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What people in the Great Lakes region demand is justice

I worked in a UN organization that treats all staff with a high degree of fairness. There is an ombudsman office where complaints of injustice are presented for a solution. You can also make recourse when you feel you missed a promotion unfairly.

I grew up in a Christian family where our parents exercised fairness. We sat together at meal times and we shared domestic chores proportionately. When it was about time to go back to school, our parents brought us together and gave us allowances (pocket money) according to our needs in a transparent atmosphere. And there was no favoritism.

In the Great Lakes region injustice has reigned supreme. Since John Speke racial theories popularized by Seligman that Nilotic Batutsi people are superior, more intelligent and born to rule over Bantu Bahutu and Bantu Bairu people who are inferior, unintelligent and born to be ruled the latter has suffered crushing humiliation.

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Museveni acting in the footsteps of Cromwell

As Yoweri Museveni prepares to handover state house keys to his son and turn Uganda into a Tutsi dynasty, we need to know the extent to which Museveni learned from Oliver Cromwell in his rise to power and creation of conditions for his son’s hereditary succession.

James I and Charles I the Stuart kings of England believed and practiced absolute rule (absolutism) and divine-right of kings. They ignored Parliament, imposed taxes and dismissed it when it suited them. Parliament and the English people resented the Stuart kings first because they were foreigners from Scotland and second they ignored English traditions.

In 1642, while in session, Charles attempted to arrest some leading members of Parliament, touching off the civil war (1642-49). Those who fought for the king were called Cavaliers and for Parliament against the dictator king led by Oliver Cromwell Roundheads. The Roundheads won. Absolutism and the monarchy came to an end.

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Uganda is down, not out

In every society, people make mistakes. Those who recognize them early and correct them get back on the right track and move on. Those who don’t correct the mistakes suffer the consequences.

In England, King Charles I was defeated in a civil war, absolutism and the monarchy were abolished and England became a republic (Commonwealth) under Oliver Cromwell, a military commander. Cromwell governed with an iron hand and his son who succeeded him was very weak. The people of England through their Parliament decided to restore the monarchy under King Charles II with restrictions. The mistake was corrected and England moved forward.

Since the Lancaster House constitutional conference for independence, we Ugandans have made mistakes. In a rush to meet the deadline of October 9, 1962 for independence, we postponed and overlooked major issues which should have been resolved with Britain in the chair. The daunting issues of Lost Counties, Head of State, Batutsi refugees and the fate of Amin were postponed. We abandoned Ben Kiwanuka whom we knew better and welcomed Milton Obote who had just returned from Kenya who didn’t know Uganda and Uganda didn’t know him. When Uganda became independent, it was neither a monarchy nor a republic. It was simply called “The Sovereign State of Uganda” with the Queen as Head of State.

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Struggle to control riches of DRC and suffering of Gt. Lakes people

The people of DRC especially those in the east need more of our prayers at this hour of intense human suffering. The three K leaders (Kaguta, Kagame and Kabila) with military background and their domestic and foreign backers need to come to their senses and end the suffering of the people. The United Nations too needs to move faster and end the war before it loses its credibility as an institution that was created in 1945 to maintain or restore peace and security in all parts of the world.

The fall of Goma town may sharpen the appetite of victors to want to capture the rest of DRC, Angola, Namibia, Congo and Gabon and then Kenya and Tanzania. Mark my words: if concerted and collective action is not taken that is what will happen. Rwanda and Uganda, the two countries alleged to be causing this instability are too poor to be acting alone. So those supporting them should stop.

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How a Catholic Archbishop saved the Philippines

Ferdinand Marcos came to power in 1965 and refused to leave despite failed policies that brought about economic inequities and political instability. A combination of population growth, absolute poverty and land shortage created massive discontent and contributed to the formation of a communist insurgency. Concerned about economic and social injustice, the Catholic Church got involved.

Then on August 21, 1983 former senator Benigno Aquino and strong opponent of Marcos was assassinated at Manila International Airport when he returned home from exile. This assassination served to mobilize massively against Marcos. The Church played a pivotal role through pastoral letters and a Manila-based Radio Veritas station owned by Catholic Bishops Conference.

In panic, Marcos abruptly announced a snap election to throw opposition candidates into disarray and win. The Archbishop of Manila Cardinal Jaime Sin and his colleagues issued strongly worded pastoral letters that left no doubt that they were on the side of the people. The snap presidential election of February 7, 1986 was massively rigged by Marcos supporters. On February 15, the Philippine parliament announced that Marcos had won. The announcement was followed by massive campaign of civil disobedience to force Marcos out of power.

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Plan C of Tutsi Empire might work after all

Plan A of the first phase was to capture Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and DRC by military means. It succeeded in capturing and retaining Uganda and Rwanda. The military solution was halted by Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe troops.

