To Say or Not to Say; that is the Conundrum

It has been three weeks now. You are almost blowing up from want and need. She has had an attitude and, since you are a serial one-woman man, there is nowhere to turn to. What to do? If you stay stubborn, you might be so starved that you could soon bang a tree! If you capitulate, you open yourself up to all kinds of demands and risks. Let us say you do say the three abused words, here then go the narrative.

“Yes, I love you, angel!” you say trying to keep your voice as sincere as you can.

“Show it” she demands. Now it is getting weird. Don’t you panic, my boy. Don’t even think you showed it to her the other day! In the strange world of women since Eve, it was you who had it good—you got lucky!

Some dudes come up with all kinds of gimmicks—flowers, night on the town, or some expensive gifts. That is baloney. The damsel will just despise you behind your back. In reality you are attempting to bribe her the way some parents bribe out-of-control kids.
In fact you are like those male birds which build nests and decorate them to lure potential mates. Or just like some which grow bright plumage in their rear ends and prance about to do the same.

My brother, you are of the lion genre. You got that she-gazelle because of your almost intimidating mane which in the blink of a second—courtesy of thousands of years of evolution in keeping with the perpetuation of the species—she concluded you were the one.

When in doubt you go on the offensive. You get on the freeway and cruise across town.
At your sight she will melt. Now, it is up to you.

The Sentence that Sends Chills down the Spines of Old Players

Old boys, if you are still in the playground, you will understand this. You sack up one night, and it is heavenly. The angel cherubim and archangels played the lyre or the Acoli nanga and sang their hearts out. Sparks flew and nearly set the linen on fire. The morning after, though exhausted and spent, there is the satisfaction and genuine joys and smiles that would light up the Dark Continent. Part of you wants her to hang around so that you can crawl together lazily on your couch, hopefully to go at it again. Another part wishes she could leave so that you catch up on sleep and do some errands. Eventually, she has things to do too, thanks God.

The week-end passes and the reality of making a living creeps in. Of course, she had called early on when the memory was still intense. But you never called back until Friday when nature urges and she is exciting. However, you receive a lukewarm reception. She has other commitments for the week-end. Then you receive an e-mail accusing you of not caring and how she doesn’t want to be “used.” That is puzzling if you are new to the game. Just the other day she was ululating to your prowess. “Who is using who?” you ask yourself.

Here is what is going on. You think in terms of mechanics—in geek lingo of male and female electrical sockets, or how plumbers fit pipes. A system is built and energy flows in perfect sync. That is what you thought the two of you were. She, on the other hand, reached into the future and built a castle with you in it where she reigns supreme and the present is no longer.

She wants to hear: I love you! Three words that scare the hell out of old goats who are still on the prowl. It means loss of freedom to come and go as you please. It means walking round and round in the store/shop/supermarket with a sad look on your face as you are dragged by the object of “I love you”. It means underpants hanged in the bathroom to dry. Crying babies, smelly diapers, or worse could come from “I love you.”

Will you or will you not say the dreaded words? It all depends!

Has the Great Gunman of the West Made His Point?

The Great Gun Slinger, in a bizarre way, probably has made his point--sort of--and so:
Buganda Kingdom officials are released
http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/1/10/641091

And UYD's Mbidde arrested
http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/1/10/641078


The questions Inquiry Mind wants to know:

1. What was the charade all about? Was it an attempt to show who has the biggest balls in town, or what?
2. Has irreparable damage been done between Mengo and the Central Government, a.k.a Museveni?
3. What does it portend to the future of presidential electoral arithmetic? Does Museveni even care about the electoral arithmetic anymore?
4. Can sharp-minded opposition take advantage of the apparent uncharacteristic miscalculation, or are they paralyzed with inertia and cowardice?

