Why Uganda is in deep trouble

When people engage in human sacrifice, excessive alcohol consumption, unprecedented domestic violence; when men abandon their families, citizens commit suicide, the vulnerable are taken advantage of, security guards arrange to steal property they are guarding, neighbors demand payment to push your car out of a ditch, girls are afraid to go to school for fear of being molested, people attend public functions to steal or cause trouble; when some officials are paid to attend meetings but do not show up in conference halls; officials blame unemployment and poverty on laziness and drunkenness, leaders mislead their people, progress is measured in the number of vehicles in towns, the number of international conferences hosted and officials react to evaluation of their performance by development partners rather than their citizens, then you know there is trouble. I could go on. Uganda has undoubtedly reached this level.

When I was growing up in the 1950s things were very different and life was much better then than today although per capita income was lower, vehicles fewer, mobile phones and obscene movies non-existent. The old protected the young and vulnerable, the young in turn respected the old. There was community support and cohesion. Medical staff knew it was their duty to heal the sick, teachers to teach their students well. Public officials knew it was their duty to maintain law and order, take corrective measures promptly, and pay staff commensurately and on time. Priests knew it was their duty to set moral standards. If you picked up something be it money or a handkerchief etc you took it to the nearest priest who would announce lost and found items during church services.

Between grades five and eight I walked twenty miles daily to and from school. Throughout I did not experience any problems. I was treated like a member of the community through which I travelled. I was offered food and drinks, bicycle and motorized rides for free. Girl students were not molested. The smarter students helped those in need so that all can pass and move on to the next grade together. Schools competed in games, band, music, scout camping with positive results. The spirit of achievement and excellence was instilled in us. We learned from one another and established networks some of which proved useful later in life. The overall goal was for everyone to have a comfortable place under Uganda’s sun. And there was progress. Without doubt, people were happier then than today. Things went wrong beginning in the 1960s and have worsened since the 1990s.

Independence in 1962 was expected to level the playing field and make life better for every Ugandan after colonial rule ended. Colonialism based on indirect rule favored chiefs and their families over commoners, specialization in economic growth in Buganda and Busoga and labor reserves in northern and western Uganda disadvantaged people in the latter regions, and unequal provision of social services like education and health had detrimental effects in areas far away from the centers of colonial administration. Sadly post independence performance has fallen far short of expectations.

Political preparations for independence based on religions split families into two antagonistic camps. Protestants who became supporters of Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC) lost contact with their Catholic relatives who became supporters of the Democratic Party (DP). Community cohesion that existed before independence fell apart. A Protestant patient was afraid to visit a Catholic medical officer and vice versa. A Catholic student was afraid to visit a Protestant school mate during vacation and vice versa.

Then came ethnic or tribal rivalries. Instead of candidates focusing on development issues to attract supporters, they resorted to obtaining support of their tribesmen and women. In those cases where support was not enough to win elections candidates from minority groups split supporters of their opponents using all the tools at their disposal. In Rujumbura constituency and other parts of former Kigezi district they came up with banyama (meat eaters) and baboga (vegetarians) idea which split the majority ethnic groups and enabled candidates from the minority groups like in Rujumbura to win the election. The churches also played a part in selecting candidates. In Rujumbura a UPC candidate from the minority was selected over one from the majority group.

The NRM regime has embraced the ideology of individualism stressing that each individual should be rewarded according to their efforts. This has meant amassing wealth using legal and mostly illegal means. Government officials are stealing public funds for private purposes in broad daylight, hiring some relatives that are not qualified, suppressing the ambitions of their opponents or would-be competitors. Corruption has become a virtue, not a vice. Benefits are no longer measured in social progress and environmental protection but in how many houses and/or heads of cattle one owns, mobile phones in the household, and children attending private schools at home and abroad etc.

To live up to these standards, Ugandans have lost community values that served all people relatively well before 1962 – notwithstanding the shortcomings of colonialism – and adopted political and individual practices that are sinking Uganda into a very deep hole.

Ugandans need to pause, reflect and decide individually or collectively on the way forward into the second decade of the 21st century and beyond. What is clear is that continuing on the present path will lead to a disaster.