Dear reader, a wonderful Ugandan, Victor Okoth – a PhD student at Northwestern University in the US – shared some friendly fire on what appears like contradictions in my writing.
I am forever grateful to all the feedback, and Victor precisely touches a core aspect that I felt needed more engagement as we move into 40-years of Yoweri Museveni – a man, who supposedly claims to espouse an anti-colonial posture despite his rabid embrace of the new colonisers in town, IMF and World Bank.
Why do I approach Iran and Uganda differently despite both governments being brutal? Victor allowed me to make this debate public.
25 Apr 2026
Dear Yusuf: I hope April has treated you well, and that May treats you even better. My name is Victor Okoth, and I am a fan of your column in The Observer.
I write to share some thoughts on the fairly well-informed propaganda in your articles since March 4, especially covering the Iran war and relating it to our politics. I suspect this will get buried in your mail but in the off-chance that it catches your attention; I’d appreciate a response.
My thoughts are premised on the tension in two themes which run consistently through your columns. The first, and more forceful, is the perniciousness of the (neo)colonial control in which we Ugandans and our rulers, and all colonized peoples broadly, negotiate our lives.
The second is the illegitimacy and brutality with which our rulers (not the colonial super-rulers) exercise power over us. I hope I have read you well over the years because they form the premise of my critique.
In the analysis on Uganda, you often resolve the tension by categorizing our rulers and their crimes as extensions of colonialists and their crimes. However, in all your analysis on the Iran war, there is no tension between the two themes whatsoever.
Your identification of the colonialists as the bad guys is correct; however, in its absoluteness (was that intentional on your part or not?), it seems to excuse the badness of the anti-colonialists.
For example, the heavy handedness and criminality with which the Iranian government treats many of its citizens (re-inform my propaganda if it is not so credible) isn’t very different from that with which our Ugandan government treats us.
I think there is an irony in that many governments with anti-colonial convictions abroad act like colonialists at home, and I feel that the Iranian government is one such government.
What is your best propaganda on this irony and what is the best way, analytically and practically, to deal with such governments? Surely being an anti-colonialist doesn’t make one a good guy, just as much as being a victim doesn’t make one a virtuous person.
Warmly, Victor
29 April 2026
Hello Victor: Your email is the most beautiful feedback I have read in a long while.
Thank you so much for this careful reading. First of all, I love the idea that you called it “fairly informed propaganda,” especially that you appreciate the historical and conceptual usefulness of opinions and so-called facts, as all being propaganda.
I loved this very much. Second, the tension you point out in my analyses of Uganda is not really a tension.
I prefer to see it as (a) layers of our exploitation/brutality, (b) the ends to which brutality and exploitation happen. In Kampala, we have a bunch of neoliberal/colonial caretakers.
Workers, if you like. But like all regimes of power – and this is a key point for me – they are brutal; dangerous. There could be levels. But power is essentially brutal. Problem for me is that Kampala brutality is in service to the empire – not for national ends.
It is to protect the interests of foreign capital. Did you see my articles, “Museveni’s Resume of a Colonial Emissary” Part I and II? (I have also written elsewhere, that my major problem with Museveni is not his brutality or long-stay, but rather the emptiness of his long-stay).
This takes us to Iran: Has the Iranian government been brutal? Of course. Just like the Americans and Germans and Britons. But for Iran, their brutality is meant to protect their sovereignty – and sovereignty defined in political economic terms.
For them, it is not just a claim, but a demonstrable fact. (Could be propaganda). I don’t know how much you know about Iran, but their case even justifies their brutality on its own: It is a country resource thieves (US, Israel and Western Europe) has sanctioned for sport; scientists, and Generals openly assassinated.
Open foreign coup plotting, and endless threats of invasion, in addition to humongous bad press. A government living like this will definitely suspect many of its nationals for working with the aggressor (which has been proven many times for Iran).
The government will definitely become brutal against its own people – and this oftentimes includes many innocent folks. I wrote after the Tanzania elections debacle that the so- called global human rights movements, and democracy merchandisers from Europe and North America terribly deny us the opportunity to appreciate local grievances as organic, but rather as externally enforced.
In fact, when brutal govts argue that they are responding to external threats, they aren’t really making up things. Even if they would be telling lies, the aggressiveness of the so-called human rights movements makes it difficult to make out the fine details.
In other news: Have you seen my book, Surrounded? Please look it up. I’m endlessly grappling with this myself. Again, thanks a lot for the wonderful email.
yusufkajura@gmail.com
The author is a political theorist based at Makerere University.
Victor Okoth is a PhD student in Civil and Environmental Engineering program at Northwestern University in the United States.
Thanks Dr., Dr. Yusuf!
That the EMPTINESS of our PROBLEM OF AFRICA, Gen Tibuhaburwa’s long-stay overshadowed his brutality or long-stay in power is indeed damning.
