Post-colonial Africa, one can argue, has borne the greatest brunt of suffering and torture by the hands of warlords and dictators in the 20th Century. From man-eaters to self-proclaimed emperors and even those who seem to be immortal almost, this motley bunch of monsters sure make for an interesting read.

Idi Amin

In his eight years as the leader of Uganda, Amin earned the nickname The Butcher, partially because of his taste for human flesh – that’s right, oll Idi was a cannibal -, but we’re assuming it’s mostly brought on by the close to 500 000 people who were massacred under his rule.

Jean-Bedel Bokassa

Jean, or as he referred to himself, the Emperor of Central Africa, was a little bonkers from the start. An ex soldier in the french equatorial army, he rose to power after the CAR gained independence. While it’s unclear how many people his highness killed, we know that he was personally involved in the slaughter of 100 children who could not afford to buy school uniforms with his emblem on them. Oh and he bankrupted the CAR with his lavish crowning ceremony… no really, he used up all their cash.

Joseph Kony

As leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda – shame, Uganda really has has the wort of it – Kony was responsible for recruiting child soldiers and at the height of his military campaign aimed at ethnic cleansing, up to 1000 people were being massacred per week.

Joshua Blahyi

With an alias like General Butt Naked, Joshua doesn’t seem like the killing kinda guy. Thing is, he was one of the most feared generals during the liberian civil war of the 1990’s, where he would charge into battle wearing nothing but shoes… somehow he believed this made him invincible. Probably just made the attackers feel awkward and well, leave. Blahyi later converted to Christianity and now runs his own ministry, even after admitting that he’s personally responsible for the slaughter of more than 20 000 people.

Jean Kambanda

There’s a special place in hell or wherever the worst human beings go for this guy. Kambanda became president of Rwanda at the beginning of the genocide in that country, and remained president for the entire 100 days of the conflict between the Tutsis and the Hutus. When the conflict ended he had the blood of some 800 000 people on his hands; he’s also the first person ever to admit to committing genocide.

Charles Taylor

Charly became president of Liberia in 1997, shortly after that he set up his own private army and funded rebels in Sierra Leone in exchange for blood diamonds. Charles is responsible for the deaths of around 220 000 people; but even more interesting is his son Chuckie – couldn’t have been better if we wrote it – who followed in daddy’s footsteps. Chuck is still in prison.

Thomas Lubanga

Tommy was the founder of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UCP), a group that fought for control of gold reserves in the DRC. His favorite past time was recruiting child soldiers and… you guessed it, ethnic cleansing, 60 000 corpses to his name.

Bosco Ntanganda

Bosco was something of a warlord for rent. After helping to overthrow the Hutu-led government in Rwanda during the much-publicised civil war, he set his sights on Congo, where he helped overthrow the government there as well and was made head of their military. Bosco, also known affectionately as The Terminator, is responsible for somewhere in the region of 800 000 combined deaths, not to mention the countless human rights abuses.

Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir

Omar became president of Sudan (now divided into North and South Sudan) in 1989 and almost immediately started his assault on non-Arab Africans in the region. He used the country’s money to fund Islamist terrorists like Janjaweed, who, in turn, slaughtered black Africans by the truckloads. This monster is responsible for the killing of more than 300 000 Sudanese.

Robert Mugabe

Ah Bob, the only person on this list not yet prosecuted by the International Criminal Court. Our man Bob started out as something of a hero, but it wasn’t long before he showed us his true colours. Even before he came into government Robert Mugabe had blood on his hands. During the Rhodesian Civil War, Mugabe was responsible for the death of around 20 000 members of the Ndebele tribe while trying his hand at the Dictator go-to, ethnic cleansing. He also appears to be immortal, after three decades as supreme leader of his broken nation.

Well, there you have it. The ten scariest, craziest murderers ever to govern on this continent. Millions have died in the wake of their rule, but millions more continue to suffer as their legacy lingers on.