Scary Uganda Update

If not serious, it would be comical. A judge ordered the release of the three Mengo ministers because the constitutional 48 hours had passed. The Mengo Trio were released today, and checkmated: they were re-arrested, likely so that the 48 hours starts running again. Clever but full of ill-will.
Will this chess game end in a stalemate or a draw? For now it is just where Museveni wants it to be--so far the black king is in check. Where and how will it end? Who knows. In Uganda the one with the gun wins--sort of. But when the gunman is checkmated, there will be celebrations in the streets. And then what? Beats me. Maybe another round of the Uganda tango dance.

http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/1/10/640918

http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/news/Mengo_officials_freed_rearrested_68750.shtml


The Great Gunman has made his point--sort of--and so:

Buganda Kingdom officials released
http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/1/10/641091
UYD's Mbidde arrested
http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/1/10/641078

Acoli Land Saga

http://newvision.co.ug/PA/8/16/640631

Nwoya MP Simon Oyet (right) tours a piece of community land fenced off by unknown people in Latoro parish, Gulu district. He promised to take the issue to the President together with the list of the people affected. He advised people to leave the camps.

---------

Also a military man is said to have evicted several families.

http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/news/Brigadier_evicts_100_families_68661.shtml)

After the LRA, the next challenge to the Acoli has already begun in earnest--LAND. MP Simon Oyet seems to be one of the few providing leadership for sanity. There is an opportunity for creative solution. Can the strong and the powerful have a community outlook for once even as they persue their self interest? A tall order, but can the Acoli debunk recent history and sort out the land issue without so much trauma and sufferings? Who knows.

Another of the NRM Cooking Stones: Wealth

Mr. Museveni often talks of how the NRM has all its “cooking stones” in place to “cook” the country for eternity. So, he asked the electorate in Bugweri if Katuntu (the eventual FDC winner in a by-election against the aging Kivejinja) had any army cooking stone. He often chides the UPC for having had only one stone of political intrigues which enabled its government to be overthrown, not once but twice.

The analogy of the cooking stones is brilliant quintessential Museveni. Most of the poor majority in rural Uganda often uses stones or mud blocks that are set close together, and on top is placed a cooking pot. Biomass wood pieces are then lighted in the space between the blocks and under the pot.

I have an inkling that what is going on in Uganda right now is the putting together of another of NRM stone of Wealth in preparation for 2011 and beyond. Not wealth for all as is claimed in another chic symbolism of bona bagaggawale, but for the few and powerful insiders.

In Buganda the NRM, a.k.a Museveni wants to wrest land from the powerful Baganda to weaken their power. The arrest of the Mengo ministers is another suspense Museveni is tactically and cynically subjecting the country to. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.

In Acoliland he has sent his emissary, an Acoli called Brigadier Otema Awany who has no qualm sticking it to his own tribesmen. He is now the 4th Division Commander in the region—meaning his will prevails in the region. So, it is not surprising that he has gone on a land acquisition spree that has pitted the area MP Simon Oyet against the brother of the Brigadier, one Richard Twodong, a minion Museveni praise singer.
(http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/news/Brigadier_evicts_100_families_68661.shtml)

Even as we speak the Paramount Chief Rwot Acana has been summoned by Museveni on the Madhivani Sugar Plantation scheme in Acoliland. What will Rwot Acana do for his people in a region described as “hitherto “proud Luo warriors” has been relegated to a wasteland which will require generations of handouts from a mainly Southern-led government” where “patronage may be sought in a master-servant understanding.”? ( Sengoba N) (http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/opinions/Open_your_eyes_Mengo_there_is_a_secret_in_the_Land_Bill_68618.shtml).
Be prepared for some form of announcement in the coming days.

Speaking of Wealth in the NRM cooking stones, the East African article on the Eldoret to Kampala Oil pipeline is quite intriguing. Out of no where a private investor is set to acquire a 50% of the government of Uganda’s equity interest.
(http://www.nationmedia.com/eastafrican/current/News/news2107200811.htm)
Who and Why? It is easy to guess the answers. Will any investigative journalist or MP dare to check?

