Those calling on Kaguta, Kagame and Kabila (the three Ks) to pacify the Great Lakes region are exaggerating what the three leaders can do for two major reasons. First, these are military leaders who believe in military solution to problems. Peaceful negotiation or democracy isn’t their cup of tea.
Museveni engaged in a very destructive Luwero Triangle guerrilla war to solve a political problem caused by the 1980 elections which he lost instead of mobilizing for the next elections. If the international community hadn’t exerted pressure on him, Museveni would probably still be fighting the rebels in the north and east of Uganda.
Second, Kaguta, Kagame and Kabila are agents. And agents don’t decide: they carry out instructions. The locus of power and decision making is elsewhere, not even at the United Nations in New York. It is in major western capitals.
During a mission to the Great Lakes region in DRC, Burundi and Rwanda about three years ago, it was made clear from different sources that Uganda and Rwanda and their leaders are mere agents of western powers and corporations. Therefore calling on Kagame, Kaguta and Kabila to end the fighting is a waste of time and money. These leaders are acting on instructions.
The decision to pacify the region will therefore be taken by the masters and instruct Kaguta and Kagame to carry it out. In the end the best solution to the long suffering is to see to it that Museveni and Kagame retire from politics because they are used to applying force to solve problems. Failure to remove the two leaders may simply imply that western powers and corporations are not ready to pacify the region for reasons best known to them.
That Museveni and Kagame are still favored in western capitals can be confirmed by the ease with which Uganda and Rwanda get easily elected to the powerful UN Security Council and UN Human Rights Council. If the leaders had run out of favor these two countries would be blocked to register loss of support in the two leaders.
We still have a lot of work to do to persuade western powers that there are better leaders out there that can do better in the interest of all stakeholders, witness UDU National Recovery Plan, quality and content of its civic education so that Ugandans fully understand their rights and freedoms as well as duties and responsibilities. These are signs of commitment to bring about real positive change in the lives of all Ugandans.
That Kagame and Museveni are still supported in western capitals can also be heard and/or read from reports by official visitors to and comments by residents in for example Uganda commending NRM and its leader Museveni for the economic developments achieved and pledging to continue to work together in the future.
The fact of the matter is that NRM has performed poorly in all areas of human activity with for example resurgence of diseases that had disappeared, rising child and maternal mortality and spreading and deepening hunger, etc. The sad record is there for all to see.
Further, Uganda security forces are still hostile to the people. Human rights and freedoms are still abused. It is very discouraging to hear that Uganda police has been transformed into a professional body. Uganda police has been militarized and continues to violate human rights and freedoms of powerless and voiceless people. The level of improvement is so small not to cause undue praise of the police at this stage. A lot more remains to be done.
When a government has been in power for a very long time as NRM, it develops policy and strategy rigidities and can’t reform itself. That is why fundamental changes come from outside. Change in Uganda will not come until NRM is out. The people of Uganda are ready to do just that provided there is a level playing field including an independent electoral commission, term limits and standardized campaign finance.
There is still too much support for NRM government and its leader by outsiders. That this is so can be gauged by donors tolerating the high and endemic level of corruption and/or diversion of donor money from all sources to non-development activities; dividing the country into so many tiny districts as well as forming a huge cabinet that consume development money on administrative expenses without effective donor protest by withdrawing support or imposing sanctions selectively. Much money from every donor, bilateral and multilateral, has been stolen or mismanaged. Therefore no donor can say that its money has been used appropriately since NRM came to power in 1986.
Notwithstanding, we appreciate the current efforts to trace where donor money has gone. It would be helpful if all donors worked together instead of some keeping quiet.
Back to where we started. The Great Lakes region will be pacified only when decision makers in major western capitals decide that the time has come to do so and instruct their agents in Kigali and Kampala accordingly. The long term solution however will only be possible after military leaders in Kampala, Kigali and Kinshasa have been replaced by patriotic civilian leaders with backing of the people.
UDU has already submitted its policies that sharply contrast with the failed policies of NRM.