Are today’s obscurantists tomorrow’s heroes?

In Summary

I think there is still a way out for Museveni to salvage what remains of his legacy. In the next five years, he should listen more to his critics and desist from using his Luwero sacrifice as a bargaining chip for more.

A month or so ago, former Forum for Democratic Change presidential candidate, Dr Kizza Besigye, celebrated his 60th birthday. Excluding his time in the Luweero jungles, a decade and a half of those years (and still counting) have been spent in the trenches and on the receiving end of brutal blows from a State run by his former Luweero mates.
At 60, Besigye, in theory, still has more than a decade in his hands to have a shot at the presidency.

Shortly after his 60th birthday, things, as they usually do, took a different turn for the Kasangati ‘birthday boy’. He was arrested in Kampala, airlifted to desolate Karamoja, slapped with treason, flown to Kampala, shipped straight to Luzira Maximum Security Prison from where he was later produced for a brief court appearance to be re-slapped with treason.
The trajectory of Besigye’s political path mirrors that of other strugglers before him; the men and women who fought against the injustices of colonialism and the excesses of post-colonial rulers in not only Uganda but also Africa. These men and women against tyranny were first ‘‘obscurantists’’ before they became heroes, and in many cases, sadly, tyrants.

In the week Besigye turned 60, NTV was airing a documentary on the heroics of Gen Salim Saleh. In the 1980s when Museveni and his band waged a rebellion against the Obote government, Obote called them bandits. In 1986, the bandits shot their way to power. Thirty years later, their grip on power is so firm that it is hurting wrists.
Gen Saleh’s older brother, President Museveni, a honcho of the 1980 ‘bandits’, likes to describe those who disagree with his monolithic vision as ‘obscurantists’.

History teaches us that the people who usually get clobbered and tossed in the back of police and military trucks, imperfect as they may be, often represent values that are more progressive than those of their tormentors. For the tormentors and their associates, it is power retention and the easy life that comes with it which matters most.
The Opposition has been calling for reforms. For example, a reform of the Electoral Commission (EC) to make it a body that is credible enough for actors in an electoral process to have faith in. The Opposition’s proposal on how this could be structurally done was rejected by government.

A lack of faith in the EC is the immediate source of Besigye’s current predicaments. A credible and independent EC is a requirement for a democracy. In fact, I am optimistic a more democratic future Uganda will have a reformed EC. In that sense, the Opposition is the future while their tormentors are the past.
President Museveni can still shape Uganda’s future but he is no longer the future. Much of his ‘‘future’’ is already behind him. But he is behaving like he just began ruling yesterday. Take as a case in point his recent swearing-in promise to mean business this time.

Four years ago, columnist Charles Onyango- Obbo wrote in The East African newspaper that ‘‘Museveni seems trapped’’ and that ‘‘he’s hanging on to power hoping, in vain, to salvage a legacy.’’ I think there is still a way out for Museveni to salvage what remains of his legacy. In the next five years, he should listen more to his critics and desist from using his Luweero sacrifice as a bargaining chip for more.
The world is in the age of technology, good governance and human rights. Dogmatically opposing these forces is to get a spot on the losing side of history and guarantee your opponents hero status.

Mr Odokonyero has interest in media development, communications & public affairs modokonyero@gmail.com

88% households have no pit latrine in Amudat district

Amudat.
A bout 98,000(88.2 percent) of the total population of 111,000 in Amudat district in Karamoja sub region in the north eastern Uganda don’t have pit latrines at their residential homes.
This was revealed by the district health inspector of Amudat Mr. Simon Elimu during the declaration of two villages as open defecation free areas in the district.
Mr. Elimu said the latrine coverage in the district is still very low with many families running to answer nature’s call in open areas.

He noted that it’s so far two villages in Karita sub county in the whole district that have accepted to dig latrines through the sensitization program supported by USAID under Resilience through wealth, agriculture and nutrition (RUWANU) project.
“It’s still a big challenge but through the support of development partners we shall achieve but so far we are better than Moroto district,” he said.
He blamed loose soil in the district as the major course making many families fear to dig pit-latrines in their homes.
“We have experienced a situation where by a man was digging a pit-latrine at his home but the soil fell and nearly buried him alive and this created fear to many families in the district, “he said.

The district LCV chairperson of Amudat Mr. Francis Kiyonga Adamson said low latrines coverage in the district was a big challenge. He promised to use forceful measure to ensure that every household will dig a pit-latrine.
He said in his five years he wants to create a change that Amudat district has been yearning for all along.
“Am going to use council to pass bylaws that will stop people from open defecation and also they must send children to School,” he said.

