The Brotherhood of the Damned Trilogy
Part III – the Brothers all Democratic Dialogue

FreeAfrica –– October 9, 2003

That contemporary African political leaders recognize and embrace democratic dialogue as a fundamental instrument for the attainment of electoral power is true. But it is also true that these statesmen of the African Union are evidently afflicted with perennial paranoia whenever they face democratic dialogue for democratic accountability.

But then perhaps historians and scholars should come to terms with the fact that an African Union type African body politic once led by the likes of ‘Dr Field Marshal’ Idi Amin Dada, and lately the African Union itself which is led by the likes of Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe (an alleged war criminal/electoral fraudster), defines this type of electoral power as ‘democracy without the complicated bits.’

And so it is then that these Rogues Gallery type ‘democratic’ leaders do not expect to be held democratically accountable, once they have ‘used’ the democratic electoral process to attain power. To them, ‘democracy without the complicated bits’ guarantees them absolute power that is synonymous with the divine rights of kings.

And since absolute political power corrupts absolutely, many of these ‘democratic’ leaders have become absolutely corrupt.

But since elected officials/leaders are elected to serve (as servants and not as masters of the electorate), the leaders and peoples of the free world have an inescapable moral duty to respect the humanity and dignity of the victims of these apparent moral delinquents whenever the rights and resources of the African people are mortgaged by these despots – diplomatic niceties notwithstanding.

Understandably, diplomatic recognition and/or passive support for these disciples of ‘democracy without the complicated bits’ amounts to aiding and abetting outrageous attacks on the institution of democracy.

It is for this reason, and for many other good and true democratic reasons, that an appeal is being made to the good consciences of the Brothers all – and to the good consciences of the good and true friends of the Brothers all – to join a Brothers All Democratic Dialogue and Debate for the defense of the institution of democracy (from cynical abuse by despots), and to decide as to how the victims of ‘democracy without the complicated bits’ might win their freedom.