Sixty years for Uganda, 36 years of Museveni

On Sunday, October 9, Ugandans ‘commemorated’ 60 years of Independence. I am deliberately using the word ‘commemorated’ instead of ‘celebrated’ to retain my place in the good books of some Ugandans who claim there is nothing to celebrate.

 In Uganda, October 9 is a public holiday. Unfortunately, for Ugandans who like off days, the 2022 date fell on a Sunday. In Uganda, public holidays falling on a weekend are not compensated on a weekday unlike in other countries, where they are compensated with the next working day.

 We hustlers don’t have public days. So, I had a full working day at my market stall in Kiburara. But I spared some time to reflect and look beyond the commemoration and celebration of the day. Here are some of my reflections (or actual observations).

 As of Sunday, October 9, 2022, Mr Museveni had been President of Uganda for over half of the 60 years of Independence. For the sake of clarity, Mr Museveni had been the President of Uganda for 36 years, eight months, and 12 days.  So, the question then is: Have Ugandans benefited from President Museveni’s very long tenure as head of state?

I have met National Resistance Movement (NRM) cadres whose appreciation of Mr Museveni’s presidency is limited to what they refer to as his achievements. Whenever such an NRM cadre or supporter rides on a recently-bituminised road, they are likely to make the remark: omusajja akoze enguddo (Loosely translated as the man has built roads).

As an observer, I think Mr Museveni’s enduring legacy in infrastructure development will be rural electrification. Yet we should leave this to historians.

 For political ideologues like Mr David Mafabi of State House, the most enduring achievement of the ‘NRM struggle’ has been the demolition of the colonial state superstructure. The central plank of the colonial state was the chief; variously addressed as king, paramount chief, or merely chief.

 He could be a native traditional leader or appointed by the colonial state such as the case of Semei Kakungulu, but his brief remained the same: namely to rule on behalf (or wish) of the colonial state which was far removed from the people.

 The chief levied taxes, collected taxes, arrested you for defaulting on payment, and released you as he willed. The chief’s responsibility was to the colonial state, not the people he ruled. And as long as he did not annoy his colonial masters, he could do with the population as he wished.

 The immediate post-colonial administrations, either for lack of ideological clarity or confidence, inherited the entire colonial superstructure and thinking. With the benefit of retrospection, however, we can now say that the colonial state was so much entrenched that its destruction needed more than just being an independent state.

 By contrast, the new chief created by NRM (the sub-county chief or the district chief administrative officer) is supervised by the people.  This re-organisation of the state superstructure is irreversible.

 But a friend of mine from the FDC asked: After the destruction of the colonial state, what did ‘your Museveni’ replace it with? He created a ‘personal thing’ unto which all the institutions of the state are beholden.

 The phrases “it was a political decision” and “orders from above” are now in vogue as a response to queries over bad buys. Weary administrative functionaries (led by Permanent Secretaries) just look on or take advantage of the politicians’ greed and shenanigans.

Dear Ugandans, please discount my FDC friend’s remarks and just accept my belated warm felicitations.

Mr Bisiika is the executive editor of the East African Flagpost. [email protected]