Editorial
Sept 27, 2004 - Monitor
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Prime Minister, Prof. Apolo Nsibambi over the weekend gave his educated thoughts on how the current stand-off between the Mengo establishment and the central government can be resolved. Nsibambi said in an analysis published in the press on Sunday that five issues have complicated the political problems of Buganda: the lack of political and financial accountability in Mengo, the insistence on a special status advocated by some leaders and the misunderstanding of federo. Other issues concern the pursuit of selfish interests by politicians who want to involve the Kabaka in partisan politics, the failure by some Baganda elite to come out and give a clear political direction and the misreporting of developments in the talks between the kingdom and government delegations. Nsibambi�s views on this matter must be taken with all the seriousness they deserve. His wealth of experience and exposure on this topic inform his analysis. As a politician, he is Prime Minister and has held several ministerial positions before. As a scholar, Nsibambi is professor of political science whose love for federalism often left many of students amazed. As a Muganda, Nsibambi fought much for the return of Buganda�s �ebyaffe� in the early 1990s. He was chairman of the negotiating team for the restitution of traditional institutions, particularly Buganda. Nsibambi argues that Buganda must democratise and modernise. It must not confuse federalism with the monarchy, and must keep the Kabaka out of partisan politics if the institution is to avoid a repeat of earlier clashes with central authorities or republican backlash as happened in other parts of the world. Nsibambi is spot on. He�s is one of the few courageous voices from Buganda to speak his mind, thanks to his liberal tradition as an intellectual. The problem is that Nsibambi�s nice words have come after a lot of damage has been done to the talks and by the Cabinet White Paper. The battle between President Museveni and Mengo will take back stage. What we are soon to see is the battle of minds between the moderate reformist Baganda elite and the hardcore traditionalist non-reformist Baganda. It will need serious soul searching by the Baganda themselves to come out with what the rest of the country wants to hear: to democratise the institution they cherish to avoid future trouble. |
� 2004 The Monitor Publications
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