African Leadership Council
Code of African Leadership
Mombasa, 20 March 2004

African leaders serve their peoples and their nations best when:

1. They offer a coherent vision of individual growth and national advancement with justice and dignity for all.

2. They seek to be transformational more than transactional leaders.

3. They encourage broad participation of all levels of society, including all minorities and majorities, and emphasize the deliberative nature of the best democratic practices.

4. They demonstrate in their professional and personal lives deep respect for the letter and the spirit of all of the provisions of the national constitution, including strictly abiding by term limits.

5. They lead by example and teaching to acquaint their peoples with respect for dissent, the ideas of others, and the importance of disagreement between political parties and individuals.

6. They enforce rulings of all courts and independent tribunals and emphasize and strengthen the independence of the judiciary, so as to bolster the rule of law.

7. They respect international conventions and international laws.

8. They promote transparency and encourage and adhere to internationally common forms of accountability.

9. They recognize that they are accountable for their actions and that no one is above the law nationally and internationally.

10. They accept peer review.

11. They promote policies aimed at eradicating poverty and enhancing the welfare and livelihood of their people within an appropriate macroeconomic framework.

12. They strengthen and improve access to education and health care.

13. They respect all human rights and civil liberties.

14. They demand and work for the peaceful and lawful transfer of power.

15. They promote and respect the separation of powers by ensuring financial autonomy of the judiciary and parliament, and ensure that the judiciary and parliament are free from unlawful interference by the executive.

16. They adhere to a strong code of ethics and demand the same from all subordinate officials and cabinet ministers.

17. They do not use their office for personal gain and avoid (or declare) all conflicts of interest; they declare their personal and immediate family assets yearly.

18. They specifically eschew corrupt practices and expose those in their official capacities that violate national laws and practices against corruption.

19. They ensure human security.

20. They respect freedom of religion.

21. They respect freedom of the press and media.

22. They respect freedom of assembly.

23. They respect freedom of expression.