Mr Muniini K. Mulera
Dear Tingasiga:
The United States of America, the United Kingdom, or continental Europe are neocolonialist promoters of homosexuality when they issue statements or impose measures that we do not like. They are development partners and traditional friends when they lend us money or give us financial and other material aid. Our development partners are not allowed to call us out when we fail to govern ourselves with justice and transparency. We call it meddling in our internal affairs, for we do not want them to interfere with our corrupt ways. But when man-made disasters strike, we beg the same neocolonialists to meddle in our mess and come to our aid. Of course, some of the aid money, meant to help the victims and most vulnerable fellow citizens, is stolen by patriots and freedom fighters.
The entire thing brings back memories of Field Marshal Idi Amin Dada. Whenever he was called out over his regime’s human rights abuses, Amin would blame “imperialists and Zionists” for interfering in the internal affairs of the Second Republic. Few were fooled by his pretence of innocence. Few are fooled by the cries of today’s parasites.
To his credit, President Yoweri Museveni has not allowed himself the embarrassment of such empty cries over the latest episode of grand corruption. The president appears to be systematically investigating the latest allegations of corruption in high circles. To the cynics, it is too little too late. To me, it is better late than never. One must be encouraged to remove a jigger from even a festering and deformed foot.
That is why I am rooting for Museveni to get to the bottom of this most recent rot, and hopefully dust off old files that have all the evidence he needs to make the other corrupt men and women pay for the crimes they have committed against Ugandans. Yes, Museveni’s regime has been built on corruption as a means of control, power retention, and shared primitive accumulation. Yes, Museveni has sabotaged efforts by investigative agencies to address the cancer of corruption. We recall the president’s response to a very passionate and pointed speech by Beti Namisango Kamya, the current Inspector General of Government, on December 9, 2021, in which she promised to launch an audit to reconcile the disparity between public officers’ lifestyles and their known legitimate sources of income.
“Now, the lifestyle audit is good,” Museveni said, “but be careful because we are still lucky that our corrupt people are corrupt here. They steal the money, they put it there, you see a five-star hotel from corruption.” Museveni added: “Now, if you only concentrate on the lifestyle, then they will take the money out, and you will have no evidence here. It will be another struggle. The money they are stealing is mainly government money.”
The corrupt smiled. The upright citizens shed tears in resignation. But American, British, and European diplomats in Kampala were watching, and documenting the criminal conduct of the parasites in the executive and legislative branches of the government. They waited for action by Museveni’s government, but saw a replay of the old movie, one where the criminals continued to live in luxury, worshipped by their victims, even as the taxpayers of America, Britain, and Europe laboured to send more money to the people of Uganda. They saw people who stole amabaati (iron sheets) from the poor folks in Karamoja declare themselves cleansed simply because they had returned the loot after getting caught. The diplomats watched the precincts of Parliament turn into a financial bazaar, not a place where honourable men and women deliberated in the interests of Uganda’s long-suffering citizens. They watched displays of imperial lifestyles even as the health care and education services teetered on the brink.
Rather than interfere in the internal affairs of Uganda, the British, then the Americans decided that their countries would have no dealings with individuals who had literally adopted the Gbadolite Creed, authored by Mobutu Sese Seko Koko Ngbendu wa Zabanga, the last century’s poster boy for avarice, selfishness, excess, and contempt for the wretched of the Earth. So, by designating (sanctioning) some individuals, the British and the Americans did not interfere in our country’s affairs. They simply decided that they would no longer do business with those individuals. They boldly demonstrated that they were genuine friends, willing to stand with Ugandan citizens, not with the parasites who robbed them of life-sustaining blood.
What does it mean to be added to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List) of the Government of the United States America? It is a nasty fate that folks need to understand before they dip into the treasury or torture political opponents or engage in behaviours that have hitherto caused them no inconvenience.
The SDN list is a measure that was designed to penalise terrorists, other international criminals, and officials or beneficiaries of authoritarian regimes. Once assigned membership on the SDN List, you and your close relatives will have your assets in the USA and its territories blocked; your name will be added to the screening systems of the US and other international banks; you will have difficulty holding bank accounts, transferring money or engaging in other international monetary transactions using a United States dollar; you cannot legally do business with persons or businesses within the USA; and you will be prohibited from entering the United States, except by a special waiver if your entry serves the interests of the USA.
It gets worse. Other countries can prohibit you from using their currencies, such as the euro, the pound sterling, the yen, the rand and so on. Since all banks and other financial houses around the world receive updated lists of designated (sanctioned) people in real time, you may have nowhere to hide. Even regional countries like Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania may choose to take precautions and treat the designated persons the way the Americans have done.
Ugandans need to thank the British and the Americans very loudly for what they have done. We hope the European Union will follow suit very soon. If the actions of the Americans and the British have annoyed those who wanted their independence and freedom to continue to rob and abuse fellow citizens, so be it. One hopes that the British and Americans will not let up on the new path they have taken. We know who is standing with us in our struggle to extract the jiggers of corruption from our country’s feet.
Muniini K. Mulera is Ugandan-Canadian social and political observer.
