Abstract
The title of Ibrahima Baba Kaké’s 1987 posthumous biography of Ahmed Sékou Touré, Le Héros et le Tyran (The Hero and the Tyrant), succinctly described the legacy and 26-year presidency of Guinea’s independence struggle leader. Between heroism and tyranny lies an intriguing personality with extraordinary capacity for both admirable and despicable deeds, a prolific author who had only six years of formal schooling. Africans familiar with his demigod manner of leadership at all levels of society proverbially describe such people noting, “The same way he can be good that’s the same way he can be bad.” Significantly, an efficacious but harsh traditional herbal malaria treatment that temporarily troubles one with diarrhea and vomiting is commonly known as Sékou Touré leaf.1
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References
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© 2014 Baba G. Jallow
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Kamil, M. (2014). Ahmed Sékou Touré: The Tyrant Hero. In: Jallow, B.G. (eds) Leadership in Postcolonial Africa. Palgrave Studies in African Leadership. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137478122_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137478122_3
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
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