David Ouma Balikowa
Mengo, Museveni: What is in the ettu?
Feb 25, 2005
A story is told that immediately after sealing the �federo� deal between Mengo and President Yoweri Museveni, both parties rushed off, clutching in their armpits ettu (parcel) they had exchanged.
The Mengo team rushed straight to Bulange, and Museveni to a safe corner in State House, to check ekiri muttu (what is in the parcel).
For days both parties have been sifting through the ettu, looking for the white ants (federo for Mengo and votes for Museveni). Both are still sifting through the multitude of byoya byanswa (feathers of white ants) stuffed in the ettu hopping to find the white ants.
The search still goes on.
They are not alone. Many people too are trying to make sense of the deal sealed last week. It might take time before any white ant is found; that is if there is any at all.
Both Museveni and the opposition competed for Buganda�s heart through Mengo (Buganda monarch). Museveni was the proud suitor; he wanted Mengo to come along with him, but on his own terms.
The opposition wanted a coalition of interests; political parties, civil society organisations, and Mengo too.
In the end, Museveni largely prevailed on Mengo, although the latter insist the search for �federo proper� is still on.
Museveni conceded on having one Lukiiko (parliament). He had earlier on proposed two; one appointed by Kabaka Ronald Mutebi; and a second one elected.
HAPPY ABOUT NEW FEDERO DEAL? Some Lukiiko members, resplendent in their bright robes, receiving the federo package (File photo). But one Lukiiko is still a compromise. It will have both elected and appointed members. The elected slots allow Museveni to infiltrate and influence the Lukiiko, the same way he has done with most district local councils.
To some people, the deal smacks of the UPC/Kabaka Yekka alliance to block the DP from ascending to power in 1962. They see it as Museveni�s attempt to pull the rug below the opposition in Buganda.
It might be far from being compared with the UPC/Mengo deal. The deal, however, makes federo less of a non-campaign issue in next year�s elections even for the opposition.
The opposition would equally be best served if they dared not re-ignite the federo debate. It frees voters from any �conscription� of any sort in the name of federo; and permits a less polemic political exercise in Buganda.
The opposition, being the only alternative platform that would have propelled the fe dero campaign further than where Museveni has pegged it, might be feeling let down. They would be justified to feel betrayed that Mengo rushed to seal the deal with Museveni just when the electoral verdict was around the corner.
Their mistake too would be that they (opposition) didn�t try hard to lobby Mengo out of any deal with Museveni, even when they knew that the purpose was to pull the rug below their feet.
It would be interesting to know what exactly prompted Mengo to get into the trap of a familiar pattern and seal the deal in a manner and at a time that would be interpreted as being used to endorse Museveni�s renewed ambition to cling onto power.
Or was their action borne out of the realisation that the country is landed with an inevitable and incurable life presidency?
The truth though, is that Museveni uses the so-called cultural leaders to manage the campaigns. It is the only time he offers any constructive engagement with them where he sees an obstacle.
Just before the 1996 general elections, Museveni rushed through a cultural institutions law with the sole aim of getting the Kabaka installed. It was only when some people tried to install the Omugabe in Ankole when they realized the law was not meant for them. A lieutenant general who participated in the secret installation apologised to the president at a recent wedding they both attended.Just before the 2001 general elections, a different trick was tried to manage Mengo�s influence. An attempt to challenge the Kabaka�s lineage to the throne backfired. They realised they were dealing with a popular king whose wedding attracted a historical gathering in the region�s history than any president has ever attracted.
The lessons dictated a return to the 1995 constructive engagement as Museveni negotiates through yet another phase of the political mud of seeking to be re-elected to what is widely viewed as a life presidency.
The Mengo/Museveni deal makes it likely those aspects of Buganda�s national political behaviour does not crystalise around federo. It works for Museveni, as it does for the opposition.
He might be able to get a few white ants in the ettu he thought he was exchanging with Mengo. But a lot of the stuff might turn out to be byoya byanswa.
Mengo now faces the dauntin g challenge of how to keep the federo candle burning among the political hearts of the Baganda. This has been their biggest rallying point.
The other challenge is how to ensure that the elected Lukiiko members are not sponsored to undermine and destroy Mengo further.
Whether they like it or not, Museveni will effectively use the divide and rule strategy to ensure the federo candle burns out in the long run.
The youth and politically astute Baganda, having been deflated with the diluted federo, will seek another outlet.
There is no doubt that the region is in dire need of a political star to keep the region�s name on Uganda�s political map. A smart opposition can still pull off fireworks in the region.
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� 2005 The Monitor Publications
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