The once respected freedom fighter President Robert Mugabe did it in 2002 to Zimbabwe’s opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, now Yoweri Museveni, President of Uganda is doing it to his main challenger, Colonel (retired) Dr. Kizza Besigye. The arrest of Besigye in Kampala on Monday on questionable charges of treason and rape puts almost 20 years of progress and stability in Uganda under question. Besigye had just returned to Uganda from exile in South Africa in preparation for the March 2006 presidential elections.
What makes this latest African spectacle such a tragedy is that Uganda seemed to be a potential African success story. Uganda was once synonymous with violence, chaos and Idi Amin Dada’s predilections for human flesh. But since 1986 when Museveni and his rag-tag band of guerrilla fighters took over Kampala, there was hope. Museveni promised to bring political stability, economic growth, and good political leadership to Uganda. And he did for many years.
He introduced grassroots participation through Local Councils and a “no-party” political system. Past instability in Uganda was linked to politicized ethnicity argued Museveni, so if Ugandans could focus on the individual merits of candidates rather than their political party or ethnic, religious or regional affiliation, Ugandans might be able to focus on their similarities rather than their differences. Ugandans, fearful of a return to chaos, agreed to give it a try.
In June 2005 Ugandans voted in a referendum to adopt a multiparty political system rather than retain the no-party political system of government they had for the past 19 years. Museveni was able to change the constitution to allow him to run for a third term in the March 2006 Presidential elections.
While Western governments and the donor community were uneasy about Museveni’s questionable dedication to multi-party democracy Museveni’s economic successes and embrace of macro-economic reform helped assuage some of those concerns. Uganda under Museveni had one of the fastest growing economies in Sub-Saharan Africa. It had opened up its markets to international investment, and was willing to implement stringent structural adjustment programs. Museveni became a poster child of economic reform, receiving millions of dollars in foreign aid, and 100 percent debt relief from the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the African Development Bank.
Museveni was viewed as a new breed of African leader – a visionary -- one of the African Renaissance leaders. He was intelligent, savvy, beyond corruption (although it was doubtful that those surrounding him were) and dedicated to his people.
Of course, not everything has been so encouraging in Uganda. The Ugandan army has been fighting a northern insurgency since 1986, currently led by Joseph Kony, the fanatical leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army. Uganda’s imagine was tarnished by its military involvement in the Democratic Republic of Congo. And, most disturbingly, Human Rights Watch, an internationally respected non-governmental organization, published a 76 page report documenting widespread torture of political opposition members in Uganda.
So, what happened? How did the “darling of the West” start sliding down the slippery slope of authoritarianism? Did power simply become too intoxicating? Museveni and his supporters became convinced that no one could run Uganda as well as he could. A familiar argument made by many former self-appointed “Presidents for life”. Museveni is not an anomaly: The number of African leaders that have peacefully stepped down from power can be counted on one hand: Jerry Rawlings in Ghana, Julius Nyerere in Tanzania, Daniel Arap Moi in Kenya, and of course Nelson Mandela in South Africa.
Unless Museveni allows Besigye to run for President and lets the democratic process and rule of law determine who should be Uganda’s next president, Uganda may join the ranks of some of the current African trouble spots including, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Cote D’Ivoire, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.
The international community must demand that Museveni uphold the rule of law in Uganda. Donors should cut off aid to the Museveni regime, and the African Union should strongly rebuke Museveni. But most importantly, Ugandans must peacefully demand justice and democracy. The world is watching, and hoping desperately for another African success story in a country that Sir Winston Churchill once called the “Pearl of Africa”.
By Susan Dicklitch
9 comments:
The world definitely has to take some action. Unfortunately, because every country in this decade has only its primary internal goals at heart, very few nations are willing to help solve crisis of an international nature. Everyone is passing the buck. The world has a reluctant hegemon, a toothless UN, a reluctant G8, European Union and a weak young African Union
What is happening in Uganda has happened and unfortunately will happen in most African countries. There is an old proverb that says power corrupts all. No matter where you are in the world, you can find this notion personified in your environment. What Museveni is doing is unfortunately not isolated to Uganda alone. That is the world we live in now. We are living in a selfish self-serving world. Throw all idealism and utopian notions out of the window. Why? The reason is that is how the world works.
Why is happening in Uganda unfortunately does not surprise me at all. That is African politics for you. African politicians love to stay in power for life. When they assume power, these African rulers want to stay in forever. They will do anything to maintain their political stronghold including rigging elections and imprisoning the opposition as has happened in Uganda and Zimbabwe. These incidents are not isolated. Dr Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana(president of Ghana 1957-1966) imprisoned Dr J. B. Danquah in the 1960's. Dr J.B. Danquah was one of the leaders who helped Kwame Nkrumah in his quest to gain independence from the British, but that was the thanks he got. The late president Eyadema of Togo always harassed the opposition (The Olympios :Gilchrist Olympio). La Cote d'Ivoire's Laurent Gbagbo is no exception the list goes on.
