1. I see in Uganda an opportunity, not a lost cause. Surprised? No. You shouldn’t be! And yes, you heard me right. Indeed, these were more or less the same words which came out of my late father’s mouth, Mzee Stephen Kamugasa, on 17th February 1977, upon receiving confirmation that Janani Luwum, the then Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, had actually been killed at the instigation of General Idi Amin Dada. Janani Luwum and my father were close friends; he had been a frequent guest at our family home. I will never forget that fateful day for as long as I live; I remember it as if it were yesterday. We had about 7 guard dogs at the time and I was on dog poop duties that morning. Like all children, I hated the chore but someone had to do it. I was 11 years old. I vividly remember how my jaw dropped at an extraordinary spectacle of seeing an eminent physician, Dr Lalobo, scale the first gate, then run the length of the drive, before scaling the second gate of our home at Naakulabye, with the dexterity and sophistication an Olympian champion athlete would envy; his face like thunder, he was in so much haste to deliver the dreadful news to my father. At around 1.0 o’clock, the awful news was made official on Radio Uganda by public announcement. The air was thick with despair it felt like you could cut it with a knife. It was in the context of this overwhelming sense of resignation and hopelessness, that my father uttered those defiant words, more in hope really, to friends who by now had gathered to mourn the Archbishop and two cabinet ministers who had died alongside him. The actual version of events surrounding of their death remained a mystery for a while longer…
Institutions – especially alternative centres of leadership and authority do matter
2. Almost forty four years to the day, I too see in Uganda an opportunity, not a lost a cause – and this – in the face of an overwhelming sense of resignation and hopelessness to all Ugandans who yearn for a peaceful transfer of power by the ballot box; following a violent and bad tempered 2021 sham general election, which General Museveni apparently won with 58.64% of the vote. And what a bloody election it was! Fifty four ordinary members of the public, including a boy, were shot dead by the security services in broad daylight on just one occasion; there will be no compensation, no justice for these wretched poor of Uganda. The country we all know as Uganda, is now a sorry-looking skeleton of a nation, a living allegory of hell on earth; and yet, democracy in Uganda is not a lost cause. Indeed, I believe this election is both purifying and clarifying. All Ugandans should thank God the Almighty for blessing the country with a leader like General Museveni. He is a gift like nothing we’ve ever seen, for he has given Uganda a first-hand experience, an object lesson if you like, which speaks to the high cost of not having credible and robust alternative centres of leadership and authority. It is impossible for any single Ugandan alive today to say, “I am ignorant.”
3. All Ugandans, whether at home or aboard, must pull their collective Ostrich head out of the sand and face up to the reality of what the want of institutions in Uganda looks like. We are, as it were, without excuse. We cannot plead ignorance as some form of protection from the consequences of inaction. Ugandans must face up to what they would rather not see. General Museveni’s 10 point plan for fundamental change which he published at the outset of his rule; that is, after ceasing power on 25th January 1986, thanks to his trusted AK47, was nothing but a mirage. For nearly 40 years under his leadership, Uganda has been on a long journey towards the consummation of the said mirage, and like all good mirages, there is no end in sight to this particular journey. Not by a long shot. And yet, despite of this very harsh reality, I again do say, “I see an opportunity for Uganda and all her people(s).” But what kind of opportunity do I see?
I see an opportunity for Uganda in 2021 and beyond
4. The opportunity I see comes hot on the heels of much celebrations by yellow clad supporters in Kampala, following General Museven’s win at the just concluded fraudulent election polls. There is now an air in Uganda something remarkable about what General Museveni has thus far accomplished. This achievement is the talk of town even as I write, and will probably be chronicled in the history books and talked about for many generations to come. Many in his yellow camp think they have found satisfaction in securing the ‘Future’ which was General Museveni’s election campaign slogan; that their names, including that of General Museveni shall be perpetuated, that posterity will celebrate the actions they have performed, the honours they have won. They dream of perpetuating the impressive estates they have established during his long rule, that their houses shall continue for ever; but, alas, and I much fear, that they are deceiving themselves. For I speak with the weeping prophet, Prophet Jeremiah, when he spoke, in a book named after him, at Chapter 6, verse 14: “You have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace!’ ‘Peace!’ when there is no peace.”
5. There is indeed no peace in Uganda today. All told, Uganda and all her people(s), have not known peace since she became independent from her British colonial masters back in 1962. Her entire political and physical landscape is a melancholy tale of woe; she has seen wave upon wave of human rights abuses and violence, a piling up of bitter sorrows upon bitter sorrows. Doleful cries for justice can still be heard coming from both her desolate bushes of Luweero and the Northern territories; the 2016 Kasese massacres whose victims’ cries for justice have to this day fallen on deaf ears; the 47 young men who suffocated to death, after they were locked up in a railway cattle truck in Mukura in July 1989, also plead for justice but there is no one to answer their cries. They are but a sample of a long list of atrocities. These cycles of violence must be broken; and the perpetual suffering of Ugandans must stop because as all her people(s) testify this very day, “Ugandans have suffered enough.” Which is why I see General Museveni’s election win as an opportunity – a turning point if you like. It is a great opportunity for all reflective and sober minded Ugandans, including those in foreign lands who wish the country well, to seriously consult among themselves on how to bring to an end this depressing tale of woe.