40 years and counting, our PROBLEM OF AFRICA is after all, not what he thinks he is and/or has been; but the most BOGUS president in the Political History of this country.
No wonder in his book “Slow Poison” Prof. Mahmood Mamdani declared the man being WORSE than Iddi Amin Dada (RIP).
In other words, who in his/her right moral state of mind would like to positively identify with the EMPTINESS of Mr. Museveni?
Mwami Sserunkuma says that from Mr.Okothm he got the most beautiful feed back . He seems be awestruck .
But what did Mr.Okoth say that some of us have not said here. Where is the response ? Is it because we are not PhD students bases in USA ?
With us here , we have detected Mw.Sserunkuma`s contradictions and biased opinions and told him so .
I see him justifying Iran`s regime`s brutality against its own citizens because :”..it is meant to protect their sovereignty”. This is exactly the same reason that silly bill was passed 24 hours ago ; that is why our own regime executes Ugandans that , in its judgement , are guilty of violating Uganda`s sovereignty. Idd Amin did the same for the same reasons. Where is the line then ?
So I wonder : when Mw. Sserunkuma paid a visit to Hon Muwanga Kivumbi three weeks ago , did he tell him : you are here because governments have to the right to practice their brutality on you and others it may deem to be “aggressors” ?
I think Mr.Okoth is right : Mw.Sserunkuma is up to something worse than gaslighting .
Of course, being worse than gaslighter is being a Jihadist.
Doc, I totally concur with you and the PhD student you mentioned. I certainly don’t condone colonialism; however, what Iran and Uganda are doing to their own citizens in the name of ‘sovereignty’ is a complete contradiction. You proved our point by stating that while Iran’s brutality is framed as protecting its sovereignty in ‘political-economic terms,’ this is the exact same justification President Museveni (M7) is using for his new ‘Protection of Sovereignty Bill’. No matter how you slice it, there is no difference between the two: it’s just raw autocracy and family rule masked by political jargon.
Ssebo Mukulu , you are (in other words) calling out Mw.Sserunkuma`s contradictions . Mr.Okoth did that same , rest to mention that he did it with a slight touch of PhD decency .
Oh yes , its a lot of hogwash to claim that you are opposed to Uganda`s Supreme Leaders and Family autocracy and brutality and at the same time advocate for Iran regime`s right to commit massacres against its frustrated citizens merely under the excuse of protecting its sovereignty” If that was the basic and acceptable was to protect and defend a countries sovereignty against its “internal enemies ” then the whole world would be littered with dead bodies , for there is no country or society that does not have non conformists . Moreover , sovereignty can be defined in accordance to one`s mind-set .
Anyway , “Ne gw`oyagala ..” . Mw. Sserunkuma has been one of Uganda`s independent thinkers for years . I was on the Hill , so I know . But just because we have to respect him and the role he plays in this space where thinking has become a liability of sorts , when he drives on the pavement , we who love and respect him must flag him or else we set up ourselves for the next Yusuf Nsibambi-like surprise or Mao , or Andrew Mwenda .. the list is long
My dear Betty, to be brutally honest, I doubt Yusuf Nsibambi will be any different from Mao or Mwenda in their lack of conscience. This wave of pure greed has taken our country by storm. From Anita Among to Full Figure, the list of those who have flipped is endless. What hurts most is that even those we trusted for change, like Kyagulanyi and the NUP, seem to be in it for themselves. We believed ‘People Power’ meant the end of Museveni, but greed has made change elusive. I no longer care if it’s Namboze or Lukwago; they all seem to recycle the same failed, violent elections while drawing taxpayer salaries. Finally, while I respect Dr. Yusuf Sserunkuma, he is dead wrong to justify Iran’s brutality as ‘protecting sovereignty.’ That is the exact excuse M7 uses to oppress us. How can one be autocratic and the other not?
Mukulu Remase , I must say that I like your wise response . I suspect that you have a soft spot for Mw. Sserunkuma , so it can`t be easy to mention his name among the shameless flippers .
Lately , Mw.Sserunkuma has taken two positions:
1- that he is biased on the side of Iran. If he is doing so as a Muslim , then he is among the very few who do not know that Iran`s Islamic Revolutionists have been harassing their Muslim neighbors for the last 47 years
2- he has become like a GPS for our Supreme Leader`s family transition . So far , he has put here and elsewhere several written or spoken views towards that direction . Recently, he wrote that it would be catastrophic and unacceptable for anyone else besides M7 family member to replace our soon departing leader.
