Uganda voters should not sell their birthright for a kilo of salt

This 2011 election will save or destroy Uganda. Re-electing Museveni will change Uganda as we have known it – make no mistake about it. The trajectory is very clear. Museveni is already negotiating with foreigners to sell Uganda’s land – the deal with Egypt is in final stages of finalization.

When Roman food crop producing peasants were forced to sell their land to large scale farmers, the latter switched from food crops for peasant consumption to grazing cattle and sheep or growing grapes and olives for rich families. Rome’s population declined in part from high mortality rate of impoverished, hungry and sick peasants. The weakened Rome was invaded and conquered by barbarians.

Similarly, through the sale of Uganda’s land to foreigners who will then grow foodstuffs to feed their own people, Uganda peasants will dwindle and be replaced by ‘invaders’ through East African economic integration and political federation. This is not a joke. The brilliant, dynamic and jovial children that Uganda has known will be gone as education standards decline and child malnutrition and associated diseases take its toll.

Museveni has vowed to push Uganda into the East African economic integration and political federation that will disadvantage Ugandans through loss of land, jobs and industries etc. Do not be deceived by the benefits of the so-called common East African passport and commercial opportunities.

Once Uganda’s industries have been destroyed by cheaper products from Kenya and once land has been sold to foreigners and the rest taken over by land-starved Kenyans, Rwandese and Burundians within the economic integration and political federation context Ugandans will have nothing to sell in the East African common market and travelling within East Africa on a common East African passport will be meaningless. You won’t even have money to purchase a ticket much less cover hotel expenses!

We Ugandans must understand – once and for all – that Museveni despises and uses us. He believes we are a bunch of cowards, lazy, incompetent, empty cans and drunkards. He hires and fires us at will and none raises a finger in protest. Instead we crawl back begging him to reconsider his decision in return for doing whatever he wants. Many Ugandans concur.

Museveni believes in governing Uganda through fear. He enjoys to be feared than loved. Ipso facto, Museveni knows we shall run for cover at the sight of a soldier in uniform with or without a gun. That is why when he senses a challenge to his totalitarian regime, he wears military uniform and addresses the nation on TV with his eyes wide open. Psychologically it works on many people. We have all seen him on TV at critical moments but most Ugandans do not understand why he does that. Now you know – to scare you and stop you from plotting against him. Someone told me that a leader who rules through fear is a coward himself/herself – and cowards have the potential of being very dangerous.

Museveni may have adopted the strategy to rule by fear because he knows that since he stepped onto Uganda’s political stage Ugandans do not love him (all you need to confirm his unpopularity is to read and/or hear what Ugandans write and say about him). So, why should he care about us?

He was humiliated at the Moshi conference in 1979 when he failed to get what he wanted, was marginalized during the 1979/80 transition period and defeated in the 1980 elections in his home area after he had fought Amin to liberate them. That is why during the guerrilla war his confidants were foreigners – Africans and non-Africans – because he could not trust Ugandans anymore – and still doesn’t. It is reported that in 1986 he was sworn in as president by a white judge. Do we understand what message he conveyed to us and to others?

What we understand is this: Since Museveni came to power Uganda has drifted backward – not forward like other countries, notwithstanding ‘cooked’ economic growth and macroeconomic stability figures. This has not been an accident but a deliberate public policy choice. Besides, foreigners have replaced Ugandans in the business sector and strategic public institutions, explaining in part the choice of shock therapy version of stabilization and structural adjustment program – adjustment calls for reliance on foreign experts (J. Brohman 1996).

Uganda’s situation under Museveni is likened to Europe after the fall of the western part of the Roman Empire in 476 AD. The first 500 years of Medieval Europe (after the fall of Rome) were referred to as the Dark Ages when standards of learning, culture and development declined. Similarly, in Uganda, standards of learning, cultural/moral values and social welfare of the majority of Ugandans have declined.

Uganda’s decline is not in dispute and proves that trickledown economics did not work. Structural adjustment program was finally and formally abandoned in 2009 as a disastrous social and ecological failure. Thus Museveni entered the 2011 elections without anything positive to show for his 25 years in power except to promise that he will fix things after the elections. With such a record of failure why should Museveni be re-elected?

What we also understand is that Museveni has ruled Uganda by fiat – using money and guns. He would have preferred to rule at gun point. However, Western powers that pay his bills through donations and purchase of his raw materials insisted on democracy including multi-party politics and regular free and fair elections. He reluctantly accepted multi-party elections every five years but through action Museveni has rejected the ‘free and fair’ component because if he did he would have lost every election because of his unpopularity as a brutal dictator.

Since the 1996 elections Museveni has effectively used money and guns to create and wring votes out of Uganda voters. He has inflated voter registers in his favor, used money to buy and military to scare voters – either you vote for Museveni or stay away. Occasionally, live ammunition has been used with deadly results to prove that he is going to stay in power at any cost. He succeeded in 1996, 2001 and 2006. Already the government has decided to use the army (to rig elections) supposedly to stop violence. We would like to hear what international observers and western embassies in Kampala are saying on this decision.

This time in 2011 let us surprise Museveni that we are not cowards and our votes are not for sale. What must we do?

Like the Egyptians have done by Muslims and Christians joining hands against thirty years of dictatorship, all Ugandans must come together against twenty five years of totalitarianism (military rule, suppression of opposition and human rights). How should we do it?

Using another Egyptian example, Ugandans should communicate with one another on radio, TV, mobile phones and word of mouth that Museveni’s time to go is now – and he must go! Ugandans should be informed about the dangers of Museveni’s re-election as outlined above – we shall lose our land, our jobs and our industries. We should tell our people that Uganda will become another Ivory Coast if Museveni stays on. He has been working on this project since he came to power by preaching that Uganda has plenty of unoccupied and fertile land and adopting a flexible (liberal) immigration policy. But we do not know how many immigrants reside in Uganda.

