Tag Archives: museveni

Why Museveni has run into difficulties the army won’t help him solve

There is consensus that Uganda is in real trouble – politically, economically, socially, morally and ecologically. These are challenges that Museveni and NRM set out to solve and they appeared to have confidence to do that. Instead Uganda has turned into a failed state on their watch and has disappeared from the global radar of success stories. Before recommending a solution, we need to understand why Museveni has not succeeded in managing the affairs of Uganda. Here are some of the reasons.

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Museveni’s New Year message omitted crucial information

President Museveni delivered his New Year message on December 31, 2011 from his Rwakitura country residence. Overall, it is uninspiring and defensive largely blaming everyone else but his government and himself as head of state and government and governing party for what went wrong in 2011. He even blamed torrential rains as if they alone are responsible for Uganda’s poor roads!

His message lacked vibrancy and confidence that characterized past messages when the going was relatively smooth and the international community presented Uganda as a success story.

Museveni focused on a glass half full, completely ignoring the empty half and the purpose of economic growth. He also avoided mentioning areas that would have caused him trouble such as the stolen 2011 presidential, parliamentary and local elections, the security situation in view of peaceful demonstrators and innocent people killed, wounded and detained during walk to work and other demonstrations, and the East African economic integration and political federation project which he has singled out as a top priority for his administration.

Regarding the latter, the Burundi East African community summit which was not attended by two heads of state raised troubling issues that led to a request for new guidelines to be issued, amounting to a return to the drawing board.

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“We need to guard against ethnic polarization” – Nuwagaba

Vincent Nuwagaba has written a useful article on the above subject. It is an article written in simple language, yet substantive – by someone with sufficient knowledge and experience in Uganda’s political economy. The timing of its publication could not have been better – coming so soon after the London conference.

It is true that some westerners have criticized Museveni regime constantly. And I am one of them. The idea really is not to make him uncomfortable but to draw mistakes of his government to his attention so that corrective actions are taken. I believe that is how he has received our messages.

I was forced to write an article about how Bairu of Rukungiri district got impoverished to demonstrate that western Uganda has some of the poorest people in Uganda. Some are committing suicide because they cannot raise tax money. Many are selling land to make ends meet and have ended up landless.

Subsequently a journalist from Canada visited Rukungiri district and wrote an article that was more disturbing in the depth of poverty, dispossession and marginalization than I had written. Yet many Ugandans continue to believe that all westerners are filthy rich. This is entirely wrong.

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Yoweri Museveni, time to go gracefully

When you entered Kampala with your guerrilla fighters in January 1986 you brought a message of hope. It was contained in the ten-point program. When you addressed the OAU Summit in Addis Ababa and the United Nations General Assembly in New York City you conveyed a similar message of hope for your country, your continent and indeed the whole world. You presented yourself as a unique leader with a new and purposeful political economy message and direction. Your leadership was about change and movement towards improving the standard of living of all Ugandans who had suffered for so long. Your leadership was to metamorphose Uganda into a new and better entity and then move on to the Pan-African stage and perhaps the global platform. There was hope you would end up in the same class as Mandela and Nyerere.

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“War of the flea” tactics will send NRM into extinction

Ugandans with support of friends and well wishers should craft a strategy for defeating NRM that suits local conditions. We should not emulate Egyptians, Tunisians, Philippinos, Ethiopians and Iranians etc if circumstances in Uganda are different. However, we should draw lessons from their struggles. One lesson is very clear: they all overcame fear and sectarianism. Egyptian Muslims joined hands with Christians, for example. Similarly, Ugandans must overcome fear, selfishness and parochialism. We should be guided by modesty and truth, not lies and deception. We should put Uganda and the future of our children first so that they can live happier and fuller lives than we have because that is what development or modernization is supposed to be. We should use our comparative advantages because every Ugandan has something to offer in this post-2011 elections liberation struggle that has just begun. Furthermore, we should be pragmatic and not idealistic.

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In Uganda religious leaders can make a difference

Our doctrine is that Ugandans will liberate themselves from Museveni’s military dictatorship and the NRM failed system via a wide range of instruments including mass media and collaboration with religious leaders. The international community is called upon to level the playing field as Ugandans embark on a journey to freedom through peaceful demonstrations which are an integral part of our human rights including the right to self-determination and crafting a governance system that accommodates specific interests. That the European Union and Commonwealth observer teams concluded that the February 18, 2011 presidential and parliamentary elections were ‘not free and fair’ is a commendable beginning.