We note that apart from Haji Judas , whose flip was sudden and dramatic , the others you correctly mention did it mpola mpola
Betty, you gave perfect examples, the ‘Nsibambi surprise’ shouldn’t shock us; he is just the latest in a long line including Mao and Mwenda who have traded conscience for greed. Our country is trapped in a cycle where even the ‘saviors’—like Kyagulanyi—participate in bogus elections only to claim ‘tajja kulayira’ while still benefiting from the system. Whether it’s Namboze or Lukwago, the focus remains on self-interest over genuine fight for change. Most concerning is Dr. Sserunkuma’s defense of the Iranian regime. If we condemn Museveni’s autocracy, we cannot turn around and applaud the same brutality in Iran under the guise of ‘sovereignty.’ Consistency is the only way we regain our power.
Ssebo , with us here the saying is : ” Nga on`ogula ey`omutwe , sooka okwate ku gugwo” ( if you are going to choose to buy a cow head for meat, first touch and feel yours, you then judge how much meat there is not )
Mzee Museveni is excited about the sovereignty bill . He is of the view that it is abominable for foreigners to inject themselves in sovereign country`s affairs .But what about his own record ( his own head)?
– back in the 70s he and others joined an invading foreign TZ force and removed Uganda`s president . For better of worse , Idd Amin was never removed from power by Ugandans . Those who joined the invaders ( under this new bill) shall be categorized as foreigner`s agents.
– during in NRA bush was , guns and other things were supplied by Libya , with the aim of fighting and removing a government of sovereign Uganda . What shall we call that ?
– in 1993 ,some elements within our army were supported to invade a foreign country . Why then can Uganda be the monkey that says that it all well to cut down the other forest !
– UPDF went into sovereign Kongo . not once but several times. Its no longer a secret that plundering happened and is probably still happening . We invade Kongo , we place ourselves in the middle of a bloody internal conflict in South Sudan , while we are passing laws that criminalizes that kind of behavior in our own house !
The bottom line is out : 97% thinkers rejected the sovereignty bill ; 3% of nonthinkers passed it
Betty, I sincerely believe we Ugandans are far too gullible. How can we allow a ‘Sovereignty Bill’ to pass in a Parliament where the NUP—who claim to have been rigged out—still sits and participates? You’re right; Museveni himself entered Uganda with a foreign force from Tanzania to remove Idi Amin. He used Libyan guns in the Luwero bush war to fight a sovereign government. Yet now, Speaker Anita Among brags that she will rule from his grave while the opposition remains part of the very system passing these laws. It is heartbreaking to see Dr. Sserunkuma condone Iran’s oppressive autocracy under the same guise of ‘sovereignty’ that Museveni uses to crush us. If it’s anarchy in Iran, it’s anarchy here.
You’ve hit on a massive contradiction, Betty. Museveni’s record is built on the very ‘foreign interference’ he now seeks to ban. His path to power was never ‘sovereign’ by his own new definition—he fought the Luwero bush war alongside foreigners like Paul Kagame, Fred Rwigyema, and Kale Kayihura. It is the ultimate irony that Kagame, who helped Museveni take power, is now a fellow dictator in Rwanda.From these foreign roots to the Tanzanian invasion and Libyan backing, the NRM’s history contradicts this Bill. It’s baffling that the opposition, including Kyagulanyi’s NUP, validates this Parliament by their presence while Anita Among celebrates near-total control. Most disappointing is Dr. Yusuf Sserunkuma; justifying Iran’s raw autocracy as ‘defending sovereignty’ is no different from justifying the repression we face in Uganda. It’s the same old story: using ‘national interest’ as a shield for a regime’s survival.
Betty, you’re right—I don’t just have a ‘soft spot’ for Dr. Sserunkuma; he has been one of Uganda’s most vital independent thinkers for years, and I adore him for it. However, on this issue, I must disagree entirely. Uganda’s experience under Museveni proves the danger of this logic. Museveni himself once said that longevity in power breeds corruption, impunity, patronage and nepotism—yet his 40-year rule has birthed exactly that. For Dr. Sserunkuma to condone Iran’s autocracy as ‘protecting sovereignty’ while rightly blaming Museveni for doing the same is a glaring contradiction. Autocracy is autocracy, whether in Tehran or Kampala. Both regimes use ‘sovereignty’ as a shield to justify the endless oppression of their citizens. You cannot condemn the dictator at home while excusing the one abroad.
I has sent a response but it looks like it went missing
Anyway , I was trying to make a point that there is plenty of evidence to prove that NRA/M could not have survived without help from outside . Most of that evidence is right there in Mzee Museveni`s writings and in some of the interviews he made when he was in Sweden-just before and after UNLA ( UPC military wing) turned against their boss.
We know names of NRA/M external wing operators and what their role was . In short , what they were doing then would have sent them to prison for 12 years had there been a bill that is now about to become a law.
As long as earth planet rotates around the sun , no one can say they will never fall victims to this law.
