Books Uganda


pen by the state engaging in similar acts of lawlessness as those that characterised the former regimes?” Although in his earlier days Museveni re-


peatedly proclaimed that governance issues were at the core of a stable and prosperous society, he seemed to have changed his mind somewhere along the way. In 2005 when the dust settled on the debate on constitutional amendments, the most contested of which was lifting the term limits to allow him to run for office indefinitely, Museveni told journalists that they were wasting their time discussing such “petty” issues. “Far from being small or petty, however,


many political commentators think that the term limits constitutional amendment was one of Museveni’s low moments, and that the fact that Uganda could not change leadership at that point set the country on a precipitous slope likely to lead to an en- trenched dictatorship and possible armed conflict in the future,” Kobusingye warns. Te lifting of presidential term limits


became a major project for the Executive. Ministers who did not support it were sum- marily dropped from the cabinet. MPs were


96 | June 2011 New African


alleged to have been given a $2,500 induce- ment each to vote in support of lifting the term limits. Museveni said one of the key reasons for


staying in power beyond two elective terms in 2005 was the need to professionalise the army. While testifying before a commission of enquiry on accusations that he had been involved in the creation of “ghost soldiers”, the late army commander, Major-General James Kazini revealed that the army was rather thin on systems and relied heavily on the goodwill of the president. According to another former army com-


mander and now opposition leader, retired Major-General Mugisha Muntu: “To say that one of the reasons was to professionalise the army – that was merely to gain votes, to make people believe that there was a task still to be done. But he did not do anything about it – I don’t think there was ever a serious intention to do that.” Which leaves Kobusingye to observe in


her book: “Te behaviour of the armed forc- es, particularly during election campaigns, went against what Museveni had promised and what the people had come to expect as


part of the fundamental change… It ap- peared that the brutal regimes of Obote and Amin had unwittingly provided insulation to future governments against accusations of human rights abuses. Tere was always a worse regime to point to.” She adds: “Te army’s positioning and


behaviour became most evident at those times when Museveni’s hold on power was most under threat – in the lead-up to and during elections. While the military might attack prominent targets such as opposition politicians, they also quite often worked on vulnerable and little-known opposition supporters in the villages…. “Some people believe that back in 1986


Uganda was on the right path and that at some point we started to wander off it. Others think we never were on the right path and that it was a false passage from the beginning. Still others would suggest that there was not just one right path; we were simply on one of a few possible right paths. “If there was a right path, a correct


line so to say, was there a definite point of departure? Or were there many small departures? If we believe the intrinsic va-


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