Ssemakadde: That dog won't hunt

The revolution is on and Mr Ssemakadde is the centurion at its helm; his warfare techniques might not be known in entirety but at least we know that he'll be banging tables and disrupting the enemy. Perhaps when the election is concluded in his favour, it will be the end of the honeymoon of demagoguery sloganeering and the forceful bullish style of oratory and it will be time to serve.

That dog won't hunt... is one of the chants aimed at specific individuals and judicial officers during his campaigns. Reversely, is Mr Ssemakadde the dog that will hunt in this race? Is he the cock that will put up a fight?

Firstly, as an aspiring revolutionary leader, Mr Ssemakadde must be aware that he needs support and trust from the executive committee which he will not appoint but rather will be duly elected by members of ULS. His first hurdle, if elected, will be winning support from the majority of the members on the executive committee which by no chance supports his decolonisation agenda.

Does he have the capacity and humility to rally dissenting forces to champion his agenda? Certainly not. In the previous debates, he has frequently curtailed free speech and dissent from members of the Bar thus reducing them to goody-goodies, sissies and stiletto lawyers which weakens the democratic fabric and civil liberties. A good leader is quick to listen, slow to anger and accommodative of divergent minds. 

Secondly, it is true that the colonial, and cultural systems in our society often weaponise meekness as a shield to the elusive and corrupt ruling class. 

However, this should not exclude discipline and humility at the core of ULS revivalism and as a precept of good leadership. St Augustine is quoted to have said: "To build a tower that will pierce the clouds, lay first the foundation of humility."

There is no revolution under the sun that has thrived without discipline at its core. Banging the table and free speech are constitutional rights, but good leadership is a personal trait. 

Thirdly, does Mr Ssemakadde have a blueprint strategy for his revolution? In the quest to overthrow Milton Obote, Lutakome Kayiira, of the Uganda Freedom Movement (UFM), and President Museveni of the National Resistance Army (NRA), were rebel leaders but with distinct strategies. Kayiira believed that assassination, bombing roads, petrol stations would overthrow Obote instantly while Mr Museveni opted for a clandestine guerilla revolution, a strategy that enabled him to overthrow Tito Okello successfully while Kayiira abandoned his liberation struggle to join Tito Okello's government.

Ineptitude should not be the reason Mr Ssemakadde's revolution should fail. Just like Kayiira and his UFM were defeated after a poorly arranged attack on Malire barracks at the Mengo palace. Mr Ssemakadde should encourage and nurture critical thinking and informed decision-making within his team; simplistic solutions like banging the table while ignoring complex realities may only hollow the tables and fracture their wrists without yielding any tangible solutions.

Fourthly, warmongering will only cripple ULS. Mr Ssemakadde should consider the span of his tenure. Uprooting a colonial system that has thrived and saturated in our social fabric for 130 years in merely two years is unrealistic. Waging war against specific individuals does not grow ULS.

Eliminating a cartel or a colony of ants for example is a hefty and resource-depleting task which shouldn’t be the core agenda of Mr Ssemakadde’s leadership. At the debate at Makerere University, he said that he is contesting to bury Mr Kiwanuka. 

However, before he aims at the tendons on Mr Kiwanuka’s heels, he’ll have to slit apart the jugular vein on the neck of his appointing authority.

Learned friends, avoid emotional exploitation and manipulation from the rabble rousing that has been central in the campaigns.

Rogers Magala is a Law student at Uganda Christian University

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