The Third-Term Phenomenon in Babylon

So you thought that the morbidly ego-centric political animals existed only in the backward banana republics? Think again. Kumbe, Mayor Bloomberg thinks he is the only Jew alive with a vision for New York City. Surely, he did some good things in his nearly eight years as mayor of NYC, but is he indispensable? Apparently he thinks he is and some city councilors have given him the node—chief among them some black councilmen, a testament to how far we blacks see beyond our noses.

With the chorus for democracy ringing across the globe on the heels of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the dismantling of the Berlin Wall, rootless and radar-less Africans jumped on the bandwagon—but with twists and turns that only that dark continent can muster. Wily operators disrobed their military fatigues and donned western suits and ties. They got on ant-hills to campaign for elections—supposedly marking the ends of issuing edicts from presidential palaces. Some dudes were, effectively, the only candidate who got 90 percent of the votes! One even concocted some wacko umbrella no-party “democracy” based on individual merit. Wise men warned that the scheme was only a ruse to consolidate power. They were to be proved right in time. At the urging of his foreign sponsors he allowed multi-party democracy. He would, however, stick to them by changing the two-term constitutional mandate that envisaged curbing the madness of Africans in tasting power.

In the end even if we are put off by the stench of politics, we must still keep vigil the world over. We cannot be intimidated by Museveni’s tanks nor mayor Bloomberg’s great wealth. Out of the 28 million Ugandans there must be people who are capable of running the country as well, if not better than Museveni and his clique. And the same applies to the 8 million New Yorkers.

War Babies Have Come of Age

For five years as war raged in the Luweero Triangle and beyond, Ugandans spitted out babies by the millions. The National Resistance Army (NRA) won, bringing relative peace. Some people then “could sleep” and produce more babies. Twenty plus years later the War Baby Boomers have come of age, and the Chief Liberator of their parents has declared them (the WBB) his ninja warriors against the pernicious corruption that threatens the very foundation of Uganda society, if there was any such. Just what is this Uganda Society? May be that is where the struggle against corruption should begin.

Several decades ago a white headmaster in a prominent secondary school in Wakiso district asserted that Uganda was corrupted from top to bottom. Has anything changed for the better or worse? Many of his students are now prominently in the NRM government. Did he get through to them? Did he also tell them how to bring about a less corrupted society, or were they taught to just be good Catholic boys and follow the Pope? From the look of it the latter seems to be the case, and the same can be said of all the schools that have produced the crème de la crème of Uganda society. So, how are we going to change to a less corrupted society if those who should know better suffer quietly and only wallow in passive aggressive behaviors?

A society is made up of people. What are the transcending qualities that define a Ugandan man or woman? Some people say it is the smiles amidst hardships. Are the smiles genuinely reflecting happiness and joy, or are they cover-ups of inner turmoil? What about qualities such as fairness in everyday affairs, living-and-let-live, win-win, honor, sense of community, to name a few? What is the tell about the character of a nation whose legislators are given paltry 5,000,000/= (U Shillings) to vote for a constitution that is meant to benefit a man backed by tanks, and who has no qualm about using it against the citizens? How are the ninja auditors and accountants going to follow the audit trails in these kinds of shady transactions? Would accounting controls instituted by the ninjas have stopped Temangalo in its tracts? What about the Mulago incident where a whistle blower is hauled away to a mental asylum by the powers that be?

Mr. President, don’t pull wool over our eyes with your young NRM cadres. Nothing will change as someone pointed out. Even your current fad in teaching patriotism won’t make a dent in the insidious corrupted Uganda society. The man said: your country is corrupted from top to bottom. Take heed. Drastic situations require drastic measures. Begin at the top with yourself—resign if you are serious because you no longer have any credibility. The ninjas too have to audit themselves about the backdoor state-house scholarships you corruptly dished out. Otherwise, they have no professional and moral standings ab initio.

47 Years Wasted Indeed

Mutebi, the King of Buganda, recently observed that 47 years of Uganda’s post Independence from our colonial masters have been wasted with nothing but dysfunctions to show for it. Many would agree with him.

