder of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, which monitors governance in Africa, is concerned about the rise of authoritarian leaders and the decline in freedoms.
The foundation’s governance index indicates that 30 countries, representing half the continent’s population, improved their overall score in 2025 compared with 2016. Twenty-three countries recorded a deterioration and another remained stable. Seven of the 10 countries that experienced the sharpest decline underwent at least one coup during the period, including Burkina Faso, which recorded the biggest drop.
Mo Ibrahim also referred to elections held in Tanzania and Uganda over the past year. In Tanzania, security forces were accused of killing thousands of protesters; in Uganda, opposition leader Bobi Wine was prosecuted and physically assaulted, according to Ibrahim. He also criticised the US administration’s decision to end USAID, which halted billions of dollars in aid to African countries, while saying that Africa had so far withstood the cuts.
