MWENDAISM DEBUNKED
Uganda Diaspora Pten
In dramatically dispensing his unsolicited advice to the
Opposition fraternity, Mr. Andrew Mwenda raised pertinent issues that actually
exposed him and his kind of corrupted journalism and intellectualism. First,
the deliberate target of Mr. Mwenda’s campaign is the person of Col (Rtd) Dr.
Kizza Besigye (KB). The central premise of the message is that KB is the
problem of the Opposition. He goes on to arrogate that Dr KB has failed to
mobilise the masses effectively to defend his purported victories that have
always been stolen by the dictator. Mwenda lavishes the tyrant with pleasantries
such as a “master of intrigue, maneuver, and sabotage”. These frivolous
qualities have suddenly fascinated Mwenda!
Issues
Mwenda might have raised an issue or two in his diatribe,
for instance, that the Opposition demonstrates a weak capacity to mobilize and
pool resources, defend its interests, and ally on principle to challenge the
over 30 years’ hegemony of Mr. Museveni. While these are noble observations,
one must read Andrew Mwenda carefully and repeatedly between the lines not to
miss the antithesis in his propaganda.
It is important to engage Mwenda in public debate even if he has
already framed Pro-KB agents and sympathisers with some uncharitable names,
while claiming moral superiority for himself. Most importantly, in positioning
himself as an authority whose views must sway society, Mwenda needed to declare
conflict of interests, and at the least, display some scintilla of honesty in
his analysis of political developments, elucidating on historical drivers, and
current exigencies, and then claim that Dr.KB is the problem.
Genesis
To begin with, Mwenda needed to declare that his mission is not
to do good to the Opposition. His mission is to exact public relations
strategies intended to portray Dr Kizza Besigye as an incompetent leader; a
power hungry person with a draconian personalityas much and or even worse than
that of his nemesis, Museveni. Mwenda aims to shift KB’s public image, support
base, and deflate KB’s political clout in totality. In doing this, Mwenda
pursues two concurrent objectives; to legitimise the stolen Presidency of Mr.
Museveni, and to frame KB as the enemy of economic development for donors and foreign
investors to cooperate with a regime they despised and shunned since February
2016. If we let Mwenda go away with his travesties, as he has always, we shall
have acted as if we are not privy to the slightest moments of the meetings that
go on at the 6th floor of Park Royal since February 15th,
2016, and ends up with persistent media bash of KB.
Mwenda, the Authority
In regards to the political posturing of Dr Kizza Besigye,
Mwenda has no authority to dismiss KB as if it is Mwenda who determines who is
effective in Opposition politics or not. Even in his dubious claims that KB
should leave the scene for another performer, Mwenda fails to single out any
Opposition figure who has the temerity, courage and charisma in the proportions
of KB. Neither does Mwenda offer himself to take charge of the Opposition! In
exposing his dishonesty, Mwenda fails to recognize that nobody quit the
political scene for KB to enter and dominate the political landscape. Therefore,
anyone better than KB must break the political ceiling set by KB solely on
accounts of merit, and nothing other.
A snapshot of history
In 1999 when KB released his famous Memo that catapulted him as
an opposition leader, the actual Opposition was literally dying out. Dr Kawanga
Ssemogerere had tried to unseat President Museveni in 1996 and was defeated by
rigging. Thereafter, Dr. Ssemogerere’s leadership was wanting, and yet he was
the best bet the Opposition had left. Like KB, and JPAM, Dr Ssemogerere also
broke ranks with the dictator. In Ssemogerere, power started scattering to old
Turks like Ssebaana Kizito and rogues like Nasser Ssebagala. There was a
vacuum and KB naturally filled that vacuum as we know that nature abhors
vacuum. That kind of leadership and the ever-shrinking opposition is what Mr.
Museveni thrived on to become increasingly indifferent to change demands. At
least, KB came off from NRM with a sizeable force that later formed the Reform
Agenda and morphed into FDC. At least, JPAM came alone.
