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UDU Congratulates Winniefred Kiiza on her election to parliament

Press statement

On behalf of UDU, I congratulate most warmly Hon. Winniefred Kiiza on her election as a Member of Parliament for Kasese district. Your resounding success is testimony to your campaigning skills which hopefully you will transform into debating skills in parliament to benefit the women of Kasese district that gave you a list of what they want you to accomplish for them. Remember that as MP you now represent all women of Kasese district. I wish also to congratulate FDC for supporting Winniefred to an election that is reported to have taken place in a relatively free and fair atmosphere.

UDU also thanks NRM, security forces and electoral commission for providing conditions that facilitated campaigning and casting of ballots, counting and announcing results.

If recent by-elections are any guide, then Uganda is about to join other countries where democracy is taking root and people are given the opportunity to choose their representatives and hold them accountable for their commissions and omissions. What is needed now is to improve on voter registration, creation of an independent electoral commission, standardization of campaign finance and restoration of term limits in preparation for 2016 presidential and parliamentary elections.

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Sweeping problems under the rug can only delay a catastrophe

I fully agree with Museveni that to recommend a solution, we must get to the heart of the matter and find out what the problem is. We have failed to recommend appropriate solutions to problems in the Great Lakes regions because we have not yet got to the heart of the matter. There are two major constraints in our work: western biased or distorted reporting in favor of Batutsi and against non-Batutsi people and cover up of ethnic conflicts.

Western reporting since Europeans arrived in the Great Lakes region in the mid-19th century has been biased in favor of Nilotic Batutsi and against Bantu people dubbed Bahutu and Bairu (slaves or servants). Speke and Seligman began this process. Batutsi who are black people were falsely christened white people through the Hamitic Myth and incorrectly credited with all the civilizations they found in the region especially in Buganda including earth works in the central region of Uganda. They even claimed Bachwezi were Batutsi and Bantu had never had kingdoms and kings or chiefs. It is now confirmed that Bachwezi were a Bantu aristocracy (B. A. Ogot 1999). The history that was written covered royal courts, leaving out atrocities committed against Bantu people whom they treated as slaves or servants or sold into slavery as Makobore did. “The coastal traders were also employed in interstate raids for slaves. For example Makobore, the king of Rujumbura, employed them in his raids against Butumbi and Kayonza”(Bethwell A. Ogot 1979).

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Why are Baganda complaining of impoverishment and marginalization?

UDU premise is finding and telling the truth about Uganda and Ugandans in order to identify problems and recommend solutions that will benefit all. In our culture we have a saying developed before refrigeration became available that if you hide meat from fire it will rot. Either you roast or boil it.

When confronted with a difficult situation, we Ugandans have developed a habit of brushing sensitive issues under the carpet/rug hoping time will provide solutions. We especially politicians have therefore developed a tendency of saying what the audience wants to hear or skipping vital issues to earn popularity.

There is ample evidence that if discussions before independence had been genuine, Uganda would have avoided the situation we are in. But because they were rushing our negotiators made some blunders. They avoided the issue of the head of state and we ended up with a Governor-General which delayed the problem. They avoided the right solution to Amin problem and we all know what we got from him. They avoided the issue of ‘Lost Counties” and we know what happened and what still lingers on. The colonial administration simply handed over the problems it created.

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Is Uganda likely to have a charismatic leader soon?

The nature of my career as an international civil servant prevented me from direct engagement in Uganda politics. Instead, I devoted much spare time studying it inter alia why Uganda has failed to produce a charismatic champion like Jomo Kenyatta, Julius Nyerere or Kwame Nkrumah etc. When time was ripe, I began writing about Uganda politics and economics. The outcome of this effort is ten books and a blog www.kashambuzi.com.

Before I opened up, I discussed Uganda politics in the form of asking questions or seeking clarification on certain issues to avoid giving personal opinions. Those I engaged in this type of discussion can now understand why I adopted that strategy. In these discussions I found there was too much resistance to build national consciousness or patriotism. In an attempt to fill the gap, I co-founded Uganda Unity Group (UUG) in Lusaka, Zambia drawing members from all parts of Uganda but could not attend the Moshi conference in 1979 because of the constraints of my career. Thus I escaped accusations of direct engagement in Uganda politics although I had practiced politics largely indirectly for a long time going as far back as before independence when I co-founded UPC Youth Wing at Butobere School and interacted with Secretary General John Kakonge (RIP) when he visited Kabale.