The Beat Goes on in Scary Uganda

http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/news/Kabaka_s_officials_were_looking_for_guns_-_Govt_68569.shtml

Kabaka’s officials were looking for guns - Govt
Andrew Bagala, Al-Mahdi Ssenkabirwa &Robert Mwanje
Kampala

http://newvision.co.ug/D/8/12/640362
Lawyers fail to find Mengo suspects
Monday, 21st July, 2008

http://newvision.co.ug/D/8/13/640361
MPs, opposition condemn Mengo ministers’ arrest

http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/news/Defiant_Tinyefuza_defends_arrests_68660.shtml

Defiant Tinyefuza defends arrests
Alex Atuhaire
Kampala
Gen. David Tinyefuza yesterday defended the arrest and continued detention of three Buganda kingdom officials beyond the 48-hour period in which all suspects are supposed to be released or charged in court.
Speaking to Daily Monitor yesterday, more than 100 hours after the first of the three officials were arrested, Gen. Tinyefuza, who is the coordinator of Intelligence Services, said he was in full support of the Police action to arrest the officials.
He dismissed public outcry over the continued detention of the suspects by saying that investigating terrorism-related crimes was complex and that under such circumstances, “some laws can even be suspended”.

Scary Uganda Update

http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/sun_news/Opposition_Kabaka_attack_arrest_of_Mengo_ministers_68547.shtml
Opposition, Kabaka attack arrest of Mengo ministers
Robert Mwanje & Andrew Bagala

Scary Uganda

Over time I learned the hard way that there should be authority in any association of people if anything for the common good is to be accomplished or to allow individuals to carry out their self-interests in a state of relative peace. My lessons were early on when in schools I wanted to walk to my own drumbeats. Those Catholic Brothers (monks) and British expatriate teachers would have none of that. When I faced off with a dormitory prefect I was hauled off in front of the disciplinary council, headed by a Mr. Kiwanuka. Mr. Kiwanuka was a short, stocky set of a man who could look scary if he wanted to, and he scared me in line.

By the same token a government worth its salt should be able to stop anarchic elements in their tracks for the common good of all. But, with all its coercive powers, a government can go overboard where it ostensibly acts for security reasons when it is actually out of its own perceived fears to reign in the opposition.

Arbitrary arrests and disappearances have all been the hallmarks of Uganda regimes of various shades. The article below on the arrest of a Buganda minister is a déjà vu for many who are familiar with Uganda’s sad history. His arrest comes in the wake of Mengo’s (the seat of Buganda’s ‘tribal’ government”) spirited opposition to King Museveni’s determination to enact his Land Bill. He effectively wants to re-distribute land in Buganda that is controlled by powerful Baganda with connections to the Kingdom—thanks to the British colonial manipulations.

The question is: should the minister be arrested in such a cavalier manner by “unknown” characters? This is what is scary and should outrage Ugandans from every corners of the miserable country. But will they? Not on your bottom dollar. Baganda may whisper about it in bars and private conversations, but the rest of the country hardly notices. As the say in Acoli: odo ma ogoyo nyeki bi goyi bene—the cane for your co-wife will also turn on you.

Not long ago Acoliland was the hot bed of such arbitrary arrests and disappearances. The rest of the country yawned at the mention of such news. Some cynics even opined then that they were sleeping—allusion to the governments that terrorized their regions--and the Anyanya (a derogatory reference to the Acoli people) deserved their comeuppance. Even to these days the military does police work in Acoliland. Just last Tuesday, word is that a sweep was carried out by the Uganda army, harkening the dark days of the eighties and nineties for Acoli people. But the story never comes out in the news media.

And the beat goes on. If you see no change in sight to this culture of citizen abuse by the high and mighty, it is a scary Uganda indeed.

