True to Character

A dog always goes back to its own vomit and, so Museveni characteristically bared his ugly fangs. That he would go native against his perennial nemesis, Dr. Besigye, was expected. But even the teeming millions of peasants wished he had graduated to some semblance of a statesman that would be worthy of a future historical figure of pride. Instead, we are seeing what is turning into a demon before our very eyes. Can we have a genuine civilized debate rather than the banal chicanery and abuse of power?

Pity those who are burdened with investigating the doctor for utterances they know quite well are spins out of context for political machination. He is panicking not unlike when he went physically to orchestrate the doctor’s arrest on his triumphal campaign march on Kampala. Now, instead of explaining the rationale for selling lakes, which his minister has confirmed, he resorts to obscurantism and underhanded tactics—symptoms of moral cowardice and depravity, sold as strength to the gullible.

Let us get back to the dilapidated infrastructures, deplorable health services, the millions who are left in the cold in the NRM “economic boom,” and the rampant corruptions and abuse of power. Who has been there at the helm for all these years and has not figured out how to run the country other than by intrigue and malevolent quest for self-perpetuation? Who, on the other hand, has shown unsurpassed courage in the face of a diabolical, maniacal dictatorship? Who gives a promise of changing the course of Uganda’s history?

This time around it is going to be different. In a rematch of the two titans, the choice is unequivocal. It would have been easier to succumb to exhaustion and despondency after what he has faced, but it is heart-warming to see Dr. Besigye staking his life upon his conviction for a more just Uganda society anchored on policies that would bring up the lot of the many.