Uganda urgently needs a new simple, but practical vision
6. Lets us be brutally honest: The National Resistance Movement (NRM), the political vehicle through which General Museveni ostensibly governs Uganda, has run its course. It has run out of puff. I say so without prejudice to anyone in particular, because I know there are many Ugandans alive today who have given both blood and treasure to the NRM. Many did and still do so with a sincere heart, and many more have given their best years to the NRM cause. Moreover, I am, as I write, deeply cognisant that there are many Ugandans for whom General Museveni is a much loved freedom fighter and a hero. Among these is numbered a people who have done extremely well under his dispensation; for they wax large of fat full of marrow, and of well-refined wine on lees. Despite disagreeing with them, and believe me I do disagree with them most profoundly; and yet, I respect them as fellow human beings, made in the image of the God I worship. I bear them no ill-will or malice, but charity. Moreover, I respect them because they too are Ugandans, and have an interest in Uganda as well as I do; they must be part of the solution respecting the future of Uganda. But surely, even they must know by now, deep in their heart of hearts, that the NRM has run out of rope. There is no more puff to speak of, the NRM’s credit at the bank of good-will, both at home and abroad, is completely exhausted. No, there is not a penny on its account. The time has come to manage the retirement of the NRM, in the hopes of giving way to something much more capable of meeting today’s desperate challenges in a young Uganda; 80% of her population is 35 years old or younger. The Uganda of 2021 is crying out for meaningful change; a Copernican revolution in the way she thinks about her fortunes. She’s in need of a new practical vision.
7. The situation in Uganda is anguished. The issue at hand is not between change and the status quo, but between two forms of change: one that makes change work for all Ugandans, young and old, rich and poor; and one that may regrettably lead her many tribes to choose to secede with a view of forming new nation state(s) whose leaders actually serve their people(s), and are not mercenary overlords who rob them blind. It is the reason I am so excited. For in this opportunity I see an urgent need for a root and branch reformation of a nation called, the Republic of Uganda. This may lead to both a new constitution and a new social contract between the Ugandan state, the private sector and her citizens; it should start with rebuilding consent through citizen’s assemblies up and down the country, with a wide remit to re-imagine the Republic of Uganda’s constitutional settlement. It is a tall order I know, but one which is doable. Which is why I am desirous of putting before you all, both Ugandans and well-wishers, a proposal for your consideration. But first a private and personal disclosure.
A private and personal disclosure
8. Accepting that the Republic of Uganda of 2021, is a de facto void in which greed is running riot, a procurator’s felicity if you like; where even a consecrated church is torn down in the dead of the night in the name of private gain. Uganda is now a land where the so-called elite are as the beasts which are too hungry, too greedy, too ravenous to allow any other cattle to feed after them; for they make the land barren by gnawing the very roots out of the ground. A question which must surely hung heavy in the air is therefore this: What in God’s name, does this man, Stephen Kamugasa, stand to gain? Or to put it differently, what is he angling for? Could it be, that he too is seeking some kind of preferment at General Museveni’s table? The answer to all the above questions is a resounding “No.” So then, what is my motivation?
9. In answer, let me draw you into a little arrangement my father and I agreed upon in the year I turned 18 years old, which is the age of majority in Uganda. Conscious that I am his illegitimate boy, my father asked me to join him for a little walk up Namirembe hill, where St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral is situated, and a stone’s throw away from our family home at Naakulabye, which lies on the outskirts of Kampala. Father wanted us to have our first proper man-to-man chat. And as we walked, he reminded me how much he loved me, and that he had something extremely important he wanted to share with me. He told me, in the event of his untimely death, the 1980s was an extremely hazardous period. Prominent Ugandans were murdered in cold blood; he wanted me to give him my word about something. He wondered aloud if I would be content to walk away without claiming any entitlement whatsoever reference to the family estate. For, he said, “There is no inheritance for you my dear boy,” except “for the privilege of bearing my name.” He continued that “Bearing my name was honour in of itself – you should be satisfied with that simple inheritance.” He added further, “I promised your mother that I will do right by you. My pledge to her was I will do everything in my power to provide you with a sound education until you’re sufficiently independent, and what you do afterwards is entirely up-to you, my dear boy.” I happily gave my word to him – that I would do as agreed. Throughout my years I never reckoned on what my father or our family had; I was happy with merely having a father who both acknowledged and loved me: many in my situation are not so lucky.
