Museveni: Our President, Our King, Our Coroner

PRINCIPLES

These days, Presidential powers know no boundaries. In Gambia, President Yahya Jammeh has claimed to have discovered potent HIV drug. In his testimony last October, Jammeh confirmed that he had cured 68 people so far and was now planning to build a huge hospital to administer his medicine to Gambians living with HIV virus.

These days, African Presidents have become something else. Either they are presiding over mass as priests or are establishing their persona through symbolism as the undefeated Kings in statues. African Presidents are the Kings and our chief coroners; some sing while others Deejay, too. President Museveni has been each or all of these and probably more. Not very long, the President of Uganda abolished priests and traditional leaders from participating in politics. The President reiterated that politics involves nasty elections. In that essence, traditional leaders and priests are not elected through universal suffrage and therefore they should remain apolitical. Period!

Many Ugandans suspected that such draconian directives were targeted at specific Kings and Priests. In particular, the Baganda accused the President of attempting to sideline the Kabaka of Buganda from mainstream politics. Cynics were quick to defend the President by pointing to the near tragic relationship between Buganda King and politicians at the advent of the so-called independence of Uganda.  The President threatened that if any cultural leader, especially the Kabaka, indulges in politics, he (the King) would be compelled to expose himself to elective processes henceforth. Figure out an elected Kabaka of Buganda in 2016!

True, traditional leaders should remain custodians to our cultural and traditional heritage. But when the government deliberately feeds off of the Kingdom’s property, uses and abuses its land and appropriates prime cultural lands for its few henchmen, then certainly a political contraction of the these cultural leaders becomes inevitable. Culture cannot be preserved outside a setting or context. Settings are defined by geographical location and within that setting must be space for cultural symbols and the environment for its preservation or evolution. This is exactly what the NRM regime has tried to winnow out and restrict the popular cultures of the native Ugandna through its capitalist expansionism. That is the hand of my President, the King!

The President also refused to let the priests indulge in politics. He stated that politics rooted in religion typifies the sectarian tendencies that post-colonial Uganda politics were organized. He warned that should priests indulge in politics, a field of his expertise, he, President Museveni would also pick up the Bible and begin to administer baptism to infants. Figure out a priest carrying AK 47, in military combat and with a Bible baptizing a child!!!On many occasions, Museveni, in the tow of his wife, presided over mass euphoria on  Decemeber 31^st  at Nambole Stadium. Museveni has not hidden his infatuation with the so-called born again Christians for whom; he continues to vest much trust. Recently, he even requested that his cadres identify more honest born again Christians to fill lucrative and prime government jobs.  That is your President, the Priest.

The mysterious demise of flamboyant NRM legislator, Cerinah Nebanda (RIP) also brought out the Physician part of the President. The President’s latest manifestation is that of a Chief Coroner in Uganda. When qualified pathologists from Parliament and Mulago decided to carry out postmortem to establish the cause of death of the MP, the NRM machinery sunk on them. The properly qualified and professional pathologists ended up in jail and discredited for carrying out their duty as required of them. The President took over and ordered tests to be carried out in the UK and Israel to establish the cause of death of the MP. That panicked response exposed the NRM’s public relations’ prowess. The President undermined the powers of the public postmortem and thought that by usurping the process, a credible and acceptable result would absolve popular suspicion. Ugandans no longer trust lab results from the UK or Israel. Those are politicized results that only expounded on the ire of the locals. Both the President and his NRM party lost a political fight in popular public opinion. That is our President, the King, and Chief Coroner!

END.