Denying the existence of ethnic differences in the Gt. Lakes region is absurd

I have used the word ‘absurd’ after careful reflection. According to Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary the word ‘absurd’ means “clearly untrue or unreasonable; ridiculously inconsistent with reason, or the plain dictates of common sense; logically contradictory. An absurd man acts contrary to the clear dictates of reason or sound judgement. An absurd proposition contradicts obvious truth”.

Because some African leaders believe that ethnicity, tribalism or divisionism – be it religion or race – is the root cause of political instability and conflict, they have decided to deny that ethnicity exists or to legislate against its use in public discourse. In Uganda there is a law against ‘sectarianism’; in Rwanda the word ‘divisionism’ is the equivalent of sectarianism in Uganda.

At a workshop in New York about Rwanda some participants who had gathered to talk about post-genocide progress singled out the disappearance of ethnicity as the most significant achievement. They stressed that Rwandese had decided to put the past behind them and move on as one nation. They added that ethnicity was a colonial creation which should not be carried into post-genocide Rwanda. They emphasized that in pre-colonial days Rwandese not only spoke the same language, went to the same church, lived on the same hill but also practiced complementary economic systems as one people. These symbiotic relations were shattered following the arrival of Europeans and the imposition of divide-and-rule methods that favored one group over another.

Highlights of Banyarwanda in Eastern DRC

The political and economic history of eastern DRC has become complex because of the gifts of nature. First, apart from diamonds in southern Kasai, all the known minerals lie in the eastern part of the country from Orientale in the north to Shaba in the south with Maniema, North and South Kivu in between. Second, most of the fertile land, abundant rainfall and good weather are found in the same area. Third, political developments in Rwanda’s history have caused many Banyarwanda to seek new homes including in eastern DRC. Fourth, natural or man-made disasters such as droughts have caused frequent food shortages forcing people out of Rwanda into neighboring countries. Fifth, Belgian policy to ease animal and human pressure in Rwanda and to recruit workers in plantations, mines and construction industries in eastern DRC led to movement of people and animals from Rwanda to DRC. Thus eastern DRC has acted like a magnet in attracting people looking for minerals, for jobs, for land, for shelter and for sustenance. The situation was particularly dramatic in 1959-61 when Batutsi left Rwanda en masse following the political disturbances leading up to independence in 1962, and the invasion of Rwanda by rebels in 1994 that drove millions of Bahutu out of Rwanda into eastern DRC. How have these movements of people and animals from Rwanda to eastern DRC contributed to the instability in the region? Let us start with Banyamulenge from western Rwanda to south Kivu.

History has been unkind to Bahutu people

Until 1994 Rwanda – and its Bahutu and Batutsi people – was relatively unknown in international relations. The country is small, not endowed with resources, and until 1994, had no strategic value. It was first colonized briefly by Germany and after World War I and until 1962 – when it became independent – by Belgium under the United Nations trusteeship mandate. The ‘social revolution’ of 1959 resulted in Bahutu replacing Batutsi that had ruled the country since the 16th century. Batutsi went into exile in neighboring countries and immediately started an armed struggle – which intensified from 1990 with external support – to reestablish their hegemony over Bahutu who constitute up to 90 percent of the total population with 9 percent Batutsi and 1 percent Batwa.

In 1994 the shooting down of the presidential plane and the death of Bahutu presidents of Rwanda and Burundi set off the killing – by Bahutu extremists who feared losing power – of moderate Bahutu and Batutsi who opposed Habyarimana government in Rwanda. After hesitation the international community decided that these killings constituted genocide. The Bahutu government was replaced by Batutsi-led regime thereby restoring Batutsi minority hegemony over Bahutu majority in Rwanda.

What would be his legacy if M7 retired today?

When the president came to power in 1986, Museveni had a clear vision for Uganda and he conveyed it with a simple message. He wanted his presidency to be remembered inter alia by the eradication of poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, subsistence agriculture, dependency on foreign aid and raw material exports, sectarianism and corruption. Above all he wanted to eradicate Obote’s record by performing better. This vision was conveyed in his speeches delivered at home and abroad. I have read most of his major speeches and heard his statements delivered at the United Nations General Assembly Hall in New York.

President Museveni was convinced that he would eradicate poverty in Uganda because the country has what is necessary to do the job – fertile soils, good rainfall, natural resources and resilient people. With good leadership and a clean government the job would be easy. Since he was convinced he would eradicate poverty, Museveni refused to use the word “reduction”.

Why it is hard to forget the ill-treatment of Bairu in Uganda

Some of the readers of my article on “Why Bahima will not marry Bairu women” and Ms. Phionah Kesaasi’s response titled “Bahima-Bairu theory is short on evidence” have advised that we forget Bahima-Bairu antagonism and move on. Others including Kesaasi have wondered “why a highly educated man like Kashambuzi” should spend time on minor issues like intermarriage. Here are some reasons why I have difficulties forgetting the past which has crept into the present.

