Everything is Political

The Neanderthals perished because they each lived isolated from one another in the caves of Europe. Their basic stone tools did not improve beyond the rudimentary. When their cousins of the African Homo erectus discovered association with one another, they started carving more complex stone tools due to exchange of ideas. This association imperative developed in the psychic into inheritable instincts and became crucial for the survival of the species. Even to this day groups which have perfected the mechanics of association prosper. These mechanics are often political in nature.

So, in the Uganda milieu, the success of the Baganda, as a group, is unquestionable. The name Uganda comes from Buganda, the land area of the Baganda. The Baganda wear this position with pride and seeming arrogance that can draw fear and envy. Their power of numbers elicits fawning from the politicos. It is, therefore, not surprising that Buganda has, from the inception of the nation called Uganda, been the hotbed of political theatres from where all else emanate. The Northern LRA phenomenon was only a blip (however painful psychologically to the region) in the annals of Uganda history.

This brings us to the burning of the Kasubi tombs, the burial place of the Baganda Kings. This is sacred ground, a symbol of an illustrious past that the parties concerned wish to honor as they forge their future. Who did it, and why? There will be all kinds of conspiracy theories, but we may never find out who did it. The why is obvious: political effect. The perpetrator wanted an outcome.

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/882308/-/wjqv0n/-/index.html

As the nation gets her bearing and politicians clamor with affected long faces, a Mengo official warned them not to exploit the incident as they were falling all over themselves to shed tears with the Kabaka. But, however one spins it, the very act of the monarchists emotionally gathering at the scene is political. And, like moths attracted to light, you can’t fault politicians to smell opportunities. Had Museveni not gone, it would have been uncharacteristic. He may, however, regret for the rest of his life that he miscalculated and forced his way in, killing three royalists in the process.

Otunnu, God bless him, on the other hand, was pelted with stones, his car smashed, and was humiliatingly forced to speak a language he had no command of. Incidentally, this language demand is one of the unintended consequences which will have its own dark wings. One may surmise that the confrontational encounter confirms that Otunnu’s political instinct and judgment is wanting. His best overture to the Baganda would have been to start with the Baganda establishment officials, who are used to dealing with leeches, hyenas and lions of politics. The aversion he received does not augur well for his strategic aim at mending fences. There will be copycats throughout the Buganda territory.

Overall the holocaust of the tombs portends a “butterfly effect” that may cascade into unpredictable yet deterministic results. It is all political.