The Dialogue: A letter from a student of political science

The Dialogue: A letter from a student

Mr. MoKoms:

I am an American undergraduate student about to begin my fourth year of a bachelor degree in political science. As part of my summer studies, I've come to Gulu to learn more about what political leadership entails here. 

I've also been reading posts online and have stumbled across your contributions to the Acholi Times and am most intrigued by your article about Uganda's recent inability to produce good political leaders. Reading it,  I could not help but think of the current state of American politics, which is mired with the same sort of apathy, distrust, and commercialization you mention as the bane of Ugandan politics. For America, I don't see how we can remedy the situation unless we a) better educate citizens about the responsibilities political representatives have toward them and b) enact structural changes around political funding. Do you think the future looks this bleak for Ugandan politics generally and the Acholi specifically? 

Best, 

TREY (Not real names)

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Hello Trey,

(Or, may I already call you Otim, if you have not yet been ordained with an Acholi name?)

Thank you very much for your email. First, it is important to understand the genesis of commercialization and the embedding of violence within our democratic/electoral processes. Once you understand this, then you ought to understand the deceptive nature of the current regime and their attendant personalized agenda that have perpetuated this vice to new proportions. With a good grasp of the two, you will then conclude that indeed, the future of democracy or elections in Uganda is indeed gloomy if the country does not engage in genuine dialogue to enact broad and acceptable reforms in the politics and the electoral laws.

To start with, the word "elections" in Uganda is nearly synonymous with violence and bribery. Incidentally, it is state orchestrated violence, replete with all its characteristic chaos. I am sure you will brave yourself to read about the 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011 and 2016 election reports, Supreme Court rulings, etc to see for yourself whether the violence I am referring to has either reduced in magnitude, or has increased. Violence is a specific feature that you cannot miss in any of those elections. And, when I talk about violence, I am looking at violence in the broader sense, and in its rightful proportion of reaching a tipping point for civil strife, or state anarchy. In my view, had it not been for the elements in the opposition to restrain itself exceedingly, Uganda could have slipped in series of armed conflict as a result of all these botched up elections that keeps churning the same corrupt politicians. To understand this, you have to understand that this dictatorship self-perpetuates through violence, the disproportionate use of state repression against its people. I am sure that as a student of political science, you have studied the 1980-86 so-called revolution and what it has done for Uganda. If you have not, then do so asap and travel the country to bear witness to such an unequal distribution of resources under this regime. Also acquaint yourself with proper political history of Uganda from independence. Read it with an open mind to discover the truths that Museveni era scholars and Baganda obscurantists have misconstrued about past regimes, including that of Idd Amin. Writings of Timothy Kalyegira would be a great starting point for critical readers.

That, brings me to the second point - the deceptive nature of this regime. In understand revolutions, one understands that a revolution should bring radical changes in the ways a country is governed, and the welfare of its citizens dispensed from the previous regime. In Uganda, Mr. Museveni has embarked on building a personality cult, just like what we see with all the other African strong men brother-leaders in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Eritrea, DRC, Sudan etc. Second, the inherent interests or welfare of Ugandans have become increasingly mutually exclusive from that of Mr. Museveni's.  If anything, the fundamental change has depreciated the values of Ugandans and reduced public service into comatose. As such, the more he personalizes the country;  lays claim over the country's  mineral resources and other national resources, the more he sharpens his tool of repression. This, precisely, is why his brother Gen Salim Saleh has been operating a "private army", that has now been handed over to his son Gen Muhoozi. In the army, there is a Museveni specific army called the Special Brigade. (Note: It is also important to study the impact of structural adjustments and world bank recommended economies eg private sector development on the decaying public service)

Therefore, sustaining power through deception comes with many prices; first, bribery of the political class to procure loyalty and punish disloyalty, and second, use of brutal force where bribery does not suffice. In my other articles, corruption is also viewed as a form of state induced violence against the integrity of our nascent society. And for northern Uganda, it is at the receiving end of this stick in this whole miliue because Northern Uganda endures a punishment from Mr. Museveni in as long as he still rules. He knows that our people are very hard to successfully bribe, woodwink and lie to. He has tried everything, including deporting our own people from their homes to internment, annihilation (genocide), and divide and rule. The residues are evident with the installation of Warlordism in Acholi such as Brig Otema Awany and so forth. What you now see and find in Gulu is an ailing state of Acholi - a post conflict state where everyone is disoriented to the two decades of conflict and internment - a process that dented the confidence and identity of our people. In fact, the entire Acholi region is in dire need of a wide range of social services including mental health services to allow it cope fully from the traumas of the war.

In conclusion, yes, the future of elections and democracy is gloomy in as long as Mr. Museveni rules. First, his appointed electoral commissions have been consistently and persistently found to be incompetent in organizing any elections where Mr. Mu7 is announced winner. In my view, their incompetence is rather by design so as to flaunt electoral laws to stream roll the incumbency. The high cost of public administration and the attendant corruption are forms of bribe to divert accountability and incentivise loyalty. If everyone is dirty, then who has the moral imperative to stop the vice? In the end, Ugandans have no voice in any of these elections, or in the matter of their own administration at every level of government. No matter how they vote, their will always gets usurped violently. I believe that broader electoral reforms and in fact a total change of regime will rescue this state of affairs which is slowly degenerating into master-slave relationship. If unattended to, Uganda will enter yet another state of civil unrest and US Permanent Rep to the UN was right. Mr. Museveni is increasingly a security risk or factor of instability for the region. For now, he thinks fast tracking the East African Community will provide him with a blanket cover to rule and to install his son to rule over Uganda.

I hope you had a good reading although my thoughts were drifting here and there. I feel obliged to respond to all students inquiries as I have been myself a student and continue to study society, politics and governance world-over.

Best Regards

MoKoms