The Days of the Cauldron is Nigh

In his usual self-adulations, many a time Museveni described the NRM government, a.k.a. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, as propped by a set of tri-cooking stones—the military being one of them. He has not disappointed himself after twenty four years in power. He wants more even as the food coming out of the pot is stale. Besides, cooking stones can often be unstable. What if one of them rolls? Guess what?

Not to worry. The nature of the Universe is change. After Winter comes Spring. After the Dry season, comes the Rainy season. After the revolution expels the old, a new order follows which must be tied to heaven and earth, must be solid and stable, must serve all people, and must be guided by the enlightened. If not, then the primitive cooking stones must be replaced by the ding, the ancient Chinese version of the cooking cauldron.

In ancient Chinese civilization the ding was a cast bronze cauldron with three legs and high loop handles cast into a rim. It stood directly over fire for cooking, and its handle allowed it to be lifted to and from the fire.

The ding symbolized the ideal person (akin to Confucius’ superior person), tempered by fire, standing solid and stable with food (his spirit) inside transformed for all to share in his noble courage and enlightened leadership. In today’s Uganda who more exemplifies this ideal than Dr. Besigye? He is the Uganda’s cooking ding. He has and continues to endure Museveni’s flames.
(Deng, 2006)