10. Now this is a strange disclosure to make in a blog-post. I would normally never make public a private and personal matter of this nature. I have only ever shared it with my wife. I am making it public because these are desperate times for my first country, Uganda. I wish to make it abundantly clear, I am writing totally free of covetousness. Since all things belong to me as an inheritor of the world in Christ Jesus; I covet nothing that any of my siblings have, neither do I covet anything belonging to a single Ugandan alive today – whether at home or abroad. I have no craving for public office whatsoever. I am content not to own as much as a speck of Uganda’s very rich earth; I do not covet any Ugandan citizen’s gold, silver, houses or lands. No, not even General Museveni’s reputed personal oil. My wife and I are quite content with what we have; and, when the day for either or both of us to pass on comes, and seeing that we have no posterity to speak of, our instructions to our executors are very simple, namely, to dispose of our cremated remains at sea. There will be no memorial for this Stephen Kamugasa when the time comes for him to depart from this earth. Empty he came into this world, and empty shall he depart from it.
A burning desire to see Uganda at peace with herself…
11. Moreover, this blog-post is the result of a burden which has been burning hot in my heart ever since I become a refugee in England. Make what you will of it, it is the product of an honest lover of the land of my fathers, Uganda, and all her people(s); who fears the Lord Jesus Christ and fears no one else besides. Judge me to have written with political bias or not, and censure me as you choose. I can say no less, or I would gladly have held my peace. Before God I am clear in this thing of any attempt except an upright one. May God grant that my feeble proposal may touch the hearts of those who ought to feel its power. But my long years as a refugee have taught me to be a realist. I am therefore not very sanguine that this proposal will be taken up in the spirit it is given; for we all Ugandans, including those of us who are now citizens of other countries, have fallen upon evil times, and our collective heart has waxen gross.
12. If I have any craving, it is a desire to see the land of my fathers at peace with herself; with every Ugandan sitting safely under his vine and fig tree, not fearing that anyone will come to molest them with an AK47 assault rifle, or with tear gas, or forcefully made to disappear to some nondescript safe house. This wish extends to General Museveni and his entire family and friends. It also encompasses all the tribes of Uganda, and most specifically, the people(s) of the Western region of Uganda, whose fortunes are so intimately interwoven with the fortunes of General Museveni’s regime. This craving is as it were, the laying of a first stone, which through daily practising of ‘many little steps’ of what I am about to propose, until at last the top-stone of a new peaceable Republic of Uganda is brought forth with shouting of joy and gladness. It is a big ask I know, but one which is worth a great deal, including the laying down one’s life. Only Ugandans can do this for themselves. Foreign powers, even foreign capital, which are so ubiquitous and influential in Uganda’s public affairs today, cannot do it for Uganda. It is for Ugandans themselves who must settle the issue.
The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word crisis – danger and opportunity
13. Five serendipitous events happened to me soon after my wife and I decided to close down our small consulting firm in January, at the start of the Major Financial Crisis of 2008. The first was an Irish lady friend, talked me into getting involved with a group of artists in Milton Keynes, as a means of keeping me out of mischief. My wife, had by now removed to Taiwan to fulfil her filial duty to her father, following an accident which left him completely paralyzed and in intensive care. He died shortly afterwards. Meeting the artists was an opportunity as it resulted in me running of a small art gallery in Milton Keynes – an experience I thoroughly enjoyed. The second event, also an opportunity, involved a vice-chancellor of an English university offering me an assignment to work as his independent adviser. I advised him on a variety of fundraising matters, including working on a major capital project which had at the time come to an impasse. This was a lucrative assignment as it kept the wolf from the door during the financial crisis. The third, yet another opportunity, was a request from a wise old elephant, Mr Nick Singer, an engineer and a co-founder of one of the UK’s most extraordinary research/engineering companies, Shadow Robot Company. The company was on the verge of being sold, over the heads of its engineer founders, to a Japanese interest by their unscrupulous CEO. I succeeded in coming up with an arrangement, including pointing them in the right direction, resulting in the CEO leaving the company without much ado, and the company, including all the intellectual properties remained in British hands. Sadly, Nick Singer passed away at the beginning of 2020, following a short illness. The fourth, probably the biggest opportunity by far, was an award of a scholarship to read for an MBA degree at BPP Business School in London. And lastly and not least, which represented a degree of danger, was a personal request for assistance by an Arab lady. She wanted my help, on a Pro Bono basis, to set up a social enterprise in England to assist Arab refugees living in the UK.