Five acquitted terrorism suspects charged afresh

Clockwise: Mohammad Hamid, Omar Awadhi Omar, Abubakari Batematyo, Dr Ismail Kalule and Yahaya Mbuthia. 

Five out of the 13 men who were last week acquitted for not having participated in the deadly 2010 Kampala twin bombings have been charged afresh in a Jinja Court over terrorism related offenses.
The suspects are Omar Awadhi Omar, Mohammad Hamid Suleiman alias Abu Zainab, Abubakari Batemyeto, Dr Ismail Kalule and Yahaya Suleiman Mbuthia.
According to a police statement, signed off by the Force’s spokesperson Fred Enanga, the state alleges that the five, while at Luzira Upper Prison, created documents and materials connected with preparations to facilitate, assist or engage co-conspirators to undertake terrorist acts.

Mr Enanga said their re-investigation begun immediately after the hand-written documents and related materials were recovered from them.
According to police, the suspects were asking their colleagues [outside prison] to conduct hostile reconnaissance around security facilities and other vital installations.
According to Mr Enanga, this was in preparation for violence.
The suspects were seized and fresh evidence of the new plot that connected them to the materials recovered.
Mr Enanga on Wednesday added, that the police and sister security agencies continue to maintain vigilance to be ahead of threats of terrorism.
On Thursday last week, presiding High Court Judge Alfonse Owiny-Dollo acquitted the five suspects on grounds that the prosecution had failed to squarely place link them to have participated in the Kampala bombing.

The five were instead bundled on the prisons bus and taken back to Luzira prison.
Sources privy to this case said upon reaching the prisons gate, the five were grabbed by the police and taken to unknown detention center.
The police came out to say that they were holding the five for their own safety reasons on grounds that the public could harm them if they just left them to rejoin the communities.
The same court had convicted eight of the remaining suspects with five of them being sentenced to life imprisonment, two to 50 years imprisonment and one to community service of one year.

Case for Cabinet with few, or no, politicians

In Summary

…the President would likely revert to type and appoint from the old team(s) that he has had over the length of his rule. I believe I speak for many in saying that these individuals are recycled beyond use.

Many Ugandans are waiting with bated breath for who would be appointed to the new Cabinet as we come to the business end of this electoral cycle. I am not one of them.
Going by the track record that Uganda has witnessed over the last 40 or 50 years, the chances of throwing a stone in the Cabinet Room and hitting a non-politician are next to zero. You are more likely to strike the tea lady.
President after president, reshuffle after reshuffle, has tended to throw up politicians of one hue or another. One can objectively, and categorically, expect that politicos will fill the Cabinet posts and the junior positions whose announcement is happening.

Are we wrong to expect politicians to populate the chart? Probably not, given that our democracy has the tradition of appointments emanating from Parliament or other corridors of (political) power, of which the former is made up (mostly) of elected individuals. That is the Westminster style that we inherited and still slavishly follow.
We cannot deny the fact that these, our elected representatives, are also political players critical in the equation that the President has to balance every electoral cycle or, whenever he desires to play the mid-term musical chairs.

But, as it was, still is, should it forever be? Is there not a case for a Cabinet with few or no politicians? Wags have noted, in the past few weeks, how the new crop of Members of Parliament is not ‘ministerial’ enough. I am not sure I understand what ‘ministerial’ is, but I will give them the benefit of the doubt. In any case, if he deemed that view legitimate enough to influence his choice of Cabinet support team, the President would likely revert to type and appoint from the old team(s) that he has had over the length of his rule. I believe I speak for many in saying that these individuals are recycled beyond use.
The psychology of appointing politicians is: “Where do I fit this man?”, and that of technocrats is: “Who is the best man for this job?”

Why, then, not choose from the technocratic field? After all, that would give a much wider choice (tens of thousands of technocrats, both locally-based and in the Diaspora, against a pool of a few hundred that elected and non-elected politicians would offer). Surely that can only be good for the nation and the appointing authority. The fact is that there are many competent and, equally important, patriotic Ugandans out there who have a lot to offer their country but are put off by the rough and tumble of politics. Should we lose out on what could be transformational contributions?

A few countries, notably the United States, have looked beyond the narrow prism of politics to choose what are effectively Cabinet ministers. These nations are all the better for this broadmindedness, if only because when they come into office, such individuals are given to serving with a single-mindedness, without the baggage of having to balance and please multiple political constituencies.
This is not to say that politicians are completely useless as Cabinet ministers. No. We have had a number of decent individuals who have made valuable and long-lasting contributions to the country. But these, Mr President, tend to be few and far between.

