Prime
Buganda has spoken, NRM should listen
Kaboggoza Kibudde
What you need to know:
- The citizens of Buganda did not appreciate that Kisoro is an entirely different place, with unique concerns. In Kisoro, unlike Buganda, the poor stay up the hills while the rich live in flatter areas.
Last month, President Museveni commissioned a water supply system that could pump 3.1 million litres per day up the hills of Kisoro. When he opened a tap and water flowed from it, the people of Kisoro were overcome with emotion. In Buganda, Ugandans were utterly baffled at how “these people could be excited over a mere tap in 2021.”
The citizens of Buganda did not appreciate that Kisoro is an entirely different place, with unique concerns. In Kisoro, unlike Buganda, the poor stay up the hills while the rich live in flatter areas. Secondly, the relative lack of innervation by rivers and lakes in Kisoro makes water very scarce, especially in the hills where the poor reside. Accessing safe water requires them to traverse vast distances before manually carrying the water uphill. For students, this means missing a significant part of school.
It is in that context that one should interpret the joy the people of Kisoro felt when water flowed out of a tap on a hill. For them, it was not a mere tap; it was the lifting of a heavy burden. Because of this positive interaction with the government, people in Kisoro had reason to support NRM. The same applies to northern Uganda, where the government eventually solved the most pressing concern of the people there – security.
In contrast, Buganda rejected the NRM, with many attributing this to the “Umbrella wave” or, absurdly, to Buganda nationalism. But what Buganda rejected was not non-Baganda; it was anyone associated with the NRM government, Baganda inclusive.
Blaming Buganda’s rejection of NRM on Buganda nationalism (or interference by foreign agents) erroneously assumes that people in Buganda lacked genuine grievances against the NRM government. In reality, they did, and NRM has not addressed their unique concerns.
For one, citizens of Buganda, unlike other Ugandans, put a lot of glory on economic status. To them, accessing free healthcare or education is a sign of personal failure. It evokes shame and resentment, not gratitude towards the government. They would prefer to make (have) money to afford better, and as far as they are concerned, the government is merely frustrating their efforts (a negative interaction).
Almost every interaction they have with the government is a pain. Attempts to earn through trade are met with so much red tape, each step necessitating exorbitant fees, taxes, taxes on taxes, and bribes.
Then they must contend with arrogant sluggish, and or incompetent government bureaucrats. If they try fishing, malicious soldiers await them. Their land, something that is highly cherished in Buganda, is grabbed by or with the aid of well-placed government officials. And looking on is a corrupt police force and Judiciary demanding ‘facilitation’ before they can be of help.
This is only exacerbated by Covid-19 measures such as the 9pm curfew. You see, towns outside Buganda ordinarily close before 8pm, so they do not feel the pain of a 9pm curfew. But in Buganda, where two boda-boda riders can earn money from one motorcycle by operating day and night shifts, the 9pm curfew is a terrible blow.
When you consider that the government hasn’t provided tangible relief or viable alternatives, these people’s anger is understandable and warranted. To them, the government is just a pain in the rear, obstructing their path to progress.
Therefore, it isn’t surprising that this group was willing to vote anything, even a jerrycan, but not NRM. Their pain is understandable and genuine. It is high time NRM paid attention to it.
Mr Kibudde is a sociopolitical thinker
[email protected] Twitter: @kkaboggoza