First, the adage that a people deserves the leaders they have holds true for Uganda. All the qualities that brought us to here are ingrained in all of us: the ruthlessness, the fears, the jealousy, the greed, the opportunism, the obsequiousness and the cowardice.

What was the transcendental universal principle upon which the Obote-Mutesa unholy alliance deprived the people of Buganda of suffrage in the independence elections of 1962? It was merely opportunism on both sides, the consequences of which reverberate to this day for all of us.

The recent riot in Kampala is still fresh in our minds. All who are fair agree that there was no sane reason other than opportunism for Museveni to stop the Kabaka from visiting his people. And the ruthlessness with which the rioters were dealt with is characteristically how we individually solve our private disagreements and conflicts. But there was a silver lining in that King Mutebi showed strength and restrain that escaped his father in 1966? Ever since the 1966 debacle we have been deprived of skills and wisdom in finding holistic solutions to the challenges of the day.

Take the prevailing powerhouse, the National Resistance Movement (NRM); there was nothing “national” in the resistance war that brought it to power in rivers of blood? At the core it was a Buganda Resistance Movement (BRM). The Banyankole, the Banyarwanda, and the Bakiga who were co-opted into the resistance war were merely following the son of the soil—Museveni—who saw an opportunity for himself through Buganda’s disaffections. If we still cannot see the light, then there is no word to describe our stupidity.

Ever since independence, our leaders have been greedy for power and have been ruthless at will with the tacit support of our fears, cowardice and obsequiousness. Who stood up in the Lukiiko for restrain? Who, with firm and principled conviction, advised Obote against his excesses? Who could have skillfully stopped Amin before he decimated thousands?

Where is the spirit? Where is the passion for the Uganda nation? There is none. Colonialism was a protection affair. The King of Buganda wanted protection, hence the Protectorate of Uganda to which the rest of us were grafted. The colonial master juggled us like a magician’s balls. And things seemed steady as long his steady hands held sway. Boarding schools, Christianity, Islam and no leader have been successful in injecting real nationalism in the heart and minds of the masses. The politicians cannot exploit what doesn’t exist in us—the narrow but real ethnic survival instincts. Where is a Nyerere?

In the history of Independent Uganda, one man who was in the circles of power stood up, on principle, to oppose the cunning, ruthless and cynical all-powerful president. Many may still question what his inputs were when the NRA excesses in Acoliland went to the extent of spawning a Kony. However, if Dr. Besigye becomes the standard of our leadership class, there is hope. All will also be well if we have more of Kabaka Mutebi.

Did the Fat Cats Yawn at Museveni's UN Speech?

At the recent UN meeting Gadaffi’s buffoonery was legendary. A Chinese diplomat was seen undiplomatically laughing at him. Venezuelan Hugo Chavez noticed the absence of the smell of sulfur sans Bush around! The octogenarian Mugabe had a shinny face and a noticeably colored pate to camouflage the white hair. What about Museveni who fancies himself as the chief spokesperson for Afrika? There was no creativity. He harped on his born-again capitalism mantras: Uganda’s economy is growing at a clip of 7 percent per annum; we (meaning the latter-day crop of Afrikan leaders) have discovered the secret to resuscitating our moribund economies; we shall manufacture our own raw materials instead of exporting at desperate poor man’s prices; if you can help us with our infrastructures, we are ready to take off; and yada, yada, yada.

When the ruling class of Afrika is shaken it screams about interference, sovereignty, neocolonialism, racism and the likes. While, most of them failed miserably, at least, the first crop of Afrikan presidents and prime ministers came up with bold, quasi-original ideas—Ujamaa, Move to the Left, Common Man’s Charter, Negritude, etc. The new crops of presidents show no creativity in solving the challenges of Afrika.

Can a Singapore be achieved without destroying communities and the environment? Can the unbridled quest for trinkets bring happiness and contentment? The president of Uganda boasted of having viable consumer population now. The last time around we were sold into slavery because the chiefs were excited about the trinkets shrewd European adventurers dangled in their faces. There is a need to go to the drawing table to redefine the premises of development and progress not based on greed, jungle laws and aping the West uncritically. The survival of the race depends on it.