From time immemorial religious leaders have played a vital role (and some of them paid a heavy price) in easing the suffering of people meted out by their leaders. For example, John Ball a follower of John Wycliffe contributed tremendously through speeches and writing (e.g. “All men by Nature Were Created Alike”) in support of English peasants that had suffered exploitation. The peasants revolted in 1381 resulted in the abolition of the poll tax imposed in 1380 which sparked the great revolt.

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Museveni’s cabinet will retain familiar, tired ministers

Although Uganda has been applauded for electing young men and women as parliamentarians, do not be surprised if Museveni retains old, tired ministers including those who contested and lost or who did not even try. He will also probably bring back former ministers who had been dismissed for corruption.

Museveni’s selection of ministers has been largely influenced by loyalty rather than competence so that he can make them do what he wants. In cases where he included educated people in his cabinet, he assigned them to ministries where they had no experience. For argument’s sake (for real examples do some home work) when you appoint a well trained and experienced medical doctor to be a minister of finance or a policeman to be a minister of education or health you make it difficult for them to discharge their duties with confidence. When you do not know what you are doing you are bound to keep your mouth shut to avoid making errors which could land you into trouble and lose your job. So keeping a job becomes more important than serving the people.

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Museveni’s cabinet will retain familiar, tired ministers

Although Uganda has been applauded for electing young men and women as parliamentarians, do not be surprised if Museveni retains old, tired ministers including those who contested and lost or who did not even try. He will also probably bring back former ministers who had been dismissed for corruption.

Museveni’s selection of ministers has been largely influenced by loyalty rather than competence so that he can make them do what he wants. In cases where he included educated people in his cabinet, he assigned them to ministries where they had no experience. For argument’s sake (for real examples do some home work) when you appoint a well trained and experienced medical doctor to be a minister of finance or a policeman to be a minister of education or health you make it difficult for them to discharge their duties with confidence. When you do not know what you are doing you are bound to keep your mouth shut to avoid making errors which could land you into trouble and lose your job. So keeping a job becomes more important than serving the people.

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How peaceful demonstrations will squeeze Museveni out of power

Some Ugandans and non-Ugandans who have doubts that peaceful demonstrations alone (which I support) will squeeze Museveni and NRM illegitimate government out of power have asked me to explain the mechanism through which it will happen. Let me state right away that I have opted for peaceful demonstrations because their potential for human loss, injuries and displacement as well as destruction of property is much lower than the military option.

Uganda is a small country with a vulnerable economy dependent on external forces through exports, donations and soft loans, foreign investors, foreign experts and advisers, tourism and remittances by Ugandans living abroad. All we need to do is to convince these forces including our neighbors and all members of the East African community to cooperate with the suffering Ugandans to change the regime through peaceful means.

Sustained demonstrations and civil disobedience will create economic disruptions and security response will generate instability. These developments will constrain production of goods and services, cause supply to fall below demand, raise prices and force more Ugandans including NRM supporters to join demonstrations in protest against rising prices especially of food thereby denting the popularity of Museveni’s illegitimate government. Deterioration in economic activity will reduce the tax base and government revenue forcing it to cut back the provision of services further reducing its popularity especially its illegitimate leader Museveni.

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Similarities between Yoweri Museveni and Oliver Cromwell

The people of Uganda are beginning to take a probing interest in Uganda’s politics. But I wonder whether we understand the potential dangers ahead. The 2011 elections have introduced worrying elements particularly the participation of foreigners in Uganda’s electoral process. If this practice is not stopped, we could easily have an Ivory Coast situation in 2016.

The purpose of this contribution is to compare Oliver Cromwell who started off as a liberator and ended up as one of the worst dictators with absolute power and intolerance of opponents. Let us briefly review conditions that led to the emergence of Cromwell as the Lord Protector of a republican government in England.

The Stuart kings succeeded the Tudor kings of England who had been very careful in dealing with parliament and succeeded in hiding their absolutism. King James I, the first Stuart King of England, subscribed to the doctrine of the divine right of kings and lectured to parliament about it. James wrote “The state of monarchy is the supreme thing on earth” and kings “sit upon God’s throne”. He added that “as to dispute what God may do is blasphemy, so is it sedition … to dispute what a king may do” (N. Barber 2006). Parliament objected to absolute monarchy.

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