Spontaneity
Even within DP, when Hon. Norbert Mao emerged as leader, he was
not ordained into leadership as Mwenda suggests. Hon Mao Left Makerere
University and contested in bitter and yet dramatic campaign against seasoned
politician and DP stalwart, the late Andrew Adimola. The two contested against
each other twice; for the CA and the subsequent Parliamentary seat. When Mao
defeated Adimola, the latter conceded and retired. We have seen young talents
emerge spontaneously to dislodge incumbents from constituencies without
invitationfrom the incumbents. Everywhere one goes, political space has never
been conceded willingly. It must be contested for, and the best candidates win.
It is pressure, either internally or externally that forces an establishment to
change. Mwenda represents only one such external pressures that is loaded with
commercialization of political space – part of the Museveni intrigue to stifle
opposition growth. To say with such infantile absurdity that KB must leave Opposition
political space for others to emerge is indeed a dishonesty and betrayal of
natural justice.
Critical historical factors
It is important to note that since the legal notice #1 of 1986,
and the subsequent banning of political party activities in Uganda, outside of
the Party Headquarters, using the draconian articles 269 and 270, political
parties lost their roots in the countryside. NRM unfairly inherited those. Opposition
Politics remained active in Kampala where most Party headquarters were during
those years, and still is. This pattern persists nearly two decades since
restoration of multiparty politics, albeit with low confidence to engage the
state. The dysfunction within Opposition groups therefore, is not the making of
KB as a person. It has roots in the NRM’s design and galvanising effect on
political space to sustain the tyrant in place.
New Styles for a new
Nation
The KB kind of politics is a
new style that is reinventing grassroots political mobilisation through
a non-violent defiance. People are responding since KB has exposed the true
face of the dictatorship. People are now starting to relate to the mainstream
politics after being reduced, and curtailed to the local council politics for
decades. This is the very reason the state is rushing to reintroduce the LC
systems, to replenish its stronghold on wanainchi in the countryside. The lack
of civic engagement previously in National politics, partly explains the
pervasive corruption and lack of political accountability in the country.
Mwenda does not factor historical and social development of the last three
decades in his strange advice, perhaps, to evade scrutiny. In his obscurantism,
Mwenda evades explaining how historical forces outlined conjure up to shape the
political space that KB and his FDC people dominate today. And, the challenges
awaiting his miraculous KB replacement.
Militarism as a
historical factor
An important aspect of our politics is its infatuation with
militarism. Mwenda knows that President Museveni is rooted firmly in power
because of his personalised army commanded by son, in-laws, and relatives. The
2016 Presidential elections demonstrated the discontent within the army itself
where we saw a significant section of the army voting openly in defiance,
against the dictator. The forces that shape politics within Uganda and in FDC
have played out similarly along this historical fault line. When Muntu was
elected to lead FDC against Mr. Nathan Nandala Mafabi in November of 2012, the
main issues that favored Muntu were his military rank, history of service in
the army, and reputation as an incorruptible leader. While Mafabi was the
better choice to transition FDC from militarism to civilian leadership, another
confounding factor played against Mafabi - Regionalism. In Uganda, the power
center is firmly skewed, and planted in the West. The West is also the place
where enormous national resources (wealth) have accumulated in the past three
decades to influence economic and political power. A Mafabi win would have
dislocated the FDC power centre from the West and rendered the Party
ineffective financially and in human resource. FDC still faces this identity
dissonance with their NRM roots and this is why it has been so easy for NRM
spies to infiltrate the party.
The aforementioned forces make Besigye and Muntu formidable and
appealing forces within the Ugandan political landscape. Had it been for
traditions, one would expect that John Patrick Amama Mbabazi could have
performed much better in 2016 to send KB into oblivion. Since1996, formidable forces that emerged to challenge the leadership of
Mr. Museveni came from within his ranks like Ssemogerere, KB and JPAM. In
fact, the whole essence of the TDA formation was to galvanise the political space to deny KB the support of traditional
political forces that formed the bulk of “Opposition”. What we saw during and
after the elections, should have taught Mwenda that KB is the nutty that holds
the Opposition’s bolt in place. If Kb were a burden as such, JPAM and TDA could
have been on top of things, not languishing in oblivion. This lack of honesty and
simple deductive abilities are reasons enough to trash Mwenda's unsolicited
advice asuspect.