Are Christians Cannibals?

Joshua (a.k.a. Jesus), the man, was a rebel against the Jewish establishment. He ridiculed the high and mighty Pharisees, with their haughty legalistic showmanship. His core message was about Love, which, supposedly, is the message of most major religions of the world. He was, however, one of the few teachers who recognized the mental component to liberate the masses: that what is important is what goes on in the mind—the outward show of animal sacrifices and piety is a dog without the right mindset.

Like many great men, Joshua was seemingly full of contradictions. Why the anger in cursing up a fig tree or beating up traders in the temple? We will never know why he was reluctant to help the Greek woman who had a daughter possessed by a demon just because the woman was non-Jewish. Then, his most enigmatic act was at the Last Supper when he blessed bread and wine and offered it to his disciples as his body and blood. The offering of animals and humans to the gods was nothing new as long as human conjured ways to communicate with the mysterious universe.

Ostensibly, he was going to be the “sacrificial lamb” for the sake of a world gone astray. When the missionaries, backed by the might of gun powder, snuff and trinkets, brought this message to the Afrikan shores, the idea of human sacrifice wouldn’t have been anathema to some Afrikan societies. What would have been problematical to some would have been the eating of human flesh and drinking of human blood, albeit symbolically. To achieve this the missionaries and their backers of force first had to debase the Afrikan and his practices, which were equally symbolic attempts to reach the Unknown.

The Afrikan practices, in their noble motivations, are generally attempts to work on the mind so as to reconcile, thank or ask—effectively, no less different from what Joshua preached. It boggles my mind when a highly western-trained Afrikan shuns certain Afrikan practices just because he is “saved.” In a piece in a local weekly, the elders recognized that the Afrikan had a problem after many years abroad where he sought refuge because of his participation and failures that resulted in many deaths and sufferings. He was asked to do certain things, but he refused claiming his allegiance only to Jesus. The question I ask is: if the said Afrikan labels our practices as the works of heathens, should we label him a cannibal for his eating the body and drinking the blood of a Jew?

What is NOT Wrong with Traditional Tribal Leadership

Imagine that the first foreign contacts with Afrika were gradual, peaceful and respectful. Afrika would now have a bigger population. The social fabric would have evolved rather than disrupted. Foreign religions would have blended with Afrikans', providing more meaning. Instead, the contacts were violent and traumatic, stripping her of her dignity, with repercussions that reverberate to this day.

In Afrika today, there is a small percentage of the filthy rich, few of whom have achieved wealth by dint of skills in industry and commerce. Many have looted the coffers of the state, leaving poor infrastructures and poor service deliveries for the rest of the taxpaying population.

What kind of people are these looters? They are the people who went to missionary or other related schools. Many of them profess to be Christians. Some who are serious about Christianity have but a perfunctory knowledge beyond claiming to be “saved.” Generally then Christianity is not a way of living but a social occasion on Sunday. A few of the “educated” class have read western classics, and may be aware of the genesis of how and why they think the way they do. Many, however, excelled in the utilitarian school subjects in order to earn a living in the new Afrika. This latter lot may not be cognizant of from whence their thought process originates.

All this is operating in a milieu in which traditional cultural wisdom no longer has leadership. The young person now looks to Europe and America as the source of what is good. Armed only with the natural ego-centric self, the desires of acquisition and the destruction of those perceived to stand in the way becomes the mode of operation. There in lies what ails Afrika. But it should not be that way.

If traditional African wisdom, through traditional leadership, were revived and practiced it could provide the umbilical cord to extend to the new way. We have many such models in Afrika—for examples Ghana and South Africa—and other parts of the world, such as Japan.

Now, let us take the case of Uganda in which Mr. Museveni is reputed to have fought for the revival of traditional tribal leadership. It is evident that his motivations were only self-serving to gain favors originally from mainly the Baganda population. Now the exercise has been extended to others for strategic political expediency. The next person who comes to power (the sooner, the better) should take the case of traditional tribal leadership as a matter of top priority. Genuine and honest debates should be devoid of political horse-trading. Let us put this dog to rest and attend to other business of living.