First, in 1863, John Hanning Speke, a British explorer, wrote that he was told by Bahima (Wahuma) that all the people who occupied their land bordering Victoria Lake were given the name of Wiru (Bairu) or slaves. Bairu had to supply Bahima with food and clothing etc. Speke’s book was reprinted in 2006 and has become a text book in schools and universities around the world.

Because of comprehensive intermarriages (both ways) between Bahima and Bairu in Bunyoro, Toro and Buganda the ethnic differences have disappeared and people in these areas are living in relative peace with one another. Sadly in southwest Uganda (in former Ankole and Rujumbura of Rukungiri district where the limited intermarriage has been one way, the inter-ethnic or inter-tribal antagonism has remained very strong – let us be honest about it.

The curse of resource abundance in DRC

The abundance of resources in DRC – elephants and their tusks, rubber trees and their latex, vast and varied minerals, fertile soils and adequate rainfall, rivers suitable for navigation that also have waterfalls in sections essential for the production of hydroelectric power, and resilient people – should have turned the country into a first class industrial nation with rich people enjoying a high life expectancy. Instead DRC has been ruthlessly exploited, has suffered keptocracy (government of thieves), wars and massive loss of lives and displacements, and human rights abuses including sexual violence with impunity thereby turning the country into a third class pauper with the majority of Congolese among the poorest on earth. How did resource abundance turn into a curse? But first, let us briefly review the situation before plunder began.

Before the Congo basin became a part of the global community, the Congolese had developed strong kingdoms like Kongo and Luba. Economically they engaged in mixed farming growing a wide range of crops and herding cattle, goats and pigs etc. The foodstuffs were supplemented by hunting wild game, gathering wild fruits and vegetables and catching wild fish. Together they provided adequate and balanced diet in quantity and quality for a healthy, active and productive life. Because they ate well, they developed resistance against disease, had relatively low death rate and rapid population growth.

President Museveni must have been tired

After reading President Museveni’s two-part interview with Daniel Kalinaki, Monitor Managing Editor which was posted on the website on April 11 and 12, 2010, I contacted Monitor readers – Ugandans and non-Ugandans – for their assessment. They all agreed that the president’s performance fell short of expectations especially as he prepares for 2011 presidential elections. Two main reasons were given – either he was tired or he is no longer on top of developments in Uganda. They even wondered why he did not praise his government for controlling inflation, maintaining a high level of economic growth and per capita income, reducing poverty and providing universal primary education which has been extended to secondary education because these have been areas of NRM’s strength. Let me make some observations selectively because Uganda newspapers restrict my articles to around 700 words.

First, on the issue of democracy, President Museveni has allowed presidential and parliamentary elections to take place every five years because development partners have made them a condition for foreign aid and technical assistance. Since 1996, President Museveni’s popularity has declined with each election. This is not the kind of information the President would want to share with Ugandans much less with the outside world which has given him much support particularly for macroeconomic stability.

The trouble with NRM double standards

Since 1980 when the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) won the general elections and the National Resistance Movement (NRM) began a guerrilla war in 1981 to unseat the UPC government by force since the Uganda People’s Movement (UPM) had failed to defeat UPC at the polls, I have followed NRM’s policy statements to the present day in 2010. NRM’s statements before 1986 are contained in two publications – Yoweri Museveni (1985), Selected Articles on the Uganda Resistance War; and Mission to Freedom (1990). I have had the opportunity to read the contents of the two publications.

NRM’s policy statements since 1986 are found in many publications or hard copies that have been distributed at conferences and summits. Since 1986, I have had the opportunity to attend major conferences and summits at the OAU/AU and United Nations in New York where these statements have been delivered by senior civil servants, Ambassadors, Ministers and the President.

Structural adjustment and violation of human rights

Because of the tremendous suffering during the two World Wars and the interwar economic and social hardship, world leaders decided – when they adopted the Charter of the United Nations in 1945, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 and subsequent instruments including the binding Covenants on economic, social and cultural rights, and political and civil rights in 1966 – to introduce safeguards against violation of human rights like the right to work, earn a remunerative wage in a decent environment, access adequate and balanced food, healthcare, quality education for all and equitable sharing of the benefits of economic growth etc.

From 1945 to 1975, the world enjoyed a period of relative peace and security and the golden economic environment resulted in the overall improvement in peoples’ welfare. In Africa and other developing countries, the benefits of peace and economic growth manifested themselves in falling death rates and rapid population growth.

In Africa colonialism is still alive – and well

I have heard many times including at the United Nations commentators warning Africans to stop blaming colonialism for Africa’s ills. They argue that colonialism ended many decades ago and Africans must begin to take responsibility for their commissions and omissions. Before we decide – definitively – whether or not colonialism has actually ended, we need to examine what colonialism was all about and how colonies were administered.

Western countries colonized Africa in order to obtain cheap raw materials for their expanding industries, cheap foodstuffs for their growing populations, markets for their increasing surplus manufactured products and – to a certain extent – a home for their exploding population. Because European powers wanted to run colonies cheaply, they hired local agents through the indirect rule model. The agents had to be loyal and follow instructions from the few European colonial officers like the governor and district commissioners.