The political wing of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) crafted its propaganda message targeting different communities during the bush war. NRM propagandists spoke and wrote about what Baganda and Catholics wanted to hear. They painted the ruling Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC) Party led by Obote as a ‘thief’ that had robbed Buganda of its districts during the referendum on the ‘Lost Counties’ and handed them over to Bunyoro. UPC added an injury to Baganda wounds by overthrowing their kingdom. For Catholics who support the Democratic Party (DP) they focused on the ‘rigged’ 1980 elections that robbed DP of its victory.
To bring to NRM camp a large chunk of UPC supporters, the NRM strategists blamed the suffering of Ugandans, during the Obote II regime in the first half of the 1980s, on the government’s adoption of structural adjustment with its harmful economic and social conditionality and maintenance of a colonial economic structure that condemned Uganda to the production and export of cheap raw materials and import of expensive manufactured products which could be easily produced in Uganda, create jobs and increase incomes.
Once in power the NRM promised eloquently and loudly that it would immediately launch a revolution which the elite perhaps erroneously interpreted to mean Agricultural, Industrial; and Technological Revolution. They wrote and spoke passionately about ending neo-colonial economic policy of producing what Ugandans do not eat and eating what they do not produce. They used sophisticated terms like economic and social metamorphosis and elimination of poverty – not reduction.
The promises went on. Every one would have a balanced diet three times a day, everyone would wear shoes Monday through Sunday, and the long suffering of Uganda people would become history – permanently. Ugandans cheered, danced and pledged to support the Movement and bring it to power. Many dropped out of school and joined the bush war and others sold their properties and donated the proceeds to a worthy cause. They considered these actions very wise investment indeed.
Meanwhile the inner group of the Movement comprising Bahima, Batutsi and Bahororo – the pastoralists of long-horn cattle – christened by Europeans as the most intelligent and born leaders of Uganda were plotting how to dominate Ugandans politically economically and militarily for ever!
Disguised as fulfilling the bush war promise, the NRM government came up with the idea of individual merit and anti-sectarian law. Every Ugandan would be appointed, promoted and transferred to a position inside and outside Uganda or earn a scholarship based on merit only which could mean in practice that individuals from one family, clan or region could fill key government or security positions and no one would complain because the decision had been based on merit. Those who cried sectarianism would be prosecuted and punished to the limit of the law. Using the individual merit card the inner circle of NRM appointed their relatives and those married to their women to the most important and strategic positions in government, security forces and won the most lucrative business contracts. Awarding scholarships produced similar results.
Secondly, the imposition of structural adjustment on Uganda by donors was a blessing in disguise. Hiding behind balancing the budget and reducing money in the economy to control harmful inflation, the government retrenched public servants from groups it did not like or supporters of UPC. No one would complain because that was the agreement with the donors – to retrench staff. The donors praised Uganda leadership for its courage and boldness that made Uganda a ‘star pupil’ and ‘success story’ as an adjusting country. Uganda became darling of the west and was showered with dollars that lined private pockets – most of it – because there is nothing to show for it at least in terms of controlling diseases, under-nutrition, creating jobs or improving the quality of education.
Museveni and his core group were aware that middle income and educated people are difficult to govern. They know their rights and have the means to fight for them. Accordingly the group embarked on a silent long term revolutionary program of disempowering Ugandans by providing poor quality education, downgrading health care and food security systems, denying children school meals forcing many to drop out, denying the unemployed jobs by refusing to launch public works, encouraging alcohol consumption, allowing kids to waste scarce resources much of it stolen to watch movies in rural and urban areas, dividing up the country into tiny economically unviable districts and creating municipalities that would dispossess people of their property especially land as planning for development would be the responsibility of municipal authorities. If this isn’t a Revolution then I do not know what is. The only difference is that this is a revolution of a different kind. Uganda has been dragged from a third towards a fourth world.
This revolution has been complemented by encouraging the non-Bahima elite men to marry Bahima, Batutsi and Bahororo women and become ‘Tutsified’ thereby abandoning and further marginalizing their relatives in favor of their in-laws as confirmed by Ms. Kesaasi. There are stories subject to confirmation that Bashambo women have formed an association. And one of the goals is to arrange for Bahima women and their cousins (except those in the ‘royal’ class) to marry non-Bahima elite men. Those who have been presented with such offers and have accepted or turned them down know themselves. Some of them may not have been aware that there was an ‘invisible’ hand arranging such unions. According to Ms. Kesaasi Bahima women and their cousins are the most beautiful human beings in the country any way and there is nothing to regret.
What happened to the Agricultural, Industrial and Technological Revolutions and poverty eradication programs that were so eloquently promised? In order to hoodwink Ugandans and the donor community, the NRM government core group allowed preparation of excellent policy, strategy and program blue prints knowing they would never be implemented. Do you still remember the Modernization of Agriculture, Poverty Reduction Action Plan, and Industrial Policy documents that were drawn up with assistance of some of the best experts on earth?
The modernization of agriculture document is sitting somewhere gathering dust or mildew. The Poverty Reduction Action plan was revised into the Poverty Reduction Strategy Plan/Paper (PRSP) and since April 2010 has become the five year Development Plan. The last time I heard about the Industrial Plan, it was being revised.
In the meantime agriculture remains subsistence using hand hoes and rain water; poverty has increased as manifested by the mushrooming diseases such as scabies, jiggers, tuberculosis and cholera etc. Industries are disappearing one by one and the rest are performing far below installed capacity.
As 2011 elections approach, the NRMO will as before come up with another appealing sound bite and Ugandans once again will applaud and dance, drink and get packets of salt, pieces of soap, a few corrugated iron sheets for churches, re-elect NRM and its President perhaps with increased majority for another five years hoping that this time things will turn out differently. They won’t. The only difference is that they will get worse.