A good turn deserves another…
14. At first, I was reluctant to work with the Arab refugees, as those were the days when feelings following the aftermath of the second Gulf war were still very sore. And besides, I too had personal troubles of mine own to contend with, which were the direct consequence of the financial crisis. I really did not want to help her. I came up with all manner of excuses to dissuade her, hoping against all hope that she would give up and go away. She did not. She was very persistent in her pleas for help. But it was a recollection of a kindness which I had experienced in Uganda as a little boy of about 7 years old, that caused me to change my mind. Back in the early 1970s, during Amin’s military rule, my father often got into trouble with the president which necessitated him to make a quick get away. Sometimes he would make good his escape by dressing up as a woman. On other occasions, he would effect his disappearance act with a little help from a certain friend, probably a funeral director. I have a vivid memory of both father and my Scottish step-mother hastily dropping me off with a small bag of clothing, at market town, just outside the campus of Makerere University, where my father taught at the time, and on the edge of Kampala, Uganda’s capital city.
15. I was given specific instructions to do whatever I was told to do by my new uncle, a gray goatee-bearded Arab gentleman, in whose care they left me. This was the first time I had ever seen an Arab. I remember him dressed in a long white flowing gown, complete with a Muslim skull cap, the Taqiyah. My parents disappeared for what seemed to me an eternity. I have no idea what exactly my new uncle’s office was, all I remember he was treated with much reverence by those who called to see him and worked around him. Evidently, he was a man of substance. He never let me out of his sight, except for when I had to go to the lavatory or have a bath and to change into a new set of clothing – a company of women in his compound were always on hand to see to my needs. I slept in the same bed as him, and eat the same food. He even took me with him to the mosque when it was his turn to lead prayers. I was too young to recall all the details. But this much I do vividly recall: Whenever we sat down to eat our meals, we sat on the floor, on very elaborate carpets, the like of which I had never seen in my short life. I well remember being so mesmerized by the movement of his goatee beard; for it moved rhythmically, up and down, each time he chewed something in his mouth. All children are taught not to stare, but I did stare. I simply could not help myself. For I was bowled over by the sight, as I had never seen anything like it before; and I remember him speaking to me ever so gently, encouraging me to eat up my food, especially the blasted green vegetables which I hated, before they all went cold. I have no idea what his name was. It was this fond childhood memory that softened my heart to agree to work with the Arab refugees.
An epiphany – pertinent to Uganda’s situation
16. I am so thankful that I agreed to help them. For working with the Arab refugees was an education like no other. Among the projects we worked on was the formation of a language school at Milton Keynes; and I found myself drawn into their post-mortem debates about what had gone so catastrophically wrong in the Middle East, with a special reference to Iraq. I was struck by how well educated they all were; for in their number were medical doctors (including one or two surgeons), engineers, architects, accountants, lawyers, business men and women, and professors at a very high level (two of whom had secured teaching positions at universities in England). The reason for their desire to set up a social enterprise was the harsh reality that the majority of them, despite their exceptional education and experience, were basically unemployable in England; there are approximately 450,000 Iraqi diaspora in the UK. They needed something meaningful to do – to ward off a sense of hopelessness that is so common among refugees. I understood totally the predicament they were in. My regular debates with them opened up new insights about politics in the modern Arab world, I discovered new religious sects within Islam and Christianity, and most specifically, I learned about the debilitating influence of dictators. And limiting myself to the vicissitudes of Iraq in particular, the biggest discovery for me was the haunting regret many Iraqis felt for not investing sufficient time, energy, and resources, to prepare for the downfall of Saddam Hussein, the former president of Iraq.
17. They regretted the fact that many Iraqi intellectuals had spent a great deal of time bemoaning the horrors of his regime, but did next to nothing to prepare for the aftermath following his fall from power. They lamented their failure to form themselves into a formidable organization(s) that would have helped keep the interests of ordinary Iraqis in full view in the great capitals of the world, where the future of Iraq was eventually decided. It became clear to me that it is a big mistake to focus unduly upon one individual, as dictatorship is not just about the rule of one man, but the deliberate sterilization of democracy, with the aid and the abetting of many actors, both at home and abroad. And by sterilization I mean a removal from the public space any dissenting voice or alternative opinion – thanks to the brutality of the local military and security services, the tenacity of vested interests and elites, who will do anything to maintain the status quo.
18. This kind of hostile environment has no room for opposition parties that would otherwise harness and guide local political energy, or sustain political discourse in any meaningful way. Thus when the American led coalition invasion successfully overthrew Saddam Hussein in 2003, the resulting vacuum was quickly filled by all manner of rogue characters, guaranteeing the chaos that has become a byword for Iraq. They spoke with much envy at the Jewish penchant at organizing themselves into powerful lobbying groups, that enjoy the ear of those in positions of power and influence in the great capitals of the new world order. In other words, the Iraqi ordinary people had no powerful voice to speak up for them when it really mattered. They were left orphaned. They could not answer a conundrum, which is, how to convert the native energy on the ground which cried out for justice and change, into a viable force capable of bring about change successfully and peaceably. This was my epiphany. This epiphany was confirmed in its powerful relevance to Uganda, by the catastrophic failure of the Arab Spring of more than 10 years ago.
