The announcement was a fresh breeze amidst the constant heated bitching within the opposition. We had that nasty spate when the Democratic Party president Norbert Mao like The Terminator went on a crush-and-burn spree against the opposition, especially NUP. Perhaps Mao’s war was an attempt to force opposition supporters to be as critical of the opposition as they are of the ruling NRM.
NUP being the freshest and leading opposition party on the scene attracts premium vitriolic criticism. NUP’s diehard supporters also come cocked, weaponized with choice insults in support of NUP leader, Bobi Wine/Robert Kyagulanyi. Analysts maintain NUP has failed to harness the groundswell that swept it into parliament as the biggest opposition party. The NRM regime viewed Bobi Wine’s groundswell condescendingly but the youth are such a juicy morsel for our voting projections.
First son, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba’s recent parte after parte birthday events casting him as this suddenly-extravagantly-beloved-youthful-warrior-gifted-leader-avenging Muchwezi is seemingly a response to youthful Bobi’s magnetic hold over the youth.
Many simmered with resentment at President Museveni’s despicable attempt to turn us against each other when shortly after being declared winner of the 2021 presidential elections, Museveni ranted about Buganda being sectarian due to NUP’s sweeping of the Central region. Despicable for Museveni is yet to condemn the miraculous 100 percent turnout in some polling stations in his home base where he gets 100 per cent of the votes. 100 percent sectarian, anyone?
Years ago, acclaimed journalist Charles Onyango-Obbo in his long-running column in the Daily Monitor, wrote challenging the ruling regime to name one achievement other than ‘we fought.’ A trump card they can proudly pull out of their back pocket, anytime and declare, ‘We did this for Uganda excellently’.
Obbo cited how the swine the NRM loved to demonise had those trump cards. The Obote regime can cite the regional hospitals, Idi Amin – linking Uganda to the world through the Mpoma earth satellite station. The NRM will quickly say stability, which is valid. Now since 1986, what have we done coherently with that stability? Keyword: Coherently. Is it the oil finally getting out of the ground?
Is it Ugandans driving Kiira EV vehicles? Is it a smooth public transport system? It is medicine and motivated health workers in hospitals? Is it quality education in schools? Is it dealing with case backlog in the judiciary? Is it reducing the ballooning public expenditure? It is the seamless delivery of national IDs? Let’s not even mention passports. Is it a well-resourced police force attending to distress calls without asking for fuel?
Is it curbing the carnage on our roads? Leave corruption alone; the president hinted the avenger would sort out corruption. Is it the joke that being Ugandan should count as sufficient work experience on CVs?
To the opposition, the same challenge stands – what is that one thing that can unite the opposition? Imagine them hand in hand protesting alongside the patron saint of the long-suffering disemboweled opposition, Kizza Besigye, against government’s intransigence over the escalating cost of living. What if the opposition made a pact that they will not spit hellfire at each other? What if opposition leaders urged their members to refuse to rise to provocation?
Could we see opposition leaders stand together against the continued illegal detention of political prisoners? What about the peculiar detention of government media centre employee, Obed Katureebe, caught up in the resumption of ties between Rwanda and Uganda? Foras immunized quislings, we received Katureebe’s ‘arrest’ with disquiet and unfortunately, indifference for what do we know.
Latest media reports indicate Katureebe is in detention to appease Rwanda, which alleges Katureebe propagates anti-Rwanda propaganda. Imagine the opposition standing for Katureebe just because Katureebe as a Ugandan citizen deserves that support?
Political theorist Yusuf Serunkuma has been unrelenting in his scorching appraisal of the opposition stemming from disappointment shared by many Ugandans that the opposition is very committed to opposing itself. As the opposition can ably testify, the regime does not sit idly, letting them prosper as Museveni has ardently voiced his commitment to crush them like sumbusas.
The opposition can also testify sufficiently, elections favor long-serving incumbents. Therafaa, what is the opposition doing differently to prepare for the elections? What is the plan to counter the NRM hegemony in parliament?
Brazilian philosopher, Paulo Freire in his book, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, writes, “…the great humanistic and historical task of the oppressed is to liberate themselves and their oppressors as well.”
Freire warns the oppressed must be careful not to define themselves according to their oppressor. Change is afoot. Should the goal be ‘We are removing a dictator’ when the context that buttresses the ‘dictator’ remains entrenched? What binds us together post-Museveni? How is the opposition collectively readying itself to receive that mantle?
smugmountain@gmail.com
The writer is a tayaad muzzukulu.
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