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Recently, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced Mozambique's ex-President Joachim Chissano winner of the inaugural Mo Ibrahim Prize for African Leadership.
Chissano received the inaugural Mo Ibrahim award for achievement in African leadership for peacefully handing over power even when the ex-Mozambican president had leeway to run for a third term.

Chissano got five million US dollars -the reward for retiring African Head of State.The Mo Ibrahim Prize for African Leadership was founded by the Sudanese-born Mo Ibrahim who quit his job at British Telecom where he was earning 45,000 a year.He also founded and sold,Celtel, the pan-Africa cell phone company.
According to Annan, ex-African leaders do not benefit from lecture tours as Western statesmen like Bill Clinton, and are vulnerable to the temptation to plunder their nation's treasuries as a "retirement fund".

Mo Ibrahim revealed that when an African leader is coming to the end of his term, there are only three choices - steal enough money to fund their retirement; manipulate the rules to stay in office indefinitely; or to live in relative poverty. His prize,therefore, was an incentive for African leaders to give up their leadership.
But Ugandan president says he is no pauper and does not need the $5million cash prize for former African leaders to coax him into retiring voluntarily. He recently told reporters in Washington D.C.

"If you are used to poor leaders, I am not one of them," Mr Museveni told Ugandans in the US on Tuesday. "You better come and visit me. I don't need money to leave power. Therefore I cannot be a candidate."

Any thoughts of the leader retiring should be dispelled, Mr Museveni said, adding that he would only retire after "accomplishing" his "mission" or if his ruling party decides to exit him.

Mr Chissano, a close confidant of Mr Museveni, said autocratic rule, including military rule, single party rule and life presidency projects, do not have room on the African continent anymore.
Mr Museveni dismissed accusations that he was clinging to power and said those who accuse him of plotting to entrench himself in power do not differentiate between power and struggle.

"You talk about the 20 years I have been in power forgetting that I have been in the struggle for many years," the President said. "Suppose I had retired in 1975 before the defeating of Idi Amin?" The statement quoted Mr museveni as saying a struggle has many phases, adding that "taking state power does not mean the end of the struggle."

The President said each country has its history, problems and challenges and cited Israel as an example, saying its leaders have been around for a very long time but this does not prevent the emergence of new leaders.

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