Mzee Stephen Kamugasa, circa 1983
General Museveni is not the big issue in Uganda we suppose him to be
19. The above revelation opened my eyes to the awful truth that General Museveni is, like all his predecessors before him, not the hinge upon which the destiny of Uganda turns; and therefore, he is not the big issue we suppose him to be. Indeed, many will be surprised to read that I personally have no particular ‘beef’ with the man per se – despite his rule being the root cause of many of my family’s woes. For I believe Museveni to be as much a victim of a peculiar set of circumstances as any Ugandan is – dead or alive. And if the truth be told, Ugandans are in the circumstances their own worst enemy. If Ugandans were wise to things that make for peace, even the wildest of animals would be subdued; and if evil were purged from many a Ugandan heart, the major part of the ills in the Pearl of Africa would cease at once. For in the Uganda of today, the drunken’s wastefulness and brutality, the proud Ugandan’s scorn, the Ugandan oppressor’s cruelty, the Ugandan slanderer’s lie, the Ugandan (Omuyaye) trickster’s cheat, the Ugandan heartlessness grinding the faces of the Ugandan poor into the dust – these evils put together are the roots of almost all the poisonous weeds which multiply upon the land we know as the Republic of Uganda – to all our shame and sorrow.
20. To wit: were I born a Museveni, had had his family, grown up in the same environment he grew up in, attended the same schools and university as he did, or had had the same experience(s) as he did; I have no doubt whatsoever in my heart that I too would be just like Museveni. For apart from grace in my Lord Jesus Christ; I am by nature a thief, a lair, a killer and much, much more besides. I too would serve no one but myself, I would also fight for my own stomach and the stomachs of my atomised family. Indeed, I too would pick up my AK47 and take to the bush in the Luweero district of central Uganda, and fight my way to State House; I would also claim ownership of pretty much I pleased, including claiming sole ownership of the oil in lake Albert. This is because of desperation, which has since become a byword for Uganda following her independence from her former British colonial masters; Uganda is precisely the sort of country men like General Museveni inherit and inhabit. Chaos and dark times are great opportunities for men like General Museveni. Truly, General Museveni is the fruit of a tree called Uganda, both before and post-independence. Now, am I exonerating General Museveni from all his evil deeds? Absolutely not! What then shall we say of this? Must we blame him for the mess Uganda has become after more than 35 years at the helm? By all means we should do so! Blame him much, but in blaming him, let us include ourselves in the censure.
General Museveni is not unique – he is a homegrown Ugandan problem
21. Let me share with you a little insight I picked up from a military intelligence officer in the early 1980s. This was during the chaos that followed soon after the fall of General Idi Amin Dada. A while ago, a leading Ugandan journalist contacted me to ask whether I was really, in his own words, “Mzee Kamugasa’s son.” Surprised by the question, I asked him why he wanted to know. He responded thus: “I am old enough to remember events of more than 40 years ago.” That simple reply brought to my remembrance an intriguing conversation I had with a military intelligence officer; whose name, for the life of me, I cannot remember, except that he was a staff sergeant. For a non-commissioned officer in the Tanzanian army, which as many will recall, was instrumental in the overthrow of General Idi Amin Dada; he was a highly educated man – holding a politics degree from a leading university in England. Apparently, he elected to work in a lowly capacity, as it made him more effective at his job; which was, to analyse intelligence. He was, at the time, seconded to David Oyite Ojok’s team, the then Uganda Military Commander, who as it is widely known, died on 2 December 1983, in a helicopter crash. The General was my father’s personal friend. I have no idea how they met. He enjoyed visiting our home, to get away from the pressures of work. Although father was politically allied to Milton Obote’s political party, the Uganda People’s Congress, he never served in any Ugandan government in any form or shape.
22. Thus it was that one day, when the general and his entourage descended upon our home, the staff sergeant came along, and we got debating about Uganda. Even at a young age, I was alive to political issues affecting Uganda. It was during that debate that the staff sergeant made a rather startling remark: he foresaw the rise of General Museveni, that he would one day rule Uganda and rule her for a very long time. He said that General Museveni would at first be hailed as a messiah, lionised as a freedom fighter, but would subsequently be resented and hated by those who facilitated his rise to power. I did not know much about General Museveni at that time. But when I protested at his seemingly absurd prediction, the staff sergeant gave me a history lesson in Ugandan politics; he astonished me by how much he knew. Focusing on the flawed character of the peoples of Uganda, he boldly declared that Uganda was tailor-made for a man such as General Museveni. Many underestimate him but he’s very smart, and very cunning indeed. He concluded his analysis by quoting to me a joke from father, namely, the trouble with Ugandans is they “Put their stomachs ahead of principle.” I was surprised to hear same joke. It’s meaning is simple: instead of upholding the Uganda motto, which is, “For God and My Country;” many Ugandans, according to my father, preferred to go by, “For God and My Stomach.” It was very preposterous to me, and I remember laughing the staff sergeant to scorn. I am not laughing now. More than 40 years after that debate, I regret to say that the staff sergeant was right after all. That’s why I am confident that the big issue in Uganda today is not General Museveni. It is most certainly not about power, or removing General Museveni from power. The real issue in Uganda is a crisis of leadership and authority. It has been the central issue since the formation of the Republic of Uganda – thanks to many Ugandans preferring their stomachs to principle.