There is a big pool of technocrats out there – in Cabinet there has popped up the odd Adyebo, Suruma, Ondoa, Mulira, Kiwanuka – but they are only occasional, and political expediency has usually seen their stay being short-lived.
Some of the greatest rulers in history – think King David or Joseph of Egypt – have not been politicians. It is a principle of nature that the wider one casts his net, the richer the catch they are likely to haul in. Cast thy net.

Two killed, five injured in land dispute

Two people have been hacked to death and five others severely injured in clashes involving an escalating land dispute between the residents of Abim and Amuria Districts at the border point of Morulem sub county.
The disputed piece of land measures over 3 kilometres.
Some of the residents who by yesterday had fled from Obulin, Nyarikidi, Nyakoi and Osuruga villages in the disputed areas to Obalanga Sub County in Amuria District, told Daily Monitor that about 100 men and one woman armed with machetes from Abim side stormed their villages torching several homes and killing two people in the process.

The deceased were identified as Juvetino Eyelu, 70 and Samson Emodu, 37 while the injured were identified as Joyce Akello, Maritino Okede, Silver Emojong, James Okello and a one only identified as Epesu, all residents of Osuruga village, in the disputed former Bokora hunting.
“We are living in fear. We are being killed and our homes burnt to ashes, our property including cattle are being driven away,” said Mr Silver Emorut, one of the affected residents.
Mr Emorut further noted that after the attack, the assailants drove away his 10 animals, goats and also made off with his family motorcycle.

He said their endless attempts to call for rescue from the Abim security officials were never answered until, the RDC Amuria Joseph Osoto ordered for the deployment of a team of Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) to peruse the assailants.
Mr Robert Erisat Okitoi, LC5 Amuria said that some of the injured people were admitted with broken limbs in Amuria Health Centre IV and Soroti Hospital respectively.
“We intend to go and meet, the leaders of Abim and its security over these unending killings of our people of Amuria on the disputed land,” he said.

Mr Osoto accused the Abim Member of Parliament Michael Ayepa and other newly elected leaders in the district for fuelling tension against the Itesots settled on the disputed land.
He said the MP has on various occasions made inflammatory statements against the Itesots resettling back on their land, saying the land in question was gazzetted as Bokora hunting corridor by the colonialists but in 1958, the British gave back the land to the Itesots who lived on it until late 60s when they fled following cattle rustling by Karimojongs.
“We shall not allow people to use their positions to cause lawlessness,” Mr Osoto said.
But Mr Ayepa denied his involvement in abetting crime and killings of people on the disputed land, adding that he has on several occasions called for inter-border settlements of Itesots and Acholi Labwor.

Besigye’s appearance in court is a security threat- State

Jailed Forum for Democratic Change former presidential flag bearer Dr Kizza Besigye. File photo  

Jailed Forum for Democratic Change former presidential flag bearer Dr Kizza Besigye who was on Wednesday morning expected to reappear before the Nakawa Chief Magistrate’s Court for the second time in two weeks ever since he was charged afresh with treason offenses has not showed up.
Principal State Attorney Lino Anguzu told court presided over by Chief Magistrate James Ereemye that Besigye could not be brought to court due to security fears.
“Due to security threat they could not bring the suspect in court. It is not the first time security issues are coming up,” said Anguzu.

According to him, Besigye was transferred from Moroto to Kampala over security fears.
Mr Angunzu then asked the court to allow Besigye’s file to be mentioned from Luzira Prison where he’s incarcerated.
In response, the magistrate set June 15 when he will give his ruling on whether to mention Besigye’s case in Luzira prison or in Court.
But this was not received well by Besigye’s supporters who had flocked Nakawa court ahead of their leader’s case.
They booed the magistrate saying, “This is not a Museveni Court. It seems you have also been put in his pocket.”
They vowed not to leave until Besigye is brought to court for mention of his case.
Today’s date was set by the presiding Chief Magistrate Ereemye on May 18 when Dr Besigye made his maiden Nakawa Court appearance.

The prosecution, led by Ms Doreen Elima, told court then that they needed more time to continue carrying out investigations regarding Dr Besigye’s case file before asking for an adjournment to enable them carry on with the investigations.
At his maiden court appearance at Nakawa Court, the four-time presidential candidate was not allowed to plead to the charges on grounds that they are capital in nature only triable by the High Court. Dr Besigye could not also ask for bail since the same court does not have jurisdiction to entertain his bail application.

He was then returned to Luzira prison amid tight security.
Prosecution alleges that Dr Besigye and others at large between February 20 and May 11 in diverse places of Uganda formed an intention to compel by force or constrain the government of Uganda as by law established to change its measures or counsels as to the lawfully established methods of acceding to the office of president of the Republic of Uganda.