Why Oulanyah’s son must not be elected

“Today we unveiled our candidate for the Omoro County by-election, comrade Hon Simon Toolit Aketcha,” Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, posted on Tuesday.

Kyagulanyi is the president of National Unity Platform, NUP. 

A couple of weeks prior to this post, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) party chairperson, Yoweri Museveni, directed that the party flag be handed over to Andrew Ojok Oulanyah, the son of the late Speaker, for the Omoro County by-election.

This means NRM handpicked its flagbearer and no subsequent party primaries shall be held.

Eleven persons previously expressed interest in the seat, four of whom belonged to the NRM party. The four include Omoro LC5 chairperson Douglas Peter Okello, alias Okao; Omoro District speaker Richard Bongowat Luganya; Oulanyah’s son Andrew Ojok, and Oulanyah’s former campaign manager Ben Acellam. 

The Omoro County seat fell vacant upon the passing of Oulanyah on March 20 in Seattle, USA. 

The Electoral Commission set May 26, as the date for the Omoro County by-election. The voters’ register update exercise will run from April 14 to 19.

According to the Electoral Commission, the nomination of candidates will take place from May 12 to May 13 at Omoro District Council Hall. The campaigns will take place from May 16 to 24.

Beyond the mechanics of the process, we must realise that this election is not a mere election. It is an acid test to see whether Uganda is fit be a republic or a monarchy.

The difference between the two is simple, a monarchy is led by a king or queen (both are monarchs). While in a republic, supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives, and the state has an elected or nominated president rather than a monarch.

However, the two might be conflated by what is known as constitutional monarchy or monarchical republic.

At independence, Uganda was a republic led by a monarch, Sir Edward Muteesa.

This, one may argue, reflects the nature of Ugandan society. Whose affiliations to both systems are based on our history of segmentary lineage societies, held together by shared values, and centralised societies which were essentially despotic in nature. 

Today, our politics are leaning towards the latter, in the name of republicanism. Specifically, we have seen more than a few leaders inheriting their parent’s seats after their parents have passed away.

Proscovia Alengot Oromait replaced her father, Michael Oromait, as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Usuk County, Katakwi District. Fortunate Rose Nantongo replaced her mother, Robinah Nakasirye Ssentongo as Woman MP for Kyotera District.

Kayanga Baroda Watongola, won a by-election to replace her deceased mother, Rehema Wetongola as Kamuli Municipality MP and Shatsi Kuteesa replaced her father Sam Kuteesa as MP of Mawogola County when the latter retired in 2020.

We know the apologists of this trend will say “the people decided”. However, if we are building a genuine republic, then we must define a republic to be a government of laws and not a matrix for the whims of the people.

After all, our Constitution states that the people are sovereign and the law is supreme.

Indeed, the laws shape political customs, conventions, and modes of thought. However, in Uganda, we are witnessing a subtle shift to a polity which respects neither public contracts nor private rights.

Instead, deliberative assemblies, including subordinate authorities, as well as various checks to counterbalance the supreme government are being slowly eroded by the elective dictatorship of ‘the people decided’.

Yet the people’s decisions are increasingly defined not by those who vote, but by those who count the votes.

Mr Matogo is a professional copywriter 

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