The love of stomach is malignant and epidemic
23. As my father used to say all those years ago, the centre of gravity in Uganda’s body politic is the stomach, not principle; it wrecks a nation. And like a cancer, once it spreads to the diverse parts of the nation’s body politic, it is virtually impossible to cure. It is a heavy yoke around the neck of the Republic of Uganda; which indicates a collective failure of all her centres of leadership and authority. This failure has, alas, been leisurely in materialising; rather like a slow puncture, the air steadily seeped out of the tyres of Uganda’s centres of leadership and authority, over a very long period of time, since she gained her independence back in 1962. General Museveni, who is a direct result of this collective failure, his long rule over the country is simply the final death knell of the Republic of Uganda’s institutions. For General Museveni, unlike his predecessors, has proved remarkably prodigious in hollowing out alternative centres of leadership and authority in the name of the stomach, which he has in turn filled with his own image.
24. Alternative centres of leadership and authority in Uganda now exist in name only, and they are all a sham. Consider for instance the predicament of the watchman of Uganda’s soul. The Church of God in Uganda now despises the one and only living God; for her eyes are firmly shut, her ears are full of wax, and her lips are sealed tight in the face of tidal wave upon tidal wave of injustice. The Church of God in Uganda ceased speaking truth to power a long time ago; her voice fell silent with the permanent silencing of her Archbishop, the late Janani Luwum, back in 1977. Her special seat in Uganda’s body politic is now occupied by a myriad of so-called Pentecostal and Evangelical churches; a considerable number of them led by wolves in sheep’s clothing, who daily trample the glory of God into the dust, robbing blind Uganda’s desperate poor.
25. A true follower is like clay on the wheel and his leader fashions him after his own image. We may scarcely be conscious of it but we are most surely being conformed to the likeness of those to whose influence we come under. Thus since Uganda is an exceedingly religious country, where the ‘Watchman’ of her soul goes, the rest of the institutions likewise follow suit. In Uganda today, there is no Parliament to speak of, as the august institution has over time gone astray, culminating in selling her soul for a paltry presidential shilling back in 2017; for the venerable Parliament of Uganda acquiesced to changing the terms of the constitution in favour of General Museveni. Thus it was that the thin crust of civility, which is formed by a robust representative legislature holding the executive to account, also went the way of the watchman; losing the ability to manage competing interests and conflicts, without recourse to actual violence.
26. The independence of Uganda’s Judiciary was, alas, suborned a long time ago; for judges in Uganda today, I am reliably informed, are for sale to the highest bidder. Little old ladies for example, whose land title deeds have been stolen from them have no access to justice. As for the institution of the police, well, there isn’t anything worth writing home about. For the police is but an extension of the so-called professional Uganda People’s Defence Force whose only purposes for existence, it would seem, is to be prodigious at keeping General Museveni in power at all costs, including visiting violence to innocent Ugandan civilians. The UPDF answers to one man and one man only, General Museveni; it is his personal private army. What about the civil service? The Uganda civil service, once the envy of East Africa, also exists in name only today. As recently as 2020, a Ugandan senior diplomat at a European capital, was filmed plotting how to divvy up public funds between herself and her staff. The list goes on. Such is the cost to Uganda, for the habit of putting the stomach ahead of principle. This is the real problem in Uganda. What then is the solution?
We must all of us give Uganda’s destiny a helping hand…
27. It is well said that when you change the form, you are on the way to changing the substance. The emerging realpolitik, as evidenced by the tragic year of 2020, suggests that the 21st century will henceforth be defined by the continuing rise and rise of China as an anti-democratic superpower. There is now a division of the house in the new world order. It is therefore critical that a poor African country such as Uganda, is not put in an impossible position of having to make a binary choice of alignment with either Washington or Beijing. The reality is, however, General Museveni is the ‘Western powers’ preferred choice for a leader in Uganda today – despite their protestations. He is their point-man in the Great Lakes region of Africa, and a reliable ally in the fierce competition for African resources. Also, it is worth bearing in mind that General Museveni is, at the age of 77 years old, something of a youth; that is, if we’re to take Hastings Kamuzu Banda as a guide, for the former president of Malawi died at the grand old age of 99 years old.