-----------------------------------------------
By Steven Candia and Josephine Maseruka

BUGANDA'S Kingdom’s deputy minister for information, Medard Lubega, was yesterday picked in the city by unknown people suspected to be security operatives. He was whisked off to an unknown destination.
http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/13/639868

Mao's Ambiguous Diffusion and Obfuscation Politics

Mao is a short little man. But that little body is packed with raging ambition and extraordinary talent not unlike another little Corsican Napoleon of yesteryears.

I was first drawn to Mao as I read his writings in the Uganda dailies and heard of his admired rhetorical skills. Subsequently we got to communicate and eventually met on two occasions—one in the US when I was still fascinated by the guy, and the other in Juba when his stars had faded.

When we met in the US there was a debate going on Acholinet as to whether the LRA was a spent force or not. I argued that, since the LRA did not occupy any territory in Uganda and were always on the run, they were practically defeated and should not continue with the sad war of attrition which has brought a lot of suffering to innocent Acoli people and the neighbors. I got a lot of flacks from all sides for this position. To some Acoli politicians and some wanabes—and Mao was one of them—the LRA was a symbol of Acoli chauvinism and prowess—albeit a distorted sense of the collective self since Acoli was already sent into a confused disarray by the Banyankole-backed forces of Museveni.

As time went on more of Mao came to light. He was an official of the Divinity Corporation of one Salim Saleh, the brother of President Museveni. When the machinations of the Salim Saleh came to light about plans on Acoli land, Mao conveniently resigned from Divinity.

There was a time when Museveni talked of turning the sad “concentration” camps (a.k.a Internally Displaced Persons’ camps) into towns. Mao was one of his proponents. Only outcries from many that this was another disguised plan on Acoli land put this scheme to die in the womb.

In 2002 Museveni, when campaigning, conveniently made anemic apology for the sufferings of the Acoli. Mao sounded out Museveni’s calculated sentiment even while the NRM government refused to declare the North a disaster area which could have allowed the marshalling of local and international funds earlier to save many lost lives.

Mao’s commendation of Museveni (see article below) is the latest triangulation exercise that is the hallmark of his weaving signals that he should be put to task on. If he is an NRM, let him be man enough and declare his allegiance to Museveni instead of trying to eat from two bowls at the same time.

What does he mean when he says area politicians should reconcile with Museveni—and on whose terms? If you are not strong enough, you don’t reconcile with Museveni on amicable terms—but rather on his terms. As far as I know, no Acoli politician worth his or her Acoli blood will be obsequious and go kneeling before Museveni to “reconcile.” Period. Mao should forget about it and carry on with his game wherever it takes him.
------------------------------
Mao commends Museveni
Publication date: Tuesday, 15th July, 2008
By Chris Ocowun PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni should be commended for showing commitment to rebuild the war-ravaged northern Uganda, Gulu district chairman Norbert Mao has said. “This is a challenge to us leaders. It does not mean that when the President is doing something good, I must lay roadblocks,” noted Mao, who is also the opposition DP vice-president for the north and a presidential hopeful. “That is not the kind of politics we should practice. Let’s move away from the politics of aimlessness to politics of goal and purpose.” Mao was speaking over the weekend at Acholi Inn in Gulu town during a party to welcome the new 4th Division chief, Brig. Otema Awany and his deputy Col. Peter Elwelu. Otema replaced Brig. Lucky Kidega, while Elwelu succeeds Col. Sam Kavuma. Mao advised Acholi leaders to first unite and reconcile with Museveni to convince rebel LRA leader Joseph Kony that people are ready to reconcile with him. “You cannot tell Kony to reconcile with Museveni when you cannot reconcile among yourselves. I have reconciled with ambassador Akech, Brig. Otema and even Museveni. “These are the things for which Nelson Mandela of South Africa is being praised,” Mao asserted. The disaster preparedness state minister, Musa Ecweru, said members of the Cabinet respect Mao for his objectivity “unlike some opposition MPs” He advised other northern leaders to emulate the Gulu LC5 chief and work with the Government to develop the region. The chief of staff of the land forces, Brig. Charles Angina, urged the displaced people to leave the camps, saying Kony would never step on Acholi land again.