Acoli Paramount Chief, Rwot Acana II, on a Visit to Canada

What Does This Portend?

Is this the end of the love affair between Baganda and Dictator Museveni? It doesn't look good for the wily Museveni. Despite what he says about his regime, the unseen forces will take its own course. What are the thoughts that go on in the minds of many Ugandans? Do they go to bed wishing the president a long life? Or are they bewildered, wondering what the Universe has done to their country's fortunes? These are unseen and, collectively, will decide what are to come. Stay tuned.

Rioting, Uganda Styles

You will not Go Through!
Who Blinked First?
Is this a “Gift” to the Opposition?
A Bad Workman Blames His Tools

What International Connections?

Storms form only when moisture, pressure, and temperature dictate; wishing for rain before these conditions are met is a waste of time and energy.
A commentary on an I Ching hexagram

By now the highly media-touted return of Olara Otunnu is old news. Other than some of us, news junkies, and the aroused elderly UPC faithful, by all accounts, it has been a non-event for people like my uncle, Sabino in Mucwini, Kitgum.

One line that came up over and over in some reporter’s imagination was that Otunnu’s purported international connections would be a boon to the opposition. Just how this will be, my uncle, Sabino would want to know.

A leopard does not change its spots. We are generally so conditioned such that the past is an indication of what we will do in the future. Given, people change and circumstances change; however, in weighty matters such as choosing a lifetime mate or electing a leader, woe unto those who don’t look with a jaundice eye to the past.

So, what has Otunnu done so far with his international connections? Min Acan rotted in Museveni’s concentration camps. What mobilization did Otunnu engineer with his “connections” to rally the world to the plight of Les Misérables in the camps? Sure, he uttered some catchy phrases; so what? Instead, he wasted his energy vying for a UN post. How could he, with his heralded brains, not have anticipated that the Museveni government would not give him the time of day?

Somebody is selling us a bill of goods. Or somebody is smoking some herbs and hallucinating.

Out Of Tune

He came. He sang some religious song. He waved with arms wide open like a pope. And the safari jacket and West African attires were passé, a throwback to the sixties and seventies.

Mr. Otunnu, Ugandans have enough pastors who could have pulled for you some raucous old-time revival party for merely thirty pieces of silver! Many of us have had enough of the religious stuff waved on our faces from state house. There is no doubt about your faith, but get on with the program, man.

My brother, the English League football-watching Uganda population would mistake you for a porter if you wear those safari-cum-West African garbs. They like to see their masters in Armani suits and/or military fatigues. There is a guy who puts on military fatigues when he heads North. He sports swanky western suits and a ten-gallon hat to boot when in town or flies his sleek jet to Russia or Iceland. Take a cue from him.

What Goes On In Milton Odongo's Head?

An inflated consciousness is always egocentric and conscious of nothing but its own existence. It is incapable of learning from the past, incapable of understanding contemporary events, and incapable of drawing right conclusions about the future. It is hypnotized by itself and therefore cannot be argued with. It inevitably dooms itself to calamities that must strike it dead.

Carl Jung

There is a dubious office created by Uganda’s Museveni, dubbed the Resident District Commissioner (RDC), which harkens to the days of the all-powerful colonial district commissioner. The docket of the office is supposedly security which, in context, means ensuring the president’s omnipresence and self-perpetuation. From observations it seems the office is a dumping ground for election losers and the dumbos in the Museveni’s NRM fiefdom. Now, give such characters access to the coercive security apparatus such as the army, the police and other opaque state tools, and some of them will throw their weight around to the chagrin of those not in the government camp.
The Grotesque Milton Odongo Looms over Bewildered Peasants
The name Milton Odongo may not mean much, but in the minds of local opposition politicians in the district of Gulu, Uganda, he is the personification of the Anti-Christ. He is the overzealous and overreaching Gulu assistant RDC, who for the last few years has been such a prick. He has jailed, harassed, and disrupted many opposition politicians—all for what?

