There is evidence in time and space that when conditions become unbearable the downtrodden masses revolt. Time has come for Ugandans to do the same. The precondition for successful revolutions is to overcome the psychology of fear.
For the last twenty five years Ugandans – except Bahororo and their cousins – have lived in hell on earth worse than for serfs in the Dark Ages in medieval Europe.
Serfs or peasants in the Dark Ages fed on a meal of wheat, beans, peas and pork which was better than cassava and maize for the majority of Ugandans today. But there was a lot of injustice and suffering as lords accumulated wealth at peasants’ expense. The priests kept telling peasants not to worry about deprivation on earth because their rewards were in heaven. Eventually serfs in Western Europe got fed up when exploitation became unbearable overcame fear and revolted. The peasant revolt of 1381 in England was led by priest John Ball and peasant Wat Tyler who mobilized some 100,000 peasants and matched in protest in London and elsewhere. Eventually they triumphed and feudalism came to an end.
During twenty three years of Ben Ali’s rule, Tunisians lived under repression meted out by a police force of 600,000 strong in the name of maintaining security. Ben Ali, his wife and family members were engaged in a rapacious spree of enrichment that the rest of Tunisians were forgotten. Unemployment especially of well educated Tunisians, poverty and frustration of the middle class led to an uprising sparked by a fruit and vegetable vendor who set himself on fire after he was beaten by a police officer. It was a fearless uprising!
Western powers that supported Ben Ali did not intervene on his behalf. Likewise, the army did not join in the repression of the uprising. Instead on January 14, the army advised Ben Ali that he had a three-hour window of air traffic space in which to leave the country. He took the advice. Western powers then congratulated the people of Tunisia for getting rid of a dictator paving the way for a democratic society. Reports indicate that some thirty members of the families of Ben Ali and his wife have been arrested on criminal charges.
In Egypt Hosni Mubarak ruled ruthlessly for 30 years. He had a police force of one and half million officers in the interior ministry that terrorized Egyptians. Mubarak’s family like that of Ali in Tunisia engaged in a rapacious spree of accumulating personal wealth. It is estimated that Mubarak stole up to $70 billion. Fortunately his accounts have been frozen because he stole people’s money that must be returned to them.
According to some reports 40 percent of Egyptians live in poverty, 44 percent of labor force is illiterate and 54 percent work in the informal sector. Poverty, unemployment especially of young graduates, hunger and overall appalling living conditions (including many families who live in cemeteries) and frustration of the middle class led to an uprising that was sparked by a blogger who was beaten to death by police officers. The United States government advised Mubarak not to use force against peaceful demonstrators and to keep communications open. The military stayed neutral. After 18 days of fearless revolt Mubarak stepped down. The people of Egypt were congratulated for their successful removal of a dictator as a commendable step to creating a democratic society.
The conditions described above in medieval Europe, Tunisia and Egypt equally apply to Uganda. For the last 25 years, Museveni, his wife and their families have been engaged in a rapacious spree of accumulating wealth to the detriment of the rest of Ugandans. Accordingly, over 50 percent of Ugandans live below the poverty line, over 80 percent of Ugandan youth including 60 percent university graduates are unemployed and over 30 percent go to bed hungry. Police brutality to keep Ugandans silent has resulted in loss of lives, injuries, arrests, detentions and torture.
Against this back drop Ugandans like all human beings in distress have justification to revolt – with or without a spark – against a dictatorial regime that has thrived on fear meted out also in Tunisia and Egypt against ordinary people. As noted above the precondition for successful revolts is overcoming fear. Peasants in medieval Europe, youth and workers in Tunisia in January and youth and workers in Egypt in February 2011 overcame the psychology of fear and waged successful revolts.
The moment to liberate Uganda is now. Let us shake off the psychology of fear and go out in large numbers at an appropriate time in all towns and villages and demonstrate peacefully against injustices including blatant irregularities in compiling the voter register, excessive bribery by the ruling NRM party that has left the country broke and refusal to appoint an independent electoral commission. In effect the election has already been rigged.
Let us make one point very clear for Museveni: Uganda is a country of all Ugandans and not “… a land of freedom fighters” as Museveni claims implying that when the so-called freedom fighters retire they will handover to their children. Museveni is a scared man right now. That is why he is using this threatening language. Let us all – northerners and southerners – show him who we are.
Our Creator is on our side and development partners now understand the situation and will not permit the use of force as one western country has already advised the government of Uganda. We hope that others will follow that example. We ask Uganda security forces to stay neutral as Ugandans sort out political irregularities under Museveni’s regime.