This article can be found on-line at: http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/16/639239

Acoli Politics in the Twilight Zone

Below is an article that appeared in a local Uganda daily. In the article an assistant to the Gulu Resident District Commissioner—the eyes and ears of the President of Uganda in the District—purportedly declared that some donated medicine should only be given to the supporters of the ruling political party—the NRM. In his mind that would ensure loyalty for continued support of his political party.

The drugs were donated to a government hospital which should treat everyone based on need. I grew up at a time when medical treatments in Uganda were largely free in well-run government hospitals—thanks to the systems inherited from our British colonial master and nurtured by dedicated and competent Uganda civil servants.

Apparently I have not lived long enough to see people behaving stranger than fiction. The declaration of the assistant RDC is the epitome of immeasurable degeneration no better than that of a warthog, a hyena or whatever animal captures one's fancy.

-----------
Gulu politicians clash
Publication date: Monday, 7th July, 2008
By Chris Ocowun The Gulu district vice-chairman, Makmot Kitara, has urged staff of Gulu Hospital to treat all patients, irrespective of their political affiliation. This followed advice to the health workers by the acting resident district commissioner, Milton Odongo, that drugs donated to the hospital be used to treat NRM supporters. “Let’s save the life of NRM voters. Treat them so that they can vote again for the NRM in 2011,” Odongo said on Friday during the hand- over of medical supplies worth $100,000, donated by Child Voice International. But Kitara, the chief guest, was not amused. “Please, treat human beings and not NRM. Don’t go on screening patients looking for NRM voters because the rest will die. Treat everybody whether NRM, FDC, UPC or DP without discrimination.” He challenged Odongo to use his connections to get presidential help for the renovation of the hospital. “There is no need saying you represent the President when you cannot talk to him about the problems and needs of Gulu district.”

http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/16/637712

Letter to a Ugandan Journalist

You obviously want to hit back at the West. That was my thought process some time back too. While my strategic attitude towards the West’s hegemony has not changed, I see the need for a more refined tactical approach.

First, let me correct a piece of history. The people behind the killing of Joshua ( a.k.a, Jesus in Greek) were the Jewish religious establishment which saw its power base dwindling against this upstart of a rebel. Even Pontius Pilate washed his hands off the blood of the man he saw as essentially innocent, but had to give in because he was fearful of a Jewish rebellion against the Roman Empire . So, even if your line of reasoning is tenable, both the Jewish religion and the followers of Joshua are still in existence in the third millennium, and does not give evidence to the efficacy of an outright confrontational approach to any establishment in majority of situations.

Sure the West was in cahoots in the case of Amin and, definitely, in the current case of Mugabe’s economy. What do you expect? Nobody gives up power on a platter. And such powers are used against opponents who try to undermine. Tactics may differ, but the end results are always the same in banana republics as well as the most enlightened democracies alike—retention of power. The only difference is that in the West individuals cannot go on fooling people for long, and the onset of serious deprivations will not come in our life time.

In politics (which is a major part of everybody’s life), truth is not the deciding factor on who survives and who does not--unfortunately. Many endure oppressive and unfair work environments in order to feed families. What do you say about that? On the other hand, one can cleverly sabotage the work system or use measured challenges in order to change things without causing undue sufferings to those one is responsible for.

Similarly, Mugabe could have used the international systems, such as the United Nations and the Courts first. If that failed, he would have had developed friends and an international support to do what he did with less trauma. Even the US had to court the world before invading Iraq which, if it had succeeded, George Bush would be smelling like roses.

The continued suffering in Uganda has not been about being cozy with the West for the benefit of the Uganda people. Rather, cozying with the West has been a tactical tool for strategic raw need to hold on to power by one cynical dude.