Opposition radio politicians are fond of saying that if Yoweri Museveni of 2010 met Yoweri Museveni of 1986, one would not recognise the other and that there could probably be a shoot-out between the two!

If this is possible, Old Opa belives it does not apply to Old Yoweri only but to many of the firebrands with whom he stormed to power 24 years ago. I exhumed what follows from my rich archive.

Firm 'NO' to Kings!
"If monarchism means the supremacy of hereditary rulers, I am thoroughly opposed to that. I don't see how or why political authority should lie with hereditary rulers.

The basis of our struggle was to transfer power from a few to the masses. Ceremonial or cultural rulers may be okay but political authority must remain with the population so that they can decide their fate."

That plain and blatant truth was stated by today's retired Colonel Dr. Kizza Besigye in 1989, when he was still Lt. Col. Dr. Kiiza Besigye, NRM National Political Commissar, Historical Member of the National Resistance Council and Minister of State in the Office of the President. That president was, by the way, Gen. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.

Museveni heir
Then silently spoken of as Museveni's heir apparent, Dr. Besigye granted audience to Mike Muwanga, Editor in Chief and Publisher of the defunct 'RECENT' magazine, which appeared on 26th January, 1990.

Today's drastically altered circumstances would certainly not permit this distinguished political cadre to repeat these plain truths but history is worth revisiting.

Let me inform you that Mike Muwanga is still very much alive. I last heard of him as chairman of an association of those capable of fathering more than one child at a time, known in his native language as SALONGO.

Anyway, the sons and daughters of the late Onesmus Kajaju Muwanga of Buziga are very imaginative! But let us browse his interview with the top NRM guru of the day.

Historical interview
The gallant Ugandans that participated in the protracted war against fascism, and dictatorship included professionals from various fields.

Among them was Dr. Kiiza Besigye and despite the affluent circumstances of his medical profession, patriotism swayed his decision to brave the risks of guerilla warfare to fight anarchy, oppression and fascism. 'RECENT' met Dr. Kiiza Besigye who deliberated on several national issues.

"My duty as the National Political Commissar is to head the National Resistance Movement Secretariat. First, the secretariat articulates policies and programmes of the NRM through the National Executive Committee, to which I am Secretary.

Once policies are formed and programmes are developed by NEC or the National Resistance Council the Secretariat communicates them to relevant areas for implementing. 

Nali  Kyankwanzi & the RCs
The Secretariat also has the duty to develop leaders who are knowledgeable of the political situation in Uganda and who can guide the population on the political transformation that government advocates. This is mainly done through the political school at Kyankwanzi.

I cannot fail to hint on RCs. They are democratic institutions in which everyone participates, whether there is an election or not. Everybody is a councilor by virtue of residence.

You can go to the village council (RC 1) and air your views. If you are not a Ugandan, you may not be elected to an office, but you can freely participate in the discussions. And, if you elect somebody who does not represent you satisfactorily, you can throw him out.

However, RCs have had some limitations. One of them is knowledge. The majority of our population is illiterate. They cannot read published statutes. So, it would require somebody to interpret from English to vernacular and explain to the masses.

However, we are not seated. We have translated the statutes into some vernaculars. We are continuing with seminars to educate RC leaders in all districts. This year, we intend to give every RC III chairman a bicycle to promote mobility.

NRM Rennaisance
I don't want to over emphasize Uganda's position before the NRM came to power because it is clear to everyone. It is also clear that in only 3 years of the NRM government, there has been a total reversal of the decay.

The annual economic decline rate was 2.6% but has been transformed into a 7.2% growth rate in 1988-1989. There has been serious rehabilitation of the infrastructure, notably the road network.

In industry, there has been a significant leap. Soap, textile, sugar and beverages industries are now producing while in agriculture; there have been deliberate efforts to stimulate production with the investment in inputs, tractors and agro-chemicals. The moves have rendered agriculture to take off at an annual growth rate of 4% and industry at 14%.

On the political front, we have built a democratic mass political movement in the whole country, which has culminated in the National Executive Committee. There were popular elections from RC I up to national level.

Exiles misled
The respectability of Uganda abroad has tremendously improved. This is evidenced by people flocking in from all over the world, to establish co-operation. The rule of law and peace has returned.

We have successfully had a spontaneous repatriation of over 100,000 refugees from Sudan and Zaire.
In 1988, I met some exiles opposed to the NRM in London and I came to learn that they were misinformed. So I told them to come back and settle, since they have a presidential pardon.

The army is now completely capable of taking on external and internal threats and Ugandans should relax, because nobody will throw dust at them with impunity.

Movement System
The best way to eradicate fascism is to educate all Ugandans because once the people are aware of their aspirations, interests, problems and strength, any fascists who emerge will be thrown out. This education must be coupled with economic recovery to bring about a general improvement in the quality of life of the ordinary person.

As I have always said in principle, there is nothing wrong with partisan politics. But in Uganda, party politics was based on ethnicity and religion.
This is a fact which is difficult to ignore. If parties had been developed purely on manifestos, there would be nothing wrong with partisan politics.
If you look at their manifestos they are actually the same, and therefore their differences are not political.

Colonel’s About-turn
My own view is to educate all Ugandans first before the re-introduction of party-politics because an illiterate population is easy to manipulate.  The people are not intellectual enough to see through what politicians say.

In Uganda, I am for enhancing national consensus through unitary politics to avoid undermining the nation.

If monarchism means the supremacy of hereditary rulers, I am thoroughly opposed to that. I don't see how or why political authority should lie with hereditary rulers. The basis of our struggle was to transfer power from a few to the masses. Ceremonial or cultural rulers may be okay but political authority must remain with the population so that they can decide their fate.

Two decades ago
Old Opa now wonders whether today's Dr. Besigye would recognise the Dr. Besigye of 1989 and speculates on whether they would not exchange blows or gunshots.

Palace insiders tell us that Dr. Besigye's loyalty to Namulondo is not in doubt and that he has been seen genuflecting (or prostrating?) many times to intense acclaim by privileged witnesses. In fact he is the only aspiring president who has promised to "return every one of Buganda's THINGS immediately after swearing in as president…" Who would not back such a sure deal, one may ask?

But one thing is certain. If the Yoweri Museveni of 1986 may not recognise the Yoweri Museveni of 2010, Kizza Besigye would certainly bypass Kiiza Besigye without even a glance! blog comments powered by Disqus

< Prev		Next >