Here are some unskillful incidences of assistant Gulu RDC in action:
Ordered local radio station not to host Dr. Besigye, the leading opposition presidential candidate

Assaulted Betty Aol, an area MP

Kissing Museveni’s butt in Kaberamaido

Ordered that drugs at a public hospital be given only to members of his party, the NRM

Shoves Gulu mayor in jail

Arrests a local journalist

Each of us has perceptions on how things should be, but as soon as we come into contact with others, we find that they may have different perceptions of their own. Determining whose end will prevail is what leads to conflict. And conflict is not bad in itself because often the end results are greater than the sum of the parts if handled skillfully. Our particular action to achieve our objective depends on our view of the world and how we have been conditioned to act aggressively, passively or respond skillfully. Incidentally, Odongo uses the schoolyard logic of: my way or the highway; heads I win, tails you lose; winner takes all; zero-sum game. Unfortunately, this is the environment which is far too common in the African political dance. Stripped of any semblance of organic traditional wisdom for consensus, we have the dualistic and competitive consciousness we learnt in centuries of western schooling.

The west can open its market; vast wealth can be dug from the rich African soil, but without a collective change in attitude, Africa will continue to spin on its wheel on a journey to nowhere. Milton Odongo, the Gulu assistant RDC, a cog in this wheel, is a poster child of what is wrong with Africa.

Taking Whole*

Taking a company whole is superior
Destroying it is inferior to this.
Sun Tzu

He did it again. He likes to be the center of attention. He is the night dancer dressed in dried banana leaves with body powered in white ashes. Each time the world has to react to him. In less than three months: those mad Jaluos, Acoli MPs are in cahoots with a nascent armed rebel group, and now this. He pushes the envelop of some wacko notions only his head can conjure, and people react, to which he does the familiar foxtrot dance. It doesn’t matter what the idea—only that it benefits his cause—which is his personal interests.

In the wisdom of ancient China, this is not the Way of a sage general. It is not “taking whole.” Taking Whole is premised on the inevitability of conflict as the human condition and the interdependent of the universe. It is achieving victory with minimum bad blood. It portends a transcendent view, practice and action. It is synchronization of the heavens, earth and sentient beings for harmony that leads to progress and prosperity.

In Iraq there was no real victory because there was no Taking Whole. The wholesale dismissal of the Baath establishment ensured the continual quagmire and loss of lives. When the whole wasn’t taken in the settlements in Versailles, it spawned the white man’s second world war. Millions perished. It was also the root cause of the Iraq problem as the winners divided the lands of lesser beings among themselves. On the other hand, the rebuilding of the Axis countries was taking whole that gave unprecedented period of overall peace and human progress.

Taking whole is about enlightened leadership. The president is the Mind of the nation. If he is crafty, the people will be devious. He should be farsighted and appreciate the interconnectedness in the affairs of the nation. The latest contemptuous attempt at having only the indigenous natives of Bunyoro contesting for national elective offices in their respective locales is yet one among a series of snafus and unskillful acts. Another person would have handled the British Banyoro compensation moneys , if any, with finesse to the satisfaction of all concerned. But not our man—Mr. Museveni will screw this thing up. He will open up several fronts of weeping, anger and resentment with unpredictable consequences.

*The Rules of Victory (Gimian & Boyce, 2008)

The Unlikely Filipina Heroine

She was a house wife when her husband Benino Aquino was gunned down by a dictator, Ferdinand Marcos, a once-US client. Asked about her lack of experience, she said she knew she did not have the experience for stealing, corruption, etc. She became the emblem of mass opposition by the weak against oppressive state powers everywhere--the People's Power!

Speaking of Brands

In a local daily, one writer opined that Michael Jackson was a formidable brand. To him the creation of best selling records of all times and the sight of fans becoming unglued because of his death were enough to classify the MJ brand as all-enduring. But is it?

Music appeal, like most products goes hand in hand with the image of the creator—at least to the informed. MJ from childhood until early adulthood was a phenomenon of unsurpassed talent, whose creations sent the young and the young at heart into ecstasies. Peddlers of sugared carbonated water, which the young are prone to guzzling, gave him carte blanc checks for commercials. He was on a roll. They dubbed him “ The King of Pop.” But then all human constructs come laden with flaws. Soon the ass of a god began to leak—the effeminate voice, the gradual change in nose shape, the lightening of skin tone and the affinity for the company of children.