28. Moreover, since the rebarbative side to General Museveni’s character is notoriously clear, which is, to cleave to power by whatever means necessary; it requires no reading of the runes to see that General Museveni will probably remain in power for at least another 20 years. Removing him from office by use of force will in the circumstances be counterproductive, as to do so will most certainly sink Uganda into a costly civil war she cannot afford. The question for all right thinking Ugandans, including those sympathetic to the cause of democracy, good governance, and the rule of law must surely be this: How on earth, can we help Uganda shake free from her melancholy legacy described above, and recast her future as a credible nation state? And perhaps another question worth asking is this: How do we create in Uganda, the right conditions, the right environment, in which we can nurture and raise up oaks of leaders – both in civil and political spheres – capable of weaving a new narrative; a narrative that embraces greater equality, a common national purpose, of stronger co-operatives and trade unions, of raising wages, and meaningful work?
29. In answer, allow me to quote a well-tried maxim, namely, ‘Heavens helps those who help themselves.’ It is not a Biblical maxim, but it contains within it a compass, which is the result of vast human experience. And, as General Museveni’s long rule has clearly demonstrated, it is cognisant that help from without, however desirable at times, is nevertheless enfeebling in its effects, whereas help from within is invariably invigorating. For General Museveni has been throughout his long rule, supported by millions upon millions of US Dollars in foreign Aid and capital; and all those millions have succeeded in achieving, is a systematic destruction of alternative centres of leadership and authority, thus turning General Museveni into something of a god in Uganda. All authority and leadership is from and through General Museveni; he superintends all manner of interests in Uganda, including occasionally investigating petty crimes and divvying up ‘facilitation money’ in Operation Wealth Creation. General Museveni’s government in all its various guises, has been and still is a negative influence; it cannot protect life, liberty and property. In other words, General Museveni’s government has failed to establish a framework of stability – whether constitutional stability, the rule of law, or the economic stability – within which individuals, especially the youth, are free to pursue their own dreams and ambitions.
30. If we can all agree that the primary purpose of government is to maintain law and order, which General Museveni has consistently failed at, and will continue to fail at for as long as he remains in power; it is highly desirable that order should be upheld under the law, and that law should respect the rights of individuals regardless of their social status, political affiliations, tribe or religion. And, if we can also agree that, unless the government has the will and capacity to ensure order, not only bad but eventually good people will be compelled to flout its authority. The law-abiding citizens will be demoralised when they see criminals getting away with it scot-free. Citizens and local communities as witnessed during the just concluded election, will turn inwards, away from what is left of Uganda’s national institutions, losing complete confidence in law-enforcement authorities. The result is a process of disintegration similar to what we have seen in Arab countries which, if allowed to go beyond a certain point, it may be found that it is impossible to reverse. This is what I fear the most. It is for precisely this reason I see the re-election of General Museveni as a historic political opportunity for right thinking Ugandans. It is a chance for them, all of us, especially those in the diaspora, to start right now – to rethink Uganda’s past, and write a new narrative for Uganda as one nation. Right-thinking Ugandans must be in no doubt that Uganda is at a cross road. A decision must be made; for a little later, and all Ugandans may have to groan within a tomb which they themselves have dug, without the power of rolling away the stone. So, what is the proposal?
Submit the Republic of Uganda to the United Nations as a possible Mandate
31. Ugandans should be in no doubt that, General Museveni is determined to stick around, rather like a dirty piece of chewing gum on the leg of the presidential chair. The desire to remove him from power, however urgent, is neither realistic nor viable – both in the short term or the long term. Removing him from power is not a credible solution; as we have no guarantee that we will not get another ‘Museveni 2.0’ to take the place of the current one, and who would most probably be seven times worse. The harsh reality before us is that the options available to us, short of a costly civil war, are exceedingly limited. It is this stark reality which has compelled me to entertain the possibility of submitting the Republic of Uganda to the United Nations as a possible Mandate.
32. Yes, yes, this is a desperate option; and, as I write, the idea is not legally possible. For the law as it stands, thanks to sound legal advice I procured from a London firm of solicitors, is as follows: “In the early days of the UN, the United Nations created Trust Territories pursuant to article 77 of the UN Charter. All Trust Territories were former colonies of the losing WW2 powers, former League of Nations’ mandates and territories voluntarily placed under the System by States. These were administered through the United Nations Trusteeship Council. All Trust Territories have attained self-governance and are no longer being administered by the UN. [The] last Trust Territory was Palau which became a full member of the UN in 1994. Accordingly, the trust/mandate territory administration is no longer used by the UN. And even if it were, Uganda, as a self-governing and independent Member of the UN, will not be able to be administered by the UN Trusteeship Council because article 78 of the UN Charter determines that the “trusteeship system shall not apply to territories which have become Members of the UN.”
