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Letter to A Kampala Friend
By Muniini K. Mulera In Toronto |
1988 story that told Uganda�s sad future
April 19, 2004
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Dear Tingasiga: As I was reading through my archives of The Ugandan Newsletter, I came across an article I wrote in Vol. 2, No. 11 which was published in November 1988. The title of that article was �On Leadership and defence of the masses: A discourse with Uganda�s leaders.� I wrote: �The collapse of Uganda was primarily due to lack of leadership. All our rulers up until January 1986 shared a common mistrust of Ugandans and a pathological obsession with being in control. Their power was based on the military, on old colonial institutions and on their obscene use of patronage and bribery to their throngs of supporters. The masses were looked upon with suspicion and were considered to be the problem rather than the solution to Uganda�s predicament. The success of the NRM/NRA between 1981 and 1986 was partly due to the leadership�s ability to mobilise mass support by articulating the broad sentiments of ordinary Ugandans. The key to Yoweri Museveni�s success to-date has been the power he derives from the masses. Since the standard of living of most Ugandans has not yet improved, one cannot ascribe Museveni�s support to �good economic times.� His ability to identify with and to speak on behalf of the ordinary man and woman is the secret of his popularity in Uganda. The NRM leaders must therefore not lose sight of their power base. They must resist the temptation to be sucked into the bureaucracy and the old machinery of government at the expense of their interaction with the masses. Once settled in Kampala and Entebbe, there is a temptation to maintain control through coercion and intimidation. Thus one begins to hear ministers, army officers and other leaders �warning� the people, threatening to withdraw services and inevitably surrounding themselves with impenetrable walls of security and hangers on. The NRM must guard against the Kanu-syndrome. Kanu�s efforts seem to be exclusively directed towards elections. The party seems to have no interest in mobilising, educating or transforming Kenyan society. In fact Kanu seems to be constantly engaged in a struggle against Kenyans. The leaders of the NRM should regularly be in touch with the masses to learn from them and to work with them. Frantz Fanon once said: �For if you think that you can manage a country without letting people interfere, if you think the people upset the game by their mere presence, whether they slow it down or whether by their mere ignorance they sabotage it, then you must have no hesitation: keep them out. Now, it so happens that when the people are invited to partake in the management of the country, they do not slow the movement down but on the contrary they speed it up. In an underdeveloped country, the party ought to be organized in such a fashion that it is not simply content with having contacts with the masses. The party is not an administration responsible for transmitting government orders. It is the energetic spokesman and incorruptible defender of the masses.� A leader must demonstrate intellect and skill in organisation. He must be able to understand and respond to differing views. Whereas the truth may most often be with the majority, it is not always the case. Even one dissenting voice should be listened to carefully. A leader should not interpret criticism or dissent as lack of patriotism. Not only must a leader not be corrupt, he must be seen not to be corrupt. There can be no compromise on this one. The NRM leaders should launch an anti-corruption and anti-inefficiency campaign. Many of our leaders might have to give up their lavish lifestyles. If a leader steals government time to do his private things or if he uses government vehicles to transport his relatives to a wedding, that is corruption. If a leader imports things into Uganda without paying the necessary taxes, surely he cannot expect his subordinates to do otherwise. The Bakiga say that �ekisiika kyashenyuka, ebinya birabona ahokweshereka.� [When a wall cracks, the lizards find a place to hide.] The English say that �a fish rots from the head down.� Members of these organisations are not above the law. That is in fact one of the reasons why the NRM/NRA was formed � to fight state sanctioned terrorism and to remove those who used public guns to intimidate and kill the very public that bought those guns. We have a golden opportunity to rebuild our society and achieve sustainable peace and prosperity. But it is going to require special commitment and discipline by every Ugandan, and especially leaders rich with ideas and a sincere determination to effect change. A leader should be accountable to the people. He is merely their representative. We, the people are guilty of idolising our leaders and creating demigods. We idolised Milton Obote in the 1960s. When Idi Amin took over in 1971, he was called a saviour. Yusuf Lule, who led us for only 69 days and was really never in charge of the country, was declared by some to have been the �best leader Uganda ever had.� Idolising Museveni is the current fashion. Every utterance and action by Museveni is hailed, often without stopping to think about what he is actually saying or doing. This kind of thing creates a personality cult, hero-worship and all sorts of myths. Such hero worship creates fertile ground for dictatorship. At least he should. Now I happen to be a supporter of Museveni. But I refuse to be a blind supporter. Museveni is a mortal like the rest of us. The question is whether Uganda can create an institution of leadership, in this case the Presidency, which will not die with the man. On August 4, 1987, Thomas Sankara (RIP) of Burkina Faso told his people: �Carrying out the ideological and political work of our revolution is the duty of all revolutionaries, above all the political leadership. This leadership must strengthen itself and become more effective and demanding of itself in carrying out its mission.� On October 15, 1987, Sankara was killed and the Burkinabe were back in chaos. Perhaps there is an important lesson for us here. |
� 2004 The Monitor Publications
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