The general fan chorus was: Come on, MJ, we have grown; grow with us! That was not to be. And so many fans left him in his childhood where he felt most comfortable—a childhood many of us could never imagine. This same childhood projection was to become his Achilles’ heel in the morbid American sexuality and money. Soon he was milked of millions of dollars on conjectures of molestations. He lost many more fans and would-be fans. He was later to buy his own playmate kids produced from donated white sperms and eggs.

Amidst all these advertisers could not touch him with a long pole. Other than to his hard-core fans his music lost its appeal. Was the sold-out comeback tickets mere curiosity? If it were for his music, the fans would have been disappointed. MJ would have ended up in failure and humiliation that could have even killed him on stage. The gods spared him the ordeal.

So, speaking of brands; maintaining one requires skills, adroitness, ability and willingness to change and adopt with the times. For example, one might ask: What is the NRM brand—if any? Supposedly it was sold on being different from past regimes and getting rid of the Northern hegemony. It has achieved the latter and made many people happy. However the chief archtitect could have wished the North, especially Acoli, to come to its knees. Other than the random obsequiousness and confusion, that will never happen. The NRM has also contained several amateurish armed challenges to its authority which gives it credibility among the bewildered masses. But let us look at the so-called Fundamental Change.

The Fundamental Change clearly defines the NRM brand. There is the wild-wild-west capitalism defined by fire sale of quasi-government enterprises, neglect of public infrastructures and get-rich-quick greed manifested by obscene corruptions. Then, what about key government positions? The chief architect talks about non-sectarianism but, in broad day light, cynically packs key positions with his tribal people. That is change, indeed. More than anything, the NRM has refined the art of self-perpetuation through fear, double talks and bribes. Is this brand sustainable in the long run? Even the uninformed and unthinking masses will soon see through the charade and stop buying NRM.

War is Not What Acoli Needs Now

Mao had left his flash disk on an hotel computer. The disk finally found its way to the security authorities. Soon a bunch of local guys were nabbed one by one for being part of a nascent rebel group orchestrated by those in the so-called Diaspora. In the reasoning of the government such an activity could not go on without the tacit knowledge and approval of the area opposition MPs.

First, the premise that the area opposition MPs would be in cahoots with those in the Diaspora is false. I cannot see how the MPs could risk their political lives by joining some hairy, delusional scheme for war.

That such a file could find its way into the hands of Mao speaks volume about the quality of this Diaspora rebel group. I bet it will not be able to provide legal support for those already in jail, let alone bail them out.

War is costly in terms of money, organization and human lives. Where the Diaspora can find the money to wage a protracted war beats my imagination. Most out there are saddled with mortgages, schools fees back home and other basic necessities to have spare coins. If a document can so easily find its way into the hands of Uganda security operatives, what kind of organization does this rebel group have? Nothing substantial has ever come out of any Diaspora grouping. What prompts the characters behind this rebel outfit that it will fare any different this time around?

Acoli has lost so many lives. It is time to let us replenish in peace what has been lost. However flawed, there are options available at the ballot box. We must have the courage to resist anger and re-channel it into voting power. It is a longer avenue but, if we are true to bringing good, we should not fall prey to the nature of the “enemy.” Violence never got anything good. Let us not be fooled by his apparent success at using violence to get to where he is. In the final analysis he will pay for the ocean of blood he helped spill. If your intentions are noble, help those who are at the forefront win elections against the gangster ogre. Or go there yourself—stand for positions or help with organizing. Otherwise, stop confusing people with your weaknesses that passes for being warriors.

The Comeback That Never Was

We plan, God decides, so the saying goes. And the man kicked the bucket—never to be heard from again in this earthly realm—no concerts—no comeback.

I was introduced to the Jackson 5, hence Michael Jackson, by my urbanite, relatively sophisticated first serious girlfriend. Me, I was a village hick come to town! I had, of course, read about the slave trade and the Negroes of America, but never really connected to them emotionally. The Jackson 5 and Mohammed Ali were the primary connecting channels. My girl friend had a Jackson tape, and I played it over and over on my analog recorder-player.

