How Obama promoted Africa's most corrupt and evil dictators

Barack and Michelle Obama have an official portrait taken with Nigeria's president, Goodluck Jonathan

President Barrack Obama surprised the whole world this week when he rolled out The red carpet for some of Africa's most corrupt, most greedy and most violent leaders at the  first ever U.S-Africa summit at the White House. 

Although Zimbabwe’s brutal dictator Robert Mugabe was not among the guests invited to the occasion, the guest list still included several other African leaders with only slightly better human rights records.

Among the African leaders present at the event were Equatorial Guinea's Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who shot or jailed virtually all his political opponents, Gambia’s Yahya Jammeh, who threatened to ‘cut off the head’ of any homosexuals in the country and Cameroon’s Paul Biya, who has the dubious honor of ranking 19th on author David Wallechinsky's 2006 list of the world's 20 worst living dictators. Others were Angolan president Jose Eduardo do Santos who is widely reported to have murdered many and exploited the country's resources to his own gain and President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria who sparked major controversy over his decision in 2012 to end fuel subsidies not minding the fact that the decision directly put the poor masses at a disadvantaged position. He is also accused of pardoning corrupt politicians.

The White House promoted the summit as the largest-ever gathering of African leaders in the United States, with more than 50 countries represented.

Many of the leaders were later photographed in the White House, posing for individual portraits with Obama and the First Lady.

The President's opening speech avoided the prickly issues of homophobia and torture and instead sought out similarities between the two continents.

He opened with: ‘I stand before you as the president of the United States, a proud American. I also stand before you as the son of a man from Africa’.

Before going on to say: ‘Our faith traditions remind us of the inherent dignity of every human being and that our work as nations must be rooted in empathy and compassion for each other, as brothers and as sisters.’

Here we run the rule over nine of the most controversial leaders who enjoyed the lavish affair.

Barack Obama shakes hands with Gambia's Yahya AJJ Jammeh as the presidents pose for an official photo

Rwanda's president Paul Kagame with Barack Obama at the White House on Tuesday

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta with Barack and Michelle Obama

S President Barack Obama((L)) appauds with African leaders during a group photo at the US - Africa Leaders Summit at the US State Department in Washington DC

R

President Barack Obama and African leaders pose during the family photo session at the U.S. Africa Leaders Summit, on Wednesday, Auhust 6, 2014, at the State Department in Washington

Culled from DAILY MAIL