Without abandoning the military solution, the leaders then moved onto Plan B of getting the Empire through the East African federation via the political route. This seemed slow.

Without abandoning the military and political East African solutions, the leaders then moved onto Plan C which is a combination of military and political strategies. Instead of going for the entire DRC they chose to capture Eastern DRC by military means. The region is now in imminent danger of being lost.

Rwanda and Uganda delegations met a few months ago and decided to abolish national borders among East African states probably starting with the border between Uganda and Rwanda. The two presidents may soon instruct their rubber stamp parliaments to pass legislation merging Uganda with Rwanda under a new name possibly The Republic of Rwaganda.

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Is it the messenger or the message that has become controversial in Uganda debates?

I embarked on research and writing with the sole purpose of correcting distortions in the Great Lakes political economy with a focus on Uganda. I was fully aware that my findings and solutions would raise much dust and controversy. Before I wrote my first book which came out in 1997 I said a prayer for God’s guidance and protection. I have written ten books since then. Here are some of the issues I have raised and become controversial.

Contraception and population decline

The conventional wisdom is that once women have access to contraception, population growth will decline drastically. I have countered that while contraception is necessary it is not sufficient. I have argued that a combination of contraception, anti-poverty programs, girls’ education and women empowerment is better than contraception alone. Is it the messenger or the message that has become controversial?

The paradox of hunger and abundance

I have criticized the NRM policy of food production for cash than for the stomach. The president has been the champion of this policy. Households have responded and are selling so much food to the extent that there isn’t enough for household consumption and for school lunch. Consequently regions that are food surplus are experiencing severe under-nutrition especially among children and women. I have suggested that for nutritional and moral imperatives, Uganda should only export surplus food over and above domestic requirements. Is it the messenger or the message that has become controversial?

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Seeking political tools to implement the people agenda

As I have said before, I joined Uganda politics not for personal gain but because I was unhappy about what was and still is happening in a country that was once the envy of the world, with a potential for rapid economic growth and social transformation in terms of improving the standard of living and life expectancy of all Ugandans.

I have expressed my disappointment through writing, radio broadcasting and trying to advise NRM government in writing and orally about how to do things better to no avail. I have distributed some five hundred copies of my ten books to Ugandans free of charge and created a free website www.kashambuzi.com to reach a wider readership. But Uganda continues to decay. This is undeniable. Metaphorically speaking, rampant corruption and sectarianism are eating Uganda away before our eyes!

Many Ugandans and others have contacted me and advised that what is needed is implementation of the good ideas already proposed. It requires that we acquire political tools since NRM has refused to adopt the ideas we have put forward. That is why I joined the United Democratic Ugandans (UDU) and was elected Secretary General with authority to mobilize political and diplomatic support for the implementation of the National Recovery Plan (NRP).

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NRM is definitely headed in the wrong direction

Medical doctors always tell us that when a disease is identified very early, there are good chances the patient will be successfully treated. Why can’t this method be applied in politics so that a government loses support by all stakeholders and is removed from power before too much damage is done? In politics there is a tendency to wait until too much suffering has occurred even when there is clear evidence the government is headed in the wrong direction and won’t change course.

NRM under the leadership of President Museveni came to power in 1986 in part because a large section of Ugandans strategically placed didn’t like UPC under Obote after the 1980 elections. Second some western governments suspected Obote still harbored socialist elements and his return to power was unwelcome. Third, UPC government fell out with the IMF and World Bank on macro-economic and human rights concerns.

Museveni came in as one of the new breed of African (military) leaders determined to transform Uganda’s economics, politics and governance. He was opposed to African dictators who stayed in power too long, governed unjustly without free and fair elections and term limits, violated human rights and fundamental freedoms and abused their offices through corruption, sectarianism, cronyism and mismanagement of public funds.

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Salient features of federalism

The October 27, 2012 London conference on Uganda federalism inspired by the keynote Speaker’s address (available at the Uganda Citizen website) was very successful in terms of participation which was national in scope; demographics which embraced men, women and youth; substantive in content; open, frank and tolerant of one another’s views; agreement that federalism is a national issue and consensus on the way forward. A resolution was adopted at the end of the conference and is available at the Uganda Citizen website.

I summarized areas where consensus was reached and posted the report on Ugandans at Heart Forum, www.kashambuzi.com and www.udugandans.com. Subsequently, I prepared and posted a short note on the same above websites clarifying some issues upon request. As this is work in progress, we need to update and add to the information that we already have. I have received requests in this regard. I appeal for active participation of all Ugandans in this debate so that none is left behind and also remember that nobody has monopoly or all the answers on this important subject. Here we go.

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