As one of my best friend, Lakwena, says, in other words, I completely agree with the perspective shared by you and the PhD candidate, Okoth. While I am firmly anti-colonial, the actions of the Iranian and Ugandan governments toward their own people—under the guise of ‘Sovereignty’—reveal a deep hypocrisy. Your observation that Iran justifies its brutality as a means of protecting political-economic sovereignty aligns perfectly with the current situation in Uganda. M7’s administration has introduced the ‘Protection of Sovereignty Bill, 2026’, which uses nearly identical language to consolidate power. Ultimately, both regimes represent the same brand of brutal autocracy and dynastic rule, regardless of the terminology used to defend them.
When leaders see themselves as demi-god, and consult each others on how to become “immortal” and control, manipulate souls of their victims, that is what we get or see on surface. The bachwezi clan leader(Sevo) promoted/sold the ideas to his colleague as he assumed to be the demigod of the Nile/Lake Victoria. They bought the idea, now it’s crumbling. From the likes of Aghan, Gadaffi,Ayatollah etc flocked Uganda for spiritual trade in exchange of investment in Uganda, regardless how local people were treated. Now, let’s see how far it goes, as children of the original cornerstone are on their knees interceding to God.
Yet another desperate attempt to use credentials fallacy to make a point, just like I have said all along.
To Victor Okoth, next time have the courage to post your comments or opinions directly in here like most of us do. Maybe we should all begin sending Yusuf our comments by emails instead. Yusuf has given a slap in the face to those who always agree with him and flatter him by addressing him with a double drs. Okoth is a self proclaimed Pan-Africanism just like Museveni.
Yusuf has been trying to gaslight the gullible to debate his support for Iran. That is something for him to spend his sleepless nights.
Kyogere ko mwana wattu !
Naffe , we were wondering : why only Okoth !
There are people here who keep Mw.Sserunkuma`s article alive . Our own Best Remase always makes sure he addresses him as Doc ; yet it there is no indication that Mw. YSK even notices it . Why not ?
No offence , but is it because the ones who post here forget to name their bombastic titles or is that our feed back has no value ?
Talking about value . our blessed Queen AAA has just displayed yet another GAIN : a birthday present car valued at 2.2 billion !
Those who are good at maths can tell us how many teachers or policemen would be happy even to just sense the smell of such money. When AAA brandishes a present worth billions , my guy will feel horrible if he come home with a “mere” 1 million one . The bar is too high .
Personally , I think its time to cut 3 zeros from our currency . Surely surely , we just cannot go on counting in billions and trillions as if this is a new Zibambwe
I have just been corrected ; AAA car present costs 3.4 billion not 2.2 only .This is 3400 million UGS ! We are then talking a salary for 7000 teachers or policemen or 130 schools or how many basic clinics ….?!
Today , our “national army” .UPDF is involved in armed activity in several sovereign countries, one of which is Somalia. Guess who is picking up the bill-in Dollars !
This is not from me , but I have heard people saying that as long as foreign forces are in Somalia , that place will never see real peace. They also say that Uganda forces have been turned into “soldiers of fortune”-hired to fight other people`s wars for a pay . ( this is debatable)
A rhetorical question comes to mind: what if South Sudan , Kongo , Somalia , and CAR borrowed Uganda`s wisdom and banned foreign troops or influence…?
If our Supreme Leader was a man who takes serious advice , someone should have whispered to him that with this bill , HE is laying his own TRAP.
It only takes one ambitious and smart prosecutor at ICC to look at Mzee Museveni`s record and the careless statements from his son to get them charged- using their own arguments i.e, that is a crime to violate other sovereignties especially if there is evidence of plundering , systematic looting , and all other vices that are associated with armed invasions , territorial occupation and military adventurism .
With us here , we would not offer that advice to him even if he gave a present worth 3.4. Why ? because WE STOPPED caring . We only live to see what happens in the next million years .
Betty, our 86-years-old PROBLEM OF AFRICA Gen Tibuhaburwanot is not different from all the other inmates (on Remand or sentences-putting on YELLOW) in Luzira, Kitalya and other Prisons scattered in the 4 corners of this country.
The only difference is: Gen Tibu is on Self-incarceration in our State House (safe house).
The guy is a self-confessed criminal (all- Capital and Petty). And all his confessions (statements) are in writing and audio video recording. E.g., his in/famous Sowing the Mustard Seed is probably his Criminal Testament.
Therefore, any dumbest lawyer in town can get the hanged a thousand times here on Earth and/or Posthumous.
In other words, just like other inmates but exceptional previlages; not many Ugandans know why OUR PROBLEM OF AFRICA has barricaded himself in our State House: eating free food, socks, clothing; pays no bills (medical, water, electricity, phone transport, etc.
It is because he committed crimes not only against humanity, BUT also to God and SATAN. Should he make the mistake of walking out of our State/Safe House immediately he will suffer a mob justice from all