As Uganda’s longtime president Yoweri Kaguta Museveni approaches his 40th year in power, the question of succession is becoming an urgent concern because Museveni will be 81 in September.
First son and army commander General Muhoozi Kainerugaba first publicly expressed interest in succeeding his father in May 2022. Muhoozi’s announcement via his X (then Twitter) handle ended a decade of speculation that he was being groomed to succeed Museveni.
Although several former Museveni allies like Generals David Sejusa, Elly Tumwine, Kahinda Otafiire and Kizza Besigye have questioned the wisdom of such a succession plan, the Muhoozi project has continued to gather steam.
Museveni would not be the first African president to try and install his son after his rule. The “tradition” has enjoyed a gradual creep across the vast African continent. In some cases, the succession was not immediate but clearly groundwork was carefully laid.
Mauritius (The Ramgaloom family)
The current president of the island nation of Mauritius is Dr. Navinchandra Ramgoolam. He is the son of Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, the man considered to be the founding father of modern Mauritius. Seewoosagur Ramgoolam served as governor-general and later first prime minister of Mauritus after that island’s independence in 1968.
Current president Navinchandra Ramgoolam has ruled Mauritius twice before, assuming office after triumphing at the ballot box in 1995, 2014 and recently in 2024. He had to be persuaded to join politics by his father’s friends as he was more interested in a traditional medical career.
Togo (The Gnassingbé family)
After Gnassingbé Eyadéma’s iron grip on the Togolese presidency for 38 years, many wondered whether his more soft-spoken son Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé would manage when Eyadéma died in 2005. Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé is still the president of Togo 20 years later and aged only 58, may surpass the reign of his father. He has become adept at organising elections he wins.
Democratic Republic of Congo (The Kabila family)
Joseph Kabila is that rare first son who assumed his father Laurent Desire Kabila’s position after his shocking 2001 assassination and then gave it up after 18 years in 2019. Desire Kabila himself had become the president of Zaire, after more than 40 years of sporadically resisting the rule of Mobutu Sese-Seko, in a surprising turn of events in 1997.
Many expect Joseph Kabila will return to the Democratic Republic of Congo political fray in the near future after he is done exploring his academic interests in South Africa.
Kenya (The Kenyatta family)
When Kenya’s grand old man Jomo Kenyatta died in 1978, no one expected a Kenyatta to ever return to state house. Daniel Arap Moi’s 24 year made that seem even more implausible. But in 2013, Uhuru Kenyatta, who many had at one time written off as a playboy, got his act together to become Kenya’s fourth president. Surprisingly, now out of office, many Kenyans have come to think of him as possibly one of the best they ever had. His popularity out of office since 2022 is higher than when he was in.
Chad (The Deby family)
Few presidents in modern times die like Chad’s strong man Idriss Deby did: on the battlefront in 2021. But this was the life Idriss had lived in his 30 years as president of struggling to pacify Chad. His son Mahamat Déby, popularly known among Chadians as Kaka, picked right up from where his warrior father had dropped the mantle.
A general in the Chadian army, he continues to try to beat back rebels trying to advance on N’Djamena while mentoring his kin in case one of them will have to step up and into his shoes in the future. But it could be quite a wait as the younger Deby is only 41 years of age.
So there you have it! First sons can take over from their fathers in Africa and have successfully done so in several countries.
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