As an aside, the important information on net migration (in-migration minus out-migration) was left out of the 2010 Uganda’s population report when this information can be obtained from Uganda’s Bureau of Statistics, Ministries of Labor, Internal Affairs and Finance, Planning and Economic Development; and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). We must insist to know how many net migrants (permanent residents) are living in Uganda since 1986.

Because of other distortions such as fertility rate, dependency ratio and status of contraceptive prevalence rate, the report has lost value as an input in Uganda’s population policy formulation.

Ugandans must be urged to go out in full force to vote Museveni out. This is the golden opportunity we have – may be never to have again as Ugandans – Uganda’s incorporation into the East African political federation will change the country’s demography as we have known it. Museveni wants a federation in 2012.

Between now (February 9) and February 18 is a long time in politics to lay a solid foundation for our children by the campaign we do and action we take on February 18. We shall succeed in sending Museveni home if we do the following two things.

First, Ugandans must overcome fear of soldiers or gangsters as Tunisians did and Egyptians and Yemenis are doing right now. We are like them. We need courage and courage comes from inner conviction that, in this case, a change of regime in Uganda is a must.

The world is watching. When you stand firm together the world will stand with you. When you run the world abandons you as cowards. The elite of Uganda have a special responsibility to lead our brothers and sisters that are waiting for signals. Do not let them down.

Second, we should stress to our fellow Ugandans that our Creator gave us natural rights to life, justice and freedom to choose our leaders who should be thrown out of power when their performance is not satisfactory. These natural rights cannot be taken away by anybody or traded for anything.

Museveni has delivered destruction to the people of northern and eastern Uganda. Under normal circumstances he should not expect to get a vote from this region.

Museveni has marginalized Baganda in strategic ministries of Finance including central bank and Foreign Affairs. The posts of Vice President, Speaker of Parliament and Prime Minister were offered to hoodwink them. In cases where Baganda occupy big posts, power is wielded by junior officers like in the ministry of finance. Under normal conditions Museveni should not expect to score well in Buganda.

In western especially southwest Uganda (Ankole and Rukungiri districts in particular) Bairu population has been deliberately impoverished and marginalized. The majority of Bairu are poor, hungry, illiterate, sick and vulnerable. Bairu form a vast majority. If Bairu overcome their religious differences and conflicts and pull together, they should vote against Museveni who has crippled them as Bairu people whether Catholics or Protestants. A few Bairu cabinet posts were thrown here and there to hoodwink them. Thus, the overall conditions of Bairu have deteriorated since Museveni came to power in 1986.

The rest of Uganda falsely believes that all westerners have benefited from Museveni regime. Let us correct this impression – once and for all. In southwest Uganda the people who have enjoyed Museveni’s rule and are very rich are Bahororo, Bahima (and Batutsi from Rwanda and Burundi and Banyamulenge from DRC that live in Uganda). I am not aware of any Muhororo or Muhima or cousin who is involuntarily unemployed at a time when over 80 percent of Uganda youth are unemployed.

Bahororo, Bahima, Batutsi and Banyamulenge are cousins who live in different parts of the great lakes region. They have a common ancestry of Nilotic Luo speakers who entered the region from southern Sudan not Ethiopia. To this day their men do not marry outside their Nilotic community and have retained their Nilotic identity.

Therefore when we talk about westerners we need to draw this ethnic distinction of Bahororo and their Bahima, Batutsi and Banyamulenge cousins who are Nilotic people that speak Bantu language; and Bantu or Bairu people who are Bantus (whose ancestors came from the Cameroon/Nigeria border) and of course speak Bantu language.

Second, Bahororo and their cousins still believe falsely that they are white people (although scientific evidence shows that they are black people and darker than Bantu) who are superior and born to rule Bantus. Museveni’s failure as a leader should end the myth that they are born to rule. Based on Museveni’s record of rampant corruption and sectarianism one can safely conclude that perhaps they are born to misrule and exploit others for the benefit of their people. Museveni’s record of corruption and sectarianism is unprecedented! It is really puzzling why western powers continue to support such a corrupt and sectarian dictator when they are preaching democracy and good governance to other leaders.

Let us return to our story of elections. Ugandans should be reminded that the right to elect leaders is not for sale. Nobody should surrender his/her vote in exchange for a kilo of salt, a match box, or a bottle of local brew. When it is clearly explained to the people that Museveni has deliberately made conditions difficult so he can exploit us Ugandans should get angry enough (or angrier) and vote him out of power this time.

The myth that through an Act of God, some people are born to be rich and rule and others to be poor and ruled should be dispelled. This myth is still very strong in Rujumbura in southwest Uganda.

Uganda voters should understand that when we get salt in exchange for a vote, it is like buying a shirt in a shop. The shop owner does not owe you anything after that. Similarly when Museveni gives you a yellow shirt and you vote for him the deal ends there. It therefore becomes difficult to hold him accountable for commissions and omissions.

From this 2011 election representatives should be elected on the basis of what they have promised during the campaign and held accountable. Failure to deliver on these promises should result in losing re-election, serving as a lesson for others.

In short, in 2011 Ugandans should not exchange their right to vote for salt, local alcohol or a piece of roast pork. Museveni bought our votes in 1996, 2001 and 2006. We should not allow him to buy them again.

Ugandans need a leader that will inter alia protect our land, our jobs and our industries and pull us out of the Dark Ages that Museveni has created. That leader is not Museveni – pure and simple!