Top 100 Africans
Nelson Mandela South Africa
Politics & Activism
John Githongo Kenya
Nana Rawlings Ghana
Africa’s most revered and respected statesman. A household name worldwide, at 93 years old Nelson Mandela continues to be a global inspiration. His leadership acumen, his courage, humility and selflessness make him stand out. His life story is widely considered symbolic of the triumph of the human spirit over man’s inhumanity to man.
“We must use time wisely
and forever realise that the time is always ripe to do right”
Robert Mugabe Zimbabwe
One of Africa’s most fearless whistleblowers, he risked his life as Kenya’s anti-corruption czar, unearthing a US$1bn corruption scandal which involved some of the country’s top ministers. Githongo, a former investigative journalist, whose passion against corrupt African leaders wins him no friends, has earned himself international acclaim, including a recent appointment as a commissioner on Britain’s Independent Commission for Aid (ICA), which has been set up to scrutinise the effectiveness of British overseas aid spending.
Kofi Annan Ghana
The former First Lady is considered one of Africa’s most socially progressive and influential women. She is the founder of the 31st December Women’s Movement, a women’s empowerment organisation, of which she has been president for 30 years, to the disdain of her critics. She firmly believes that women hold the key to ending poverty if given the means to do so. Last month she announced she will challenge the incumbent President John Atta Mills to be the ruling National Democratic Congress party candidate in Ghana’s next presidential elections.
Kah Walla Cameroon
The controversial leader who has dominated Zimbabwean politics since coming to power on a popular wave of colonial liberation over 30 years ago, continues to mesmerise the world as well as vex his opponents with his ability to hold on to power. Questions about what went wrong in one of Africa’s “breadbaskets” keep the name of Mugabe in international headlines and he is always a subject of discussion in most fora about Africa’s political and economic future, as people consider what there is to be learnt, or not learnt from his example.
12 | June 2011 New African
Some people’s fame and influence precedes them. Kofi Annan is one of those people. After finishing his two terms as UN secretary general, and returning to his home country Ghana, Annan’s influence on the continent is arguably bigger today than it ever was. Like wine becoming better with age, Annan’s work, after the UN, gets even better by the day. He sits on the board of a number of influential panels and works tirelessely to improve peace and governance as well as dedicating much effort to his pet project, overseeing a green revolution in Africa.
She is described as a possible next “Johnson-Sirleaf”. The fearless 46-year- old founder of Cameroon Ô’Bosso (“Cameroon Let’s Go”), a civil society organisation that supports free and fair elections, is the only female candidate in the upcoming presidential election due in October this year. She is the recipient of the 2011 Vital Voices Global Leadership Award for Leadership in Public Life, which honours and celebrates women leaders who are working to strengthen democracy, increase economic opportunity and protect human rights.
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