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Reporting UDU’s diplomatic progress

Press statement

A year ago, on July 9, 2011, United Democratic Ugandans (UDU) was born in Los Angeles, USA. One of the topics that dominated the brain storming and other formal and informal debates was restoration of political and civil rights so that Ugandans can associate, march and assemble freely; express opinion orally and in writing without harassment; campaign, vote, count the ballots and announce results without interference. Delegates also expressed the importance and urgency of restoring presidential term limits, establishment of a truly independent electoral commission and keeping the military out of politics as well as taking the recommendations of international observer missions seriously (in 2011 the Commonwealth Observer mission reported that the electoral process lacked a level playing field, implying declaring the results null and void). One of the strategies to effect the necessary changes was UDU’s interaction with the international community – at government, United Nations and human rights organizations levels.

Thankfully, UDU’s work was made relatively easy because many of the officials we met with were largely aware of the human rights violation in Uganda which was unacceptable to them. They therefore welcomed our initiative and the National Recovery Plan which contains information about deficits in democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms and governance (corruption, sectarianism, cronyism and non-accountability; lack of transparency and mismanagement of public funds). Our working methods have varied depending on circumstances but have produced positive results.

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Use your voting birth right wisely in Uganda elections

People all over the world have struggled to reclaim their birth right to vote, some losing their lives in the process. Uganda’s independence restored our right to elect representatives in parliament, district councils and lower houses. The purpose of electing representatives in these institutions is to promote and protect interests of all the people in the constituencies they represent. In ancient Greece all eligible citizens met regularly to discuss matters that affected them. As such they didn’t have representatives. This arrangement worked when numbers were small and distances short. When they are large over a wide area it becomes impossible, hence election of representatives.

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Museveni is unlikely to step down voluntarily or through the ballot box

Yesterday, July 2, 2012, I wrote an article appealing to Ugandans to come together quickly and save Uganda from Museveni’s notion of metamorphosis or complete overhaul. Museveni prepared step by step what he wanted to achieve including sending messages or making observations in the form of questions after he has stated his view for those who cared to know where he was headed. For example, in his interview with John Nagenda shortly before he became president Museveni through a question posed by Nagenda (perhaps with Museveni’s encouragement) made a statement to the effect that there are two races in western Uganda – Ugandans of the white race (Museveni’s race) and Ugandans of the black race although both races speak Lunyankole language. He sent a convoluted message about white superiority and black inferiority. But his supporters including those in Ntungamo district have made it clear who is who and who deserves what in Uganda.

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UDU is about social justice for all Ugandans

Uganda’s society since NRM came to power in 1986 has been dominated by a few rich families that continue to accumulate wealth at the expense of the majority. The rich have been using Social Darwin doctrine – the survival of the fittest – to explain why they are doing well while others are doing very poorly, adding that the poor should be blamed for their poverty and vulnerability. The fact that poverty and wealth have coexisted in time and space, one needs to understand whether or not there is causality. Given my experience in the areas I am familiar with there is a direct relationship. Those who become rich in a particular community exploit those that end up poor.

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UDU appeals for calm in Uganda’s current political atmosphere

The politics of Uganda is at a cross-roads. If we take a wrong turn we shall be in trouble for a very long time and everybody will lose something. We therefore need cool minds to resolve our political differences. We, Ugandans need to remember that our nation has experienced war than peace; politics of exclusiveness than inclusiveness; zero-sum games and winner-take-all than compromise and agreement on win-win arrangements. Democracy in the form of elections since 1961 has not produced the desired results. Governance has lacked transparency, accountability and full participation of all Ugandans. We also need to realize that when a country has been dominated for a long time by one party and one leader, the transition is often very difficult. Because of these unfavorable circumstances and quality of leadership, Ugandans have failed to enjoy the endowments in our land and take advantage of our strategic geographic location in the Great Lakes region. Consequently the majority of Ugandans are trapped in absolute poverty and its offshoots of hunger, unemployment, disease and illiteracy. For these reasons, Uganda’s political economy needs to be overhauled.

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NRM is in disarray and won’t recover

The Roman Empire was severely weakened by luxuries, corruption and strife. The empire would have collapsed even without barbarian invasions. The invasions merely speeded up what was inevitable. NRM is in the same situation. It has been weakened by too much luxury, too much corruption and the emerging internal strife. If you want to understand the level of luxury, you keep your eyes wide open during the end of year season festivities – from Christmas Day to the New Year – in the countryside. I say countryside because that is where the differences between the rich and the poor are very striking. The NRM big shots and their families are driven in four wheel vehicles. They organize parties the moment they arrive in the villages. They organize extraordinary wedding parties, christening parties, thanksgiving parties; parties for relatives; parties for supporters, parties, parties, parties to show how rich they are until they return to Kampala. And on Christmas Day they come to church dressed expensively and immaculately from the head of the family down to the youngest member. And while these festivities and displays are going on the poor, in second hand clothes and without shoes gather around and watch in disbelief, their hands covering their mouths. And they begin to wonder how these people most of whom lived in poverty like them a few years ago managed to amass so much wealth.

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