A number of statements have been made that should be of concern to the authorities.
As far back as September last year, a threat was made to “spill blood†should the Kabaka of Buganda, Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II, set foot in Kayunga district.
In November, Baganda were told that power is only achievable through a gun, and if they were really interested in power, they should think about this, and not spend time talking at conferences.
Finally just this month, those supporting the re-instatement of the King of Ankole were warned that they were to be stoned.
Given who was speaking (The Ssabanyala, Capt. Baker Kimeze, Presidential Adviser Maj. Kakooza Mutale and Trade minister Gen. Kahinda Otafiire respectively), it is unlikely that any of these `liberators’ will be summoned to a police station, unlike the many Baganda activists -such as MPs Issa Kikungwe and Hussein Kyanjo and even myself- in whom those in power have taken an interest during and since the September 2009 “uprisingâ€, accusing them of inciting violence.
It is this self-contradictory approach - a long standing party characteristic - that will be the NRM’s undoing. As issues become clearer in the minds of the populace, the party ideologues cannot formulate consistent arguments that their cadres may use, on virtually any matter of policy concern. There seems to not be a single matter of public concern today that the NRM has not taken an opposite stand on at some time in the past. Like the UPC before them, they are instead increasingly forced to resort to mendacity, bribery and violence.
But just as the “99 tricks†failed to keep the late former President of Uganda Apollo Milton Obote in State house, the NRM is failing to bear the weight of its own ideological contradictions and risks collapsing under it.
Their major strategy in fighting Buganda was to mobilise the Bunyoro monarchy, with the presidentially-endorsed Forum for Kings and Traditional Leaders as its instrument. When the Forum unexpectedly raised the issue of the restoration of the Ankole monarchy directly with him, the President sidestepped the matter by referring the Forum to the district councils of the region, to whom the Omukama of Bunyoro - in his capacity as head of the Forum- promptly wrote.
These are the same councillors whom Gen. Otafiire now wants “stoned†if they dare consider the proposal. “Consider it as who?†he asked angrily, apparently forgetting that these are elected officials, before vehemently asserting that the majority in Ankole do not want the restoration. This only raises the questions as to why it was so important to militarily uphold the “minority rights†principle in Bunyala and Buruuli, that is now being intimidated in Ankole; and why Gen. Otafiire has suddenly developed and aversion to the King of Bunyoro -whose forum hosted Kimeze as “Sabanyalaâ€- having an interest in matters beyond the borders of his own kingdom?
The only gambit left is for the President to help counties such as Igara to suddenly “remember†that they were independent principalities, and then find a suitably compliant “Ssaba-somebody†to make the necessary noise. But that would not help either, as it would threaten to reduce the size of Ankole’s districts which seem to have been largely exempted from the NRM’s balkanisation of the rest of the country (Lyantonde in Buganda has been made a district with just 80,000 people while Mbarara and Bushenyi retain over 700,000 and approximately 300,000 people respectively!).
The NRM leadership must now seriously revise their assumptions about the Omukama of Bunyoro who increasingly demonstrates a tendency to put his kingdom’s interests, as he understands them, first. This has created a parting of ways over the Regional Tier (that he supported but now criticises); the Land Act amendments (which have created quasi-legal encumbrances on his land); and possibly the status of the newly-arrived Italian oil giant ENI in Bunyoro’s oilfields.
Finally, a particularly ironic contradiction is the stern written warning from the Minister for the Presidency, Beatrice Wabudeya, to the various district councils of Ankole warning that accepting bribes while considering particular pieces of legislation is a criminal act.
This was a reference to the reports that local councillors had been “facilitated†financially to attend consultative meetings with the Crown Prince John Barigye where he laid out his case for restoration, as he has been advised to do.
I am not sure if Wabudeya is among those MP’s who received the reported Shs 5 million apiece, for “consultationsâ€, in the run-up to the 2005 parliamentary vote that abolished presidential term limits, but there may not be enough room in our police cells to hold all those NRM MP’s who did, if she is serious about her warning.
Those who think they are very clever, often run the risk of outsmarting themselves. Let us hope for their sakes, that the masses are still enjoying their legendary “ttuloâ€.
Kalundi Serumaga is a political commentator and former presenter on Radio One Spectrum.
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written by Twakoowa, February 03, 2010
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written by Major Adam Kifaliso, February 03, 2010
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written by Yozeffu, February 05, 2010
The latter has been known to return to his vomit, time will exonerate us if we equate him to a dog, which comparison is not far fetched since he does all the barking for his master these days.
I sometimes think Ugandans are cursed. What in the world did we do to deserve such unrefined "leaders".
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written by Eldad Muwonge, February 05, 2010
Bravo Kalundi-Sserumaga!
This is a well reasoned and well written article which exposes the Machiavellian mendacity of the current Ugandan leadership (leadership? call that cattle herding): they will say or do whatever buys them a little time at the trough.
Such is the bankruptcy of this regime. We are indebted to people like Sserumaga who risk limb and ultimately life to expose this.
Eldad.
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