Former President of Ivory Coast Mr. Gbagbo made mistake after mistake and in the end he lost everything. He concentrated his greed, refused to hand power to the man who had been widely recognized as the victor of the elections in 2012, Mr. Alassane Ouattara. Indeed Mr. Gbagbo thought his militia and some security forces he had put around his residence area, all heavily armed could stand the pressure of the will of the Ivorian People supported by the French mighty.

Burundi’s President Pierre Nkuruziza (L

The fundamental feeling is that he failed to win the hearts and minds of the population of Ivory Coast. He underestimated the will of the people, and the credit must go to the Ivorian people. Laurent Gbagbo could have gone in dignity but he didn’t chose the route of peaceful handover of power , in fact like Nkurunziza , Mr Gbagbo had been a victim of dictators himself , why did he chose the path of  hell?

Indeed, he had a choice of having a villa of his choice in his country as a former head of state, an assurance of a delicious croissant every morning, and a UN job as a state’s man and be counted in the books of history as the man who handed power peacefully in his country.

Instead, he chose the path of indignity and humiliation–a former president trapped in a hole like a rat, sweating like he had run a marathon, wiping sweat from his armpit. That sight was both annoying and sad.

Gbagbo with his wife after the arrest

All African leaders like Mr. Gbagbo, who bring their country to ruin just so they can stay in power for longer, they do not deserve any mercy.  Mr. Gbagbo  proved to the world that he’s one of the worst African fools of the new millennium, I feel sorry for him and all the opportunities he missed to walk away a dignified man, if not a hero. I believe that a man should be able to stand by his convictions and defend them. But it gets to a point where the tide turns and comes at you like a tsunami. That’s when you walk away. That’s the lesson I hope Mr. Nkurunziza and others can get from Gbagbo’s fall.

Unfortunately the whole world is watching that Burundi crisis is not going to end well–not for Mr. Nkurunziza either. Only Nkurunziza and the sycophants around him don’t see that the end is going to be this bad.  Like Mr. Gbagbo ,  Nkurunziza, is likely to  leave  the State House  with the forlorn expression on his battered face and wiping sweat from his armpit. Humiliated and shamed.

The United States State Department Spokesperson Marie Harf has warned Burundi of losing an opportunity to strengthen democratic process “The United States deeply regrets the decision by Burundi’s ruling party, the National Council for the Defense of Democracy–Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD), to disregard the term-limit provisions of the Arusha Agreement by naming President Pierre Nkurunziza as its candidate for a third presidential term. With this decision, Burundi is losing an historic opportunity to strengthen its democracy by establishing a tradition of peaceful democratic transition.”

The United States has further warned Burundi officials that they could end up in courts of law and targeted sanctions  “The United States will continue to monitor the situation in Burundi closely and take targeted measures, including, where appropriate, by denying U.S. visas, to hold accountable those individuals who participate in, plan, or order violence against the civilian population. Violence has no place in democratic elections, and perpetrators of such violence will not be welcome to travel to the United States and risk being held accountable in a court of law for any crimes for which they are responsible”.

The same warning was echoed by the United Kingdom through their Embassy in Kigali, they argued that there have been increasing reports of politically motivated violence, including extrajudicial killings, harassment of the media, and manipulation of security forces for political ends. According to the UK foreign policy on Burundi, Nkurunziza wouldn’t have sought another term in the first place.  They further said that, the government of Burundi should strengthen democratic accountability and improve the long-term stability of Burundi, “the government needs to put an end to the culture of political violence, and abide by the presidential term limits set out in the constitution”.

While Pierre Nkurunziza might have a desire to stand again against the rules that brought him into power, he should follow his religious ethics(Jeremiah 5:21)and common sense, that bringing back his country into chaos and bloodshed is not only legally wrong but also morally unacceptable, and history will judge him harshly.

Jacqueline Umurungi