Come the eighties, when I could see more clearly, the excitement about the man had waned just as he was hitting the mega stardom. Why? There was something that did not jive right about the man for me. Jackson lacked what Prince (as in The-Artist-Formerly-Known-as-Prince) had—raw unabashed manhood. That effeminate voice and the way he carried himself just wasn’t for me. The self-hate, projected in nearly fifty surgeries to Europeanize the contours of his face, spoiled it all.

Now, like a dream, he is no more except in our memories. What lessons can we, still around here, learn? The Grand Reaper can come at anytime. Now is the only time we have. So, we have to do our utmost best at whatever floats our boat—tuning our Adungu, not too tight, not too lose so that the music brings joy to all and sundry. There are rarely second chances. Hopefully, in the process, we will find the ultimate reality thereby spending the rest of our time beyond mere quest for power, wealth and fame.

I overheard a couple of elderly African-Americans at a neighborhood concert: It was time for him to go and rest.

So, We Covet What the Europeans Have!

The African village boy dies in a clandestine attempt at crossing the Sahara desert en route to a perceived better life in Europe. Even the powerful Museveni of Uganda declares that Africans want what the Europeans have. By this he means adequate electricity, excellent road and railway systems so that Africa can attract critical mass private investments (instead of relying on NGOs) that can catapult it into the 21st century consumerism, which is said to be indicative of the good life. He, however, leaves out the democratic culture which is part and parcel of the European experience that holds together what they have built and sustain.

There is no question that Africa needs to improve her populations’ material welfare, health and basic infrastructures. But here are my questions to those clamoring to improve the lot of the Africans:

1. Do we need the level of European consumerism even as many insightful Europeans are now reevaluating their consumption habits?

2. Do cultural norms, such as high trust index and/or entrenched spiritual (not necessarily religious) compass, influence a people’s ability to develop and progress?

3. Is autocratic governing necessary to build economic base for a take-off? Can that occur concurrently with liberal democracy? Why do we desire western Armani suits, our children to get the best western education money can buy, western Lear jets, sleek western cars and yet shun liberal democracy, and are quick to label it “foreign” when it has all the ingredients of universal humanity?

4. Who in this world gives and have no expectations of the use of the object of giving? Apparently Museveni expects a largesse from Europeans and their American cousins, but does not want to be told what to do by mere school kids out of college! And the Africans at the gathering in Germany were ecstatic to hear this mundane childish utterance. The man himself gives his brown envelops and expects certain behavior, like MPs voting in a certain way in his rubberstamp parliament.

A Woman After My Heart

1991 Noble Peace Laurette


The quintessential revolution is that of the spirit, born of an intellectual conviction of a need for change in those mental attitudes and values which shape the course of a nation’s development. A revolution which aims merely at changing official policies and institutions with a view to improvement in material conditions has little chance of genuine success. Without a revolution of the spirit, the forces which produce the iniquities of the old order would continue to be operative…. It is not enough merely to call for freedom, democracy and human rights. There has to be a united determination…. To make sacrifices in the name of enduring truths, to resist the corrupting influence of desire, ill will, ignorance and fear.

Saints, it has been said, are the sinners who keep on trying. So free men are the oppressed who go on trying and who in the process make themselves fit to bear the responsibilities…. Which will maintain a free society…. A people who would build a nation in which strong, democratic institutions are firmly established as a guarantee against state-induced power must first learn to liberate their own minds from apathy and fear.

Aung San Suu Kyi, Freedom From Fear

The Sine Qua Non of Uganda's Heroism

As with any fancy-named scheme coming out of the NRM government, there is the ever creative Museveni behind it. And so on the heels of the Martyrs’ Day—a day in remembrance of a mass murder—there is the Heroes’ Day, effectively, a day in which the NRM congratulates itself. For all intents and purposes, it is about celebrating violent, mostly, men. The list of those “honored” speaks for itself. The subtle message is: have a gun to enforce your will and you might become a hero too. Is that the message we want to give to the youth and leaders of tomorrow?

