There once was a president who denied that a virus was causing extensive infections. He silenced eminent scientists and entertained a wide range of conspiracy theories.
During his reign, politicking took precedence over scientific facts, blind loyalty was rewarded over scientific excellence and quacks with fake cures were entertained at the highest level.
His name was Thabo Mbeki and he became president of South Africa in 1999 – right when HIV was starting to spread exponentially in the country.
