Tag Archives: king

Feudalism or federalism for Uganda

There is a struggle between Ugandans in favor of feudalism and those in favor of federalism.

Feudalism is an economic and social system of lords or kings, knights (soldiers) and serfs (peasants). It dominated European medieval period but has occurred in other societies like pre-colonial Rwanda. The center of feudalism was the king who was also a warrior supported by knights. The king centralized power in his court and owned the land which he used to compensate knights for military service. The grant of land to knights was called ‘feud’ or ‘fief’ hence feudalism.

Feudalism was marked by hierarchy of rank (lords, knights and serfs). “In fact, feudal society was marked by a vast gulf between the very few, very rich, great landholders and the mass of the poor who worked for the profit of the nobility” (Robert Stewart 2002).

Federalism (which is federo in Luganda) simply means sharing power between central and provincial or local governments, giving the latter constitutional authority to plan their development according to their endowments, history and culture.

In Uganda the group led by Yoweri Museveni is trying to solidify feudalism with Museveni as the lord with full power to dish out land to his top ranking soldiers in return for military support reminiscent of medieval Europe.

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Uganda needs a leader for all Ugandans

Uganda was born and grew up in a divisive atmosphere. The religious wars at the start of colonial rule divided Uganda. Colonial wars in which some Ugandans collaborated with colonial armies to defeat and dismember defeated groups divided Uganda. Indirect rule that favored chiefs that were used to tax, punish, imprison and force commoners to do public work for free divided Uganda. The colonial policy that designated some areas economic growth poles and others labor reserve poles divided Uganda. The colonial policy of recruiting soldiers and police from the northern region by setting the height requirement that discriminated against shorter Ugandans in the south divided Uganda. The colonial administration based largely on districts staffed with officials from the same districts and a relatively detached central government divided Uganda. And the deliberate colonial policy of divide and rule deprived Uganda of national consciousness during the colonial period from 1894 to 1962.

Preparations for independence didn’t help. Uganda National Congress (UNC) which started off as a national party split along regional lines between Buganda and the rest of Uganda. Uganda Peoples Union (UPU) was formed by members of Legislative Council (LEGCO) outside Buganda to challenge Buganda. The non-Baganda UNC and UPU groups formed Uganda People’s Congress (UPC). UPC was overwhelmingly a Protestant party. Catholics formed their own party, the Democratic Party. So Uganda was divided along religious lines as we prepared for independence.

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Museveni could easily become the first hereditary Muhororo king of Uganda

A forecaster is a person who, using available information, estimates, calculates or predicts in advance what will happen in future. Based on information at hand, it is possible to foretell that Museveni plans to become the first hereditary king of Uganda kingdom. What are the ingredients for this prediction?

1. It is not a secret any longer that Museveni entertains the notion of creating a Tutsi Empire with himself as the first Emperor. Museveni believes very strongly in using military might to realize what he wants. Other strategies are supplementary. And that is why democracy in Uganda is conducted at gun point. There is sufficient information about Museveni’s military/political intervention in Burundi, Rwanda and DRC as preparation for Tutsi Empire. If Mugabe had not intervened in DRC war, Museveni would probably have realized his dream. As is now known Mugabe entered the war principally to stop Museveni from creating a Tutsi Empire in Middle Africa (J. N. Weatherby 2003). Besides military intervention, Museveni is indirectly pushing Tutsi Empire through the East African economic integration and political federation. Museveni has even talked about a federation larger than the Great Lakes one. On April 4, 1997, it is reported that Museveni stated “My mission is to see that Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Zaire [DRC] become federal states under one nation [and one leader]” (EIR Special Report 1997). Thus, Uganda kingdom is an integral part of this scheme. The following steps have been or are being taken to create Uganda kingdom.

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A Christian country governed through the barrel of the gun

Uganda is overwhelmingly a Christian country of Protestants and Catholics. One would expect that in such a God-loving and God-fearing country, people would not use force against one to resolve disagreements or answer questions. Rather one would expect people to treat one another as they would like to be treated. One would also expect the rich to help the poor, the healthy the sick and the strong the weak. That is what we were taught in our faiths. Sadly the practice has been different since the founding of Uganda as a nation.

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