Winners in the fight for Africa's democracies are getting hard to find

When the Sudanese telecoms billionaire Mo Ibrahim launched the Ibrahim Prize for African Leadership in 2007, he hoped the prestige and the $5m cheque would give democracy on the continent a much-needed boost. Leaders were eligible if they had been democratically elected, strengthened their country's human rights and prosperity, and - crucially - had stepped down when their time in office came to an end.

- Steve Bloomfield

The first winner was Mozambique's Joaquim Chissano, followed a year later by Botswana's Festus Mogae. But then things became tricky. In 2009 and 2010, the committee couldn't find anyone fit to wear the crown, and in the years since the prize has become a barometer for the continent's declining democratic health. In the 2010s just four leaders were deemed worthy, and in this decade the situation is worse: this year, for the fifth time in a row, there was no winner.

The past few years have seen coups, rigged elections and opposition leaders in court or even jail. "There is a creeping sense of authoritarianism," says Murithi Mutiga, a former Kenyan journalist who runs the Africa programme at International Crisis Group.

In the past week, three countries until recently viewed as success stories have cracked down on opposition. In Ivory Coast, the main opposition leader, Tidjane Thiam, was struck off the electoral roll and barred from running in October's election; in Tanzania, Tundu Lissu, leader of the opposition Chadema party, was charged with treason; in Tunisia, 40 opposition figures were sent to jail for up to 66 years.