So one may ask, why do these things continue to happen in Africa ? The simple answer is this; anytime an African leader has imprisoned opposition members he has maintained his power. It is a winning formula so why change it? Yes in the international media there will be condemnation, but that is where it ends. The powers that be that have the authority to change the situation in these countries decide not to meddle or are just apathetic
With all these problems I am afraid that the African continent is in for a very nasty shock. There are so many Pandora boxes waiting to be opened. In Libya we have President Gadaffi who has been in control since the 80's, and in Egypt we have President Mubarak. Though President Mubarak has shown himself to be a great leader, he has been in power for way too long. These two individuals I believe will find it difficult to let go of the reigns of power. Power is too sweet !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The situation in Uganda with Museveni definitely does not help build an optimistic picture for the future of Africa. Uganda was a success story for many years until problems arose with the implementation of a multiparty system. Sounds like the case in Cote D'Ivoire. President Houphouet-Boigny had ruled since independence and he brought political stability and economic growth to the country. Once he died in 1993, Cote D'Ivoire initiated a multiparty system and everything went wrong. Fighting continues to this day.
Even though Uganda is not in the exact situation, because Museveni did not die but is actually taking part in the new multiparty system, both countries are comparable in that the implementation of a multiparty system has created political instability. Museveni is not only ruining the track record of political stability and economic growth for Uganda, but he is giving Africa a bad reputation to the International community that maybe there is no hope for Africa. If donor countries continue to see there attempts in the past crumble, why would they want to help in the future?
I think Dr. D's solution is the correct way to handle this. The whole world needs to let Museveni know that he is wrong and he cannot do that. The most affective way to handle this situation would be for Africans to come together and peacefully demand that Museveni uphold the rule of law. Ugandans should not allow one man to ruin what they have worked hard to accomplish in the past few decades.
--Kristy G
To All,
This is a very sad story. It's not over yet, and I hope things peacefully change for the better. I think, as we all do, that what Museveni has done is wrong, but predictable. Kristy makes a good comparison to Cote D' Ivoire and I can only hope the results aren't the same. I too agree with Dr. D's solution. The world, including the US, needs to let Museveni know that we're all watching and we all care. If nothing else, this will give the Ugandan people comfort that others are watching. If I were Ugandan and knew the world was watching, I would feel a lot more confident with my actions. I think that the Ugandan people are still scared by the acts of Idi Amin and his violence and need the support of the world to act with full force against their political leader.
Okomfo Anokye says that this sort of political downward spiral is common in Africa. While this is arguably true, I'm maintaining hope that Uganda will fix itself before falling down the path of previous political stories.
Uganda is a great nation. I'm hoping these recent acts of political misconduct by Museveni don't ruin what he and the Ugandan people have spent 20 years developing. His credibility is at stake here. I hope he acts appropriately for the good of the Ugandan people.
We are watching...
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/05/01/a_threat_to_africas_success_story/
"If Museveni succeeds in his desire to win a third term, we may be looking at another Mugabe and Zimbabwe in the making."
The sad reality of the situation is that self declared personal rulers in Africa is becoming a 'characteristic' of the continent. Most agree that African rulers have a tendency to try to cling to power for as long as they can - but the question is why? It can't be an inherent human tendency otherwise we would see dictators cropping up everywhere else. But what makes the African continent condusive to having life presidents? The economic answer would be the inequitable distribution of resources in the country, which then translates to purchasing power and standard of living. Politics is an easy route to securing an extravagant way of life and not dealing with the strife that the greater population in Africa deals with. Even if Museveni evolved from freedom fighter to benevolent dictator, being in such a privileged position can become addictive and ultimately, if politics is the only way to have security and prestige in Africa, benevolence won't last for too long.
There is no stable political or economic hierarchy and no motivation for entrepreneurs or 'legitimate means to success' in the country at this point and as long as that persists, I think people, African or not, would scramble for power.
Shivani,
You raise a good point that has been discussed some in class. Politics in Africa is the door that leads to power and wealth. This is a problem where that is the only door to financial success on first world terms. It also is a test of true benevolence to the personality in power. Anyone can say they have benevolent intentions when they have years of power left ahead of them. The truth comes out when their political term's end approaches. Museveni is on the brink of failing this test of true benevolence. He can still pass if he realizes his mistake and works to fix it. Which path will he ultimately choose....
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