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Culture of free opposition Secondly, we must acknowledge that nation building is a daunting task that demands courage, patience and commitment and understanding from the people because, in particular, the majority of the communities that now compose modern Uganda do not have the culture of free opposition, leave alone democratic governance and practice. In pre-colonial times, there were autocratic regimes and kingdoms. Ankole led the way with its intricate and intrinsic caste system embedded in every day life and mode of rule. The ruled majority Bairu could not rise in opposition as any signs of dissent was quickly and ruthlessly crushed and buried. Bunyoro Kitara and Buganda followed closely. We all know how at the installation of a new Kabaka for example, possible contending brothers were put away in the most brutal and primitive fashion. Intolerance to opposition and acceptance of new ideas saw people being burnt at the stakes alive leading to the making of Uganda's own Christian martyrs. The culture of violent destruction of opposition still lives with us today. Kamya's UNM erased several properties to the ground and slashed many acres of crops, banana and coffee plantations of those who could not agree with him. The premature break up of the UNC could be largely attributed to the maverick Mulira's dislike for internal opposing views. Real ominous threats loomed in the air and prevented the Baganda from coming out to vote for Ben Kiwanuka's DP against the KY. The Lubiri Affair, where ex-President Kabaka Mutesa had to flee the country was probably the result of failure to know the limit of free opposition. Idi Amin Dada, not out of character, eliminated opposition in the most inhuman way we all now know and condemn. The military and the police have always been the cruelest anti-people institutions in Uganda. Certain senior officials of UPC governments had been known to use government facilities and the armed forces to arm-twist the opposition to submission. Internal DP intolerance of opposition led to a split in 1980 and resulted in the formation of Okeny Atwoma Tiberio's NLP. Each time there was change of government many innocent civilians were murdered in revenge ostensibly because they were perceived as the opposition/enemy, the Anyanya. Typically, we all know how President Museveni has disposed of his opposition in the most uncivilised and inhuman ways in last sixteen years. For me, the realization and acknowledgement of our intolerance to even constructive opposition is very important and healthy because it would then shift our mind-set from laying emphasis on blame and revenge, to a healthy learning process in which a meaningful dialogue aimed at finding solutions to our problems is conducted. It will broaden our horizon and help us drop our myopic and stupid prejudices. Nobody is going to help us in this. The realization will help us tell some honest truth. What the truth must do? It will free us from fear of not being able to be honest and frank about our opinions. It will make us want to stand upon our own feet and fearlessly and without bias look fair and square at Uganda (again) and register its good facts, its bad facts, its beauty and its ugliness. We should see Uganda as it is, and acknowledge its successes and not be afraid of its failures. It needs courage and hope for the future, but not to look back all the time and regretfully hanker after, or fester anger towards a past that is dead, which we trust will be far surpassed by the future that our intelligence, diligence and knowledge can create. The truth and rational thought will help us to conquer Uganda by intelligence and not by merely being slavishly subdued by the terror that from time to time comes from it. Democracy and democratic opposition The quest for democracy by the people is the quest for freedom, justice, equality, and human dignity. It is the quest for the liberation of mankind from servitude, injustice, discrimination, humiliation and abject poverty. It is the liberation from local despots, village tyrants and military dictators. It is the struggle for the right to vote and choose one's leaders. It is the liberation of our 'nation' from foreign domination and exploitation. Ugandans who love and believe in Uganda must hold this ideal high at all times. The people should indeed rule themselves; order, organised and manage their own affairs. This means that a democratic government/system must be socially legitimate, meaning that it must be recognised and accepted by the people who have 'fathered' it. It must have its roots in the people. It must not be an alien government. It is also not imposed or forced on the people. It must be a good, fair and just government. A good government system delivers, serves some useful practical and concrete purpose. As a government for the people, it is one, which caters for the material needs, social requirements and other interests of the people. 