This weekend was an embarrassing one for the two-faced Opposition. They must be walloping in humiliation with the revelation by their chief-buyer that they sell and buy cheap in the political market, like vegetables.
The cheapness of our Opposition is a matter of interpretation. It reveals the outcome of social transformation under the three decades of NRM corrupted rule. Mr. Museveni has previously applied numerous tactics, including doling out brown envelops, but most effectively, through political appointments to extract from the midst of Opposition, their most tenacious cadres. That is how he purged life out of DP in the early 90s and sucked the living hell out of UPC recently.
Characteristically, when Museveni fails to woo opposition characters, he jails them and even capitulates some from a productive economic lifeline. The economic alienation makes this country so unequal in wealth distribution, such that corruption became the natural means to equalize. Uganda has transformed into an economy where corruption is a means of production for many. Those privileged to own opportunities to steal public resources are at the top of the food chain. Many of them ally with the regime solely to safeguard their loot, while the NRM uses their “success” stories to entice members of Opposition.
Without any competitive buyer, the monopoly holder naturally sets the market price of goods. Where the supply of “good conscience” becomes too much, the price naturally falls. It has fallen to a low point where a mere lavishing of his targets with praises such as “good or better member” of Opposition can win him such an Opposition leader, cheaply.
The confusion over who pays better is even worse among the youths who should be flashing out this absurdity. The 2016 general elections brought out the worse among the youths – the Poor NRM Youths vs the jobless brotherhoods. They oscillated between Amama Mbabazi’s camp and Museveni camp, looking for who pays higher. Politics to them is for eating; wellness of society is reflected as an aggregate of economically well off members in this money nexus.
In contextualizing Mr. Museveni’s mockery of Opposition, one needs to understand Museveni’s innate contempt for multiparty democracy and rule of law. The Opposition has demonstrated little understanding of the exploits of a Multiparty Political dispensation in that sense. Some expect Mr. Museveni to “allow” them to operate. Museveni’s mission is clear – finish the Opposition by 2021. The revelation of cheapness of Opposition therefore is a blow to opposition credibility and further to undermined multiparty politics.
On its part, the Opposition unconsciously or consciously plays to the tunes of the Piper. The Opposition obeys every draconian law; lack ongoing agenda to engage electorates until the time of elections; exhibits too much in-house treachery – betrayal and snitching that goes unpunished; lack ideological identity or policy preferences distinct from that of the ruling regime; and consistently fails to demonstrate the ability to offer an alternative government.
As such, the Opposition is confusing to the electorates and youths because the only difference between NRM and the so-called Opposition appears to be the briskness of their leaders. Opposition is not about hatred, envy, ignorance and the drive to remove a regime. It entails a systematic organizing to form an alternative government in the waiting and to produce alternative policy framework to push society forward. In that sense, the Ugandan Opposition is atypical, unconscious, and unprincipled.
Not only Opposition politicians are on sale in Uganda. The whole country is. From traditional leaders, church leaders, youth, women and worse of all, the NRM carpetbaggers. Even with their numerical strength, the NRM secretariat still buys their MPs to pass egregious laws towards the life-presidency or mortgaging Uganda. If the regime buys conscience from Opposition, it pays heftily for loyalty from within. The cheapness of the Opposition is not distinctive; rather, it is a continuum of Museveni’s corrupted rule.
Mr. Komakech is a Ugandan political analyst based in Canada. Can contact via mordust_26@yahoo.ca
2 Comments
Well crafted piece as usual, sir.
But let us remember, “paneyo” or you mother’s father’s home,in Acholi tradition, is the sweetest. Nera nyoma dako, Nera neka gweno, Nera we nera we nera, etc. Same in the European-Western culture where grandmas spoils their grand kids with gifts etc (sleep a little late so as to watch your favorite TV program dear, etc).
We hear of some “good” DPs. Our poor Mao is being “culpritted”, but some of it is of his own making. Although blessed by his upbringing from mixed parentage of an Acholi father and a Munyankole / Munyarwanda or Mukiga mother (you never know with them, they have a history – mpororo kingdom etc), Mao fails to play it straight. Yoo aryo oroco lalur!!
[1] What true hot-blooded Acholi man would kneel in front of His Highness the Kabaka with “Wang Kaci” or Wang Kach (luo) in the background and fail to perceive of who the joke is on. It is unmanly for the Acholi man, who does not prescribe to “sabasajjaism” (forgive spelling or should I have Acholinized to ‘chabachaja”, husband of men (Baganda) concept of His Highness. “Choo yang kibongo mane ku”. Baganda DP hotbed were suckered!!
[2]In Acholi, one must try to explain why Mao chose to fly back to become Gulu LCV. Could it have been the allure of the low hanging millions-fruits in War Reparations moneys etc (which many have yet to get – censuses have been taken of stolen cattle etc and the owners have died or are dying before receiving their compensations). OR was it to save the troubled Acholiland from the ravages of “Kony”? OR was it report in Runyakole / Rukiga back to to the Pay Master general in “his masters voice /language”?.
[3]Why was Mao so fast in knocking down IDP camps. Was he doing the “mother-bird” act of kicking out the baby birds from the nest in order to force the baby birds to learn to fly (stop depending on WFP hand-outs) OR was it in order to ERASE / TAMPER with evidence of War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity (to save uncle’s neck)? The former IDP dwellers are difficult to trace with time, since they were not first documented (“ID-ed”), photographed and or finger-printed before being kicked out without any supplies to start out with in their burned-out former homes (no hoes, blankets,seeds, kado, rations, nothing. Yet he is supposed to be very organised – why was it not phased? .These former “IDP-ers” will lose their entitlement for future compensations – ghost payouts are inevitable.
The Bagandas were initially suckered in, the Acholi, too were not hip to the tricks. Uncles, the “Paneyo” are so please with this “muno mulungi” / good boy or whatever they say in Runyakole /Rukiga- ask Rwomushana.
“Aora (kulu ora in acholi) morwenyo chakne (kulu tere in acholi) biro two”!! Kijaluo proverb meaning:
” A River that forgets its source will soon dry up”. Mao remember.