The root of Uganda’s Opposition crisis

In both cases was the theme of Opposition leaders appearing to be “bought” by the NRM, at least in the way this is perceived by the public.

We’ve been here before, starting in August 1964 when the ruling UPC party absorbed almost all DP Members of Parliament less than two years into independence, effectively turning Uganda into a one-party State.

By maintaining a separate office at Katonga Road in Kampala dedicated to a more combative stance toward the NRM government, FDC-Katonga has inadvertently undermined the main FDC-Najjanankumbi.

Even here we have to ask which is the true, main FDC, Najjanankumbi or Katonga?
The crisis facing the FDC is similar to most African political parties -- how to outlive the charismatic founder and become a branch bureaucracy.

READ: FDC mess: Who is telling the truth?

Almost every independence party in sub-Saharan Africa after leaving power has either collapsed or is a currently shadow of its former self.

The only difference between the NRM and the Opposition parties is that the NRM is at the helm of power, so when there are conflicts in the party, distributing patronage or jobs is easy.

The NRM, built around the person of Yoweri Museveni and, increasingly, his family, will vanish into obscurity within two years of Museveni’s leaving power.

Maj Gen Mugisha Muntu was right when he insisted that protest and activism, important as they are, are not enough to build a real political party.

However, Muntu’s weakness is that he tends to take a little too long to produce results and sometimes can seem out of touch with the current national mood.

Politics is as much about organisation as taking advantage of timely events.

The fallout in the FDC was a vindication for Muntu in many ways and, therefore, the perfect time to go public, bask in the vindication, and use that limelight to advance the image of his political party Alliance for National Transformation (ANT).

Instead, he has remained in the background.

ALSO READ:Whatever is happening to FDC affects us, says Gen Muntu

Amid all this, the question must be asked: What is our ultimate purpose in life? What defines our dreams?

Why are politicians so easily compromised or co-opted for money in Africa?
It might have to do with the winner-take-all electoral system.

As is well known, the government is the largest actor in the economy, much more so in Africa than in the developed industrial countries.

That’s why President Museveni’s recent directive for all government advertising to be channelled to the State broadcaster UBC and the government-owned newspapers is such a crisis and talking point for the media.

Already struggling with the impact of the Internet and social media, the loss of government advertising leaves the mainstream media in a near-death situation.
If the presidential directive remains as it is, media sales teams will now have to work five times harder and target many more businesses in order to fill the gap left by the loss of government adverts.

This is exactly what being in the Opposition feels like. It is a thankless, stressful situation and only the most committed stay the course.

The party that wins or is declared the winner in the general election goes on to control the State and inevitably becomes fused with the State.

No matter how closely fought the election was, the runners-up are left with nothing from the election except a few dozen seats in Parliament.

Because the government is central to the economy, businesses that are struggling in the best of times become afraid of being associated with the Opposition.

The Opposition following the election, goes from being a laudable, respectable actor in a multi-party system to being treated and regarded almost as treasonous organisations.

READ NOW: Opposition: Devils on the cross or carcass for hounds?

The three million-plus official votes won by Kizza Besigye in the 2001, 2006, 2011, and 2016 general elections and Robert Kyagulanyi in 2021 were not enough to win the presidency.

But three million Ugandans above the age of 18 are still a large source of financial support for a political party.

If each one of these more than three million voters contributed just Shs2,000 per year to the FDC or NUP, that Shs6 billion would go a very long way in funding Opposition party operations and activities.

How to convert voters who appear once every five years into annual subscribers is the Opposition’s biggest challenge and opportunity for self-sustenance.

So far, fundraising from the general population via this method has not been seriously tried.

This makes it impossible for the Opposition to survive except by foreign donor support or working with and, therefore being absorbed into the ruling party.

Another problem we have in Africa faces is in achieving called organisation -- getting different people to feel part of a common goal, preserve institutional memory, and, the most elusive trait in Africa, high ultimate purpose.

We see the state as something to get from rather than contribute to.
For money and a car, we quickly abandon our political and personal ideals.
Across Africa, Abraham’s theory on the hierarchy of needs is inverted.

In the West, for example, people typically progress from material basics to the abstraction/ideals self-actualisation outlined by Maslow.
In Africa and also Black America, it’s the reverse.

Education is regarded as a path to concrete “self-actualisation”: material things in the form of a house, car, and money.

In 1943 as the German army approached St Petersburg, the first thing the city did was to move art pieces from the museum to Moscow, then women and children.

Recently when Wagner Group threatened to attack Moscow, the first act was to move Moscow’s art collection to safety.

This kind of respect for abstract ideals and objects is foreign to Africa.
Whenever Ugandan track athletes win medals at the Olympic and Commonwealth Games, our newspapers on their front pages lead with, “Cheptegei wins X million shillings”.

The Ugandan media has realised that readers and radio listeners cannot relate to the abstract concept of gold, silver, or bronze medals as achievements.

A head of State like Museveni, who long before becoming President held Cabinet positions, as recently as 2015 could tell a Kenyan media outlet that he is working not for Uganda but for his children and grandchildren.

Even a long-serving President still sees putting food on the table as his ultimate goal.

This is the structural challenge facing our societies, of which incidents of Opposition politicians being compromised with money or government jobs is but a visible example.