'Democracy walks on a full belly'. Democratic behaviour, however, is not a genetically conditioned, inborn, or inherited faculty. It is learned over a period of time. The practice of democracy must therefore be consciously thought of, learned, and taught to its practitioners. It should belong to the culture patrimony of a people. A political party that sets its goals to pursue the above ideals and objectives should rightfully be called democratic. A democratic opposition party would have set itself the same goals. What would differ among parties then would be only differences on methods, modalities, priorities, timing and perhaps personalities. Democratic Opposition must be learned as an essential process of democratisation. Uganda's democratic practice would, of course, be tempered with the fear of the probability of disrupting the long march to nationhood. Similarly, its opposition will be arraigned by unwarranted acts, which may curtail or even stop the long march altogether. In this regard, we must try to learn from the tragic consequences of young 'nations' like ours, which have broken apart because of out of context and dangerous opposition. The ethnically homogenous (same ethnic group, culture, language and religion) Somalia of 11 million people is a very sad case in point. After 22years of a blind and arrogant dictatorship, the nation lost direction and focus on the basic main issues that matter. Reason gave way to irrational thinking and emotional reaction. Warlords mushroomed and armed their supporters and led them to wars against each other to demand, not for how best to run that country, but for turns in the ruling of that country, regardless. Millions of innocent lives were lost. Those still alive do not see meaning in their lives any more, as senseless killings, gross human suffering and hunger has surrounded them with death. Sadly, today, there is no 'state or nation' of Somalia. Its once flourishing economy based on export of livestock and trade has gone, and most friendly capital Mogadishu has been reduced to rubbles. The Somali are running away from their own country in droves. Yugoslavia of 33 million people is another case. It split up along the five ethnic groups. It was instigated by greedy local politicians and certain external interests. The process caused colossal human suffering and degradation, destruction of property, genocide as a means of revenge and the biggest human exodus that Europe has hitherto experienced. The sub-states that were formed as a consequence of the chaos have not benefited at all from the split. The financial assistance some of them had hoped would flow in from abroad is not forthcoming. They have become third grade and scoffed at citizens of Europe. Now they are left alone to grief over what damage they have inflicted onto themselves. The tragedy of Biafra War should still be fresh in our minds! Why does Nigeria not talk of balkanisation any more? The way I see it is that, if Uganda should disintegrate, it will be disastrous for its 30 million people. Like a broken down marriage, it will affect the man, the woman, the children and the relatives. It will not be on the north/south divide or so called Bantu/nilotics divide only. It is highly unlikely that Buganda would pull out with its immediate neighbours in the south; they will not accept to be subservient to Buganda as before. Also to assume that the new generation Baganda; enlightened, educated and professional, and many living abroad would pay allegiance and kow-tow before the Kabaka as in the last centuries. However, Buganda's fear of 'foreigners' may disappear only to be replaced by a more dangerous internal cancer. The 19th century feuds based on foreign religions will come back to the fore. I should shudder to think of the prospect of the consolidation of Uganda as a whole being over taken by Kabaka Mutebi's stunts of shifting religion in order to remain the Kabaka of a religiously divided Buganda. Buganda may once more head towards ruinous internal wars, this time with destructive modern weapons. Buganda, it seems to me, would survive best within Uganda as a whole and most probably in the leadership role. An example of the opposite kind is instructive and worth observing here. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with its 51 million people (the people Ugandans tend to look down upon) has some 153 major ethnic groups and over a thousand dialects. It's capital, Kinshasa boasts 5 million residents, which represent the majority of the ethnic groups. Five main lingua Franca are spoken in the capital. This is a country that has been subjected to brutal Belgian colonialism and senseless Mobutu misrule and dictatorship. The wars in the DRC have been ceaseless. The Belgians and the British through 'Northern Rhodesia' tried in turns to annex its mineral rich Katanga province, and recently both Uganda and Kagame's Rwanda have tried to annex its eastern provinces. The Congolese people have, however, stood resolute together to maintain the oneness of their 'Belgian-built' country. Despite all the wars, economic ruin and suffering, you will not find a single Congolese who will agree to the partitioning of the DRC. (Part three to continue........) The Mulindwas
communication group
"With Yoweri Museveni, Uganda is in anarchy" |