33. And yet, not withstanding the above legal opinion, we can, at the very least, explore the possibility of reviving the scheme; and if necessary, lobby the great powers for a new article to be promulgated and added to the United Nations Charter. For the awful reality is, these are exceedingly trying times whether we like or not. And, accepting that the majority of Ugandans would rather hang on to dear life, of whatever quality, than die a violent, meaningless death; it seems to me that precipitating a showdown in an effort to remove General Museveni from power would be, in the circumstances, both futile and counterproductive. General Museveni is a man of violence – that’s a fact. Ugandans desperately need space to be able to talk among ourselves without recourse to the shedding of blood. We most certainly need space where we, as Ugandans, can pass through an intense fire and light that will help us burn out everything mean and selfish in us, leaving only a common purpose and a common unity, fusing us into a single soul of the Ugandan people.
34. I absolutely agree that this is probably not what the hungry sheep of Uganda need right now by way of sustenance, as to do so will mean surrendering a little of our sovereignty; and yet, it is my considered opinion that the protection of the United Nations is a much better proposition than all the alternatives which are currently before us. It is for this reason and this reason alone, I am confident that the hungry sheep of Uganda, especially the young people who constitute 80% of the population, will be more than willing to eat the gruel of an opportunity of settling our differences in relative peace, under the watchful eye of nations that share a common interest with us, which is, peace in our beautiful land we all know as Uganda.
The magnitude of the challenge
35. Ordinary people’s eyes turn, as they are apt to do in such situations, towards the rising sun. There is no doubt that young Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, has distinguished himself; for he has had a profound impact on Ugandan politics for good or ill, during the just concluded election cycle. Having come from virtually nowhere, he has captured the imagination of millions of Ugandans, both at home and abroad, daring them to believe the seemingly impossible; that the peaceable transfer of power in Uganda is possible. His defeat, which incidentally was widely expected, was nevertheless a crushing blow to many Ugandans’ dreams and hopes, most especially the 80% of whom are aged 35 years old or below. His sudden rise vindicates me in more ways than one. For I have long argued that the future of Uganda’s government should officially pass to the next generation. I believe the time is indeed ripe, for men and women of a certain generation, to step aside and allow the young to take over.
36. But we, members of an older generation, must play our part to make that happen; we must help them. Thus in my blog-post, “Bloody Independence – we wuz robbed! Part 2 [2019], I wrote the following: “The next generation in particular is young; it has no experience. They are liable to make what we might describe as a ‘young person’s mistakes’; they may not apply themselves with sufficient rigour to the small but hugely important business of nation building. Unless we help the next generation to set the wheels in motion, there is a real danger that they will lose a great deal of time and may even repeat our mistakes, the rather because, being young and inexperienced, they may be tempted to put off or even underestimate the difficult undertaking which is before them; whereas, if we enthuse and equip them, and have resources ready to hand, the most challenging part of the work would be over, and this might encourage them to get on with the fiendishly complex work of nation building in the strength of their youth.”
37. I continued thus, “In preparing the next generation, we should look upon the task rather like building a house. As a school boy, I well remember how during my school holidays my father used to dispatch me to some building site or other; my father made his living from mainly the building industry, he ran a construction company (now defunct), Kitara Enterprises Ltd. One remarkable experience I remember was seeing how sub-contractors would work diligently laying foundations of a house, and how they would carry it up to a certain height; and that was that, they had done their work. The rest of the work fell to another group of sub-contractors; who carried up the wall, and put on the roof, and so forth. I believe we should do likewise. We should be content with preparing the next generation, that is, make it our business to gather the raw materials upon which another shall work. Yes, we may plough and sow; but it must needs fall to another to come and water the seed, and perhaps yet another to gather the harvest. By doing thus we will at least not act like ‘dumb driven cattle’ – driven this way or that way by one circumstance or other; rather, we should seize hold of this great opportunity occasioned by [the fraudulent re-election of General Museveni], to reset the future of [Uganda] with a noble purpose, and pursue that purpose with all our might.”
38. This type of undertaking cannot be accomplished in a five-year cycle. It is quite simply, impossible! Realistically speaking, it will take between 30 and 40 years to thoroughly rebuild Uganda’s institutions; embedding alternative centres of leadership and authority into the Ugandan culture will require considerable patience. It is an undertaking that will only be possible when Ugandans see the wisdom of working with others in humility, under the protection of a United Nations Mandate. Unless a more realistic proposal can be put forward, a United Nations Mandate is the only pragmatic option available for Ugandans to turn over the soil in which General Museveni found succour and grew up, thus making it inhospitable to a new variety of that same poisonous Upas tree to flourish. This is Uganda’s most urgent challenge. I commend this proposal for your consideration.
Note: This blog-post is dedicated to the memory of a man who never gave up on Uganda, Mzee Stephen Kamugasa. He was born on 17th December 1939; and passed away on 27th March 2013 in Kampala. Mzee Kamugasa was remarkable that despite losing so much; he remained resolutely committed in hope to the beautiful land of his fathers, where he subsequently died. He was a teacher, a builder, a farmer, and a businessman.