Parting with
tradition
One could explain that JPAM with his TDA vehicle gathered the
old battered political forces that many Ugandans are have long moved away from.
The nearly 20 years of NRM bashing and demonizing the traditional parties makes
these parties unviable. There is deep distrust in these Parties as seen by
dismal performances of their candidates during electins. The truth is, Ugandans
have moved beyond the traditional Parties.A new ideological dispensation is
long overdue. JPAM took then on and he collapsed with them. Therefore, KB
remains a formidable bridge to a post Museveni future of non-violent,
demilitarised politics and civilian rule. The other question that Mwenda never
answers is why Besigye gets the votes that he always gets, and why the NRM
always steals Besigye’s votes. It was established that 52% of the voters,
including serving military officers, Police, and civil servants, voted for Dr
Kizza Besigye. This is the basis of the demand for electoral and vote audit
which Museveni cannot fathom. Why does the NRM become fidgety and nervous
whenever we approach elections and organise rigging if KB is an ineffective
inconsequential leader as Mwenda wants us to believe?
Giving credit where it is due
It is important to note, and rightly praise Dr. Kizza Besigye on
two accounts. One such is being consistent; the second is choosing defiance, a
non-violent civil disobedience campaign to challenge all facets of prevailing
tyranny in Uganda. In comparing the zeal and motivation of KB and Mwenda's, one
sees a contradicting mirror image of a measured character in the former, and a
troubled soul in the latter. My readers ought to understand that KB stands
between a potential genocide wall and a civil peaceful movement for change in
governance. Dr. KB’s change formula does not entertain a thought of smashing
the pillars of the state, a mindset prevalent among the tyrants. KB professes that
Uganda has a political problem, not a military one and refuses to use military
force to bring about a political solution. KB plans to systematically transform
and revitalise the pillars of the state so they become subordinate to civilian
rule and the rule of law.
Genocidal Intents
It is important to point that the UPDF and other armed state
agents are configured under the command of Mr. Museveni to commit genocide
beyond what was in Rwanda, DRC or elsewhere in the world should an opportunity
occasion. Mwenda knows this well. Given Mwenda’s dishonesty, albeit deliberate
spin-doctoring, Mwenda continues to provoke KB into touching a button that will
obliterate Ugandans, if going by Kasese recently and 20 years of Northern
Uganda are not lessons enough. Ugandans do not want war or another bloodbath.
We must be grateful to KB for his consistency, sharp mind, and
courage to suffer on our behalf. I can tell you that even before his
assassination; Martin Luther King, Jr was not a famous man, especially among
those Negroes whose comfort he destabilised, and the dominant white, whose
powers he challenged with the words of hope and endurance.
Concluding Remarks
In conclusion, Andrew Mwenda is a low-cut mercenary who deserves
to be taken at face value. Mwenda is trying hard to obscure the wounds created
in our conscience by the February 2016 fraudulent elections. If the political
space in Uganda is ripe for contestation, Darwin’s, and not Mwenda’s law should
suffice. A competent and highly organised person with a more robust organising
idea will take dominance over the status quo on merit, without ordaining.
Further, the kind of Mwenda journalism now popularised as Mwendaism signifies
the rogue journalism bereft of objectivity and that, which panders to paid
interests of the highest bidder. It is immoral. In as much as Mwenda would like
us to believe that KB is a political problem, it is, in fact, the flip-flops, crooked,
and avaricious clowns known for Statehouse-to-Statehouse-to-street bidding, who
are the real problem. Let Mwenda volunteer himself to lead the Opposition, or
at the least, form his own Party, even if a briefcase one to contest in 2021.
Otherwise, many Ugandans are silently satisfied, confident and in complete
solidarity with Dr. Col Kizza Besigye in this struggle. Talk is cheap!
End.
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