The oft-quoted NRM one-liner: We are not here by accident. If violence is the message, it is neither by accident that we have spurts of violent outrages: a soldier goes on a shooting spree, a husband stabs a wife for ownership of a house, a husband forces a wife to suckle a dog, a jealous fiend splashes acid on the face of another, ad infinitum.

Heroes’ Day is the creation of a violent mind. On his list he will not have those who gave support from such places as Nairobi or London. He just doesn’t see the vital connections of those out-of-bush king makers who were equally violent by intent. But, Aaah! He would contrive and fabricate a long-ago violent tribal king into his hero list. As the great fabricator, he would assert that the NRA was “inspired” by the “heroism” of Kabalega. Give me a break. Of course, now the Luoness of Kabalega’s ancestry is unmentionable as it was done in the Luoing of another great tribe that was beginning to be a crab in the groin. The heroism of Kabalega is simply meant to garner some Bunyoro votes.

And so, his heroes are not my heroes—neither should they be yours. Our heroes are the doctors, the nurses, the teachers and other workers who work for pittance. The mothers and fathers who sacrifice the little they have to raise families are our heroes.

The Otunnu Factor

Miria Obote fired Okello-Okello and his gang, and maybe rightly so. The Okellos-Okellos were the ones who likely engineered her ascendancy to inherit her husband’s UPC leadership. Her husband died in a foreign land, unfulfilled with, maybe, sadness. So, there is an emotional tie to the party that many of us ordinary mortals have no clue about.

“ How dare these characters to go behind my back?,” she might have furiously asked.

Okello-Okello is a fighter for many causes I care about. However, it is time to let the past go. Change is the only constant. UPC is a spent force. The only energy of the party is nostalgia among the old diehards and Langi tribal loyalty.

A political party is like a raft. You use it to cross a river. Once you have crossed the river, you may discard it at the shore. To cling to it and carry the raft on your back everywhere you go is to look foolish and ridiculous.

Equally, other than nostalgia, going to beg Olara Otunnu to lead the party was not based on any hard cold calculation. Sure, Otunnu is a once-wiz-kid who was a star debater even from primary school. Testifying in his father’s Mulokole gatherings may have given him a head start advantage in honing his oratory skills. And sure, he rose to hold very high profile positions, which few Ugandans remember. Some who do may recall that he had a similar journey to his uncle’s 6-month government where he was bamboozled and out- maneuvered by Museveni in Nairobi.

Now, the question is: What does Otunnu have that should make me vote for him? So far, there is nothing and, I suspect that many Ugandans will see no reason to vote for him come 2011. Let him stand for a parliamentary seat against people like Hilary Onek—now you are talking! Or will that be below him?

K Ssemogerere, the Colonial Visitor from the South

Mr. Ssemogeree’s narration of his “safari” through the Eastern and Northern frontiers is not unlike that of a colonial adventurer of the 1800s. True to form, a colonial traveler worth his salt must be carried by native guides to negotiate the dangerous primitive terrains. And so Ssemogerere’s guide—and he never fails to get one as in “I always find one”—showed him businesses affiliated with the dangerous terrorist, lest he be kidnapped and made to carry sacks of potatoes. Believe it or not, there have been kids from Kawempe, Entebbe and what-have-you who “escaped” Kony and sought asylum in desirable locales.

Of course, a “civilized” colonialist must dispense unsolicited advice to the natives to save themselves against themselves: “There is no reason to prolong this funeral” and follow the young who are free from past memories. But one must ask: If the dethroning of a tribal king could engender orgies of revenge killings twenty plus years later, don’t other have the right to mourn their murdered kin as long as they wish?

And speaking of murder, we have just celebrated the act of a macabre mass murderer at the dawn of a concept, called Uganda. Vacuous, grand standing speeches were made. Even the President threw in a few banal biblical quotes he does not believe in and, if he does, he is far too gone in the service of the devil to help himself.

For those of us who subscribe and believe in the Newtonian law of action and reaction—cause and effect—, could the karmic fruition of that single dastardly act not be the one haunting the Pearl? If we cannot talk and face truth in order to exorcise the past, the funeral must go on lest we forget and be caught flat-footed and be victimized once again in the next round of orgasmic violence.