beaten up by the police during recent protests in Kampala.
Left: Kizza Besigye, who was
Far left: A protestor suffers at the hands of a plain-clothes policeman
than any other leader in the country’s his- tory, pre- or post-independence.” According to Oloka-Onyango, in select-
ing the title Te Correct Line?, Kobusingye goes to the heart of the many ironies and contradictions that characterise Museveni and the regime of governance that was ushered into the country during the heady early days of 1986. “What is correct about militarism, or
in certain spaces: hidden from the public view, couched in obscure language, or where blame is ultimately placed elsewhere than it belongs.”
lidity of the fundamental change as ex- pressed in the ten-point programme, we are faced with the indisputable fact that there has been a departure, and maybe even a complete reversal,” she argues. According to Kobusingye, “Tere have been varied responses to the realisation that what the NRM regime preached was radically different from what it practised. And the difference was not simply a re- sult of an ambitious government biting off much more than it could chew; it was not a difference between good intentions and the size of the available resource envelope. Quite often it was the result of greed and self-aggrandisement by those in leader- ship, at the expense of the millions who are forced to pay taxes they can ill afford…”
Saying one thing, doing another In Sowing the Mustard Seed and What Is Africa’s Problem?, and in many other writ- ings, Museveni provided a basis for hope and for the belief that peace and stability were not only possible, they had come. Kobusingye notes that “the expectations of many Ugandans of my generation were
based on these writings. In many ways they provided a guiding light to direct our steps. In the late eighties Ugandans threw them- selves into the challenging task of rebuild- ing their country with impressive zeal and goodwill. Many young people who would have fled the country for greener pastures decided to stay. We were going to be the generation that turned things around; we were going to make a difference. But if we were moving along a straight line, a correct line so to say, why is the landscape begin- ning to look frighteningly similar to that of decades gone by?” Writing in the foreword to Kobusingye’s
book, Prof. J. Oloka-Onyango, who teaches law at Makerere University in Kampala notes: “Few studies of contemporary Ugan- dan political history are complete without understanding the persona of the incum- bent President Yoweri Museveni… In this book, Museveni the political actor is given a second look; it is an analysis that takes us beyond the many accolades he has garnered over the last 25 years, and it exposes the numerous limitations behind the political animal who has ruled Uganda for longer
“Criticism of the ‘correct line’ is only tolerable
about the increasing descent of what was once a popular leadership into personal rule? What is correct about the prevailing corruption, nepotism, and electoral ger- rymandering, all of which were ailments that forced Museveni to take up arms in 1980 – and which he so stridently criticised when he assumed power? “…Criticism of the correct line is only
tolerable in certain spaces: hidden from the public view, couched in obscure lan- guage, and where the blame is ultimate- ly placed elsewhere than where it really belongs. Were he to look in the mirror today, Museveni would see only a