10 Most Brutal African Dictators

7. Ahmed Sékou Touré - Guinea

By A1C WILLIAM FIRANECK (http://www.dodmedia.osd.mil/, DF-SC-83-08641) [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

In 1958, Charles de Gaulle proposed to France's African colonies an in-or-out referendum, either to remain part of the Union Française, or become fully independent and immediately be deprived of all France€'s support. Fifteen of France's sixteen African departments voted overwhelmingly in favour of the status quo. Guinea was the exception.

Sékou Touré, a Guinean aristocrat who was a study of the Communist works of Lenin and Marx, led the Democratic Party of Guinea to strongly push for a 'no' vote during the referendum. Contrary to each of the other French dependencies on the continent, the Guinean population sided with Touré with a mammoth 95% of votes against. Four days later, Guinea was declared independent.

Despite leading Guinea to alleged democracy, Touré's rule was the complete opposite. The country's first president enshrined that his party be the only legal party in the country, and for the next twenty-four years he ruled with complete authority in a one-party state.

Touré won the Lenin Peace Prize in 1961 largely thanks to his Marxist policies, but his actions towards political opponents were anything but peaceful. The president established the Camp Boiro site within the capital Conakry, where he perfected his efficient and bloodless form of execution known as the 'black diet' - a complete withdrawal of food and water. In total, over 5,000 people were interred and ultimately killed in the prison, with estimates suggesting that as many as ten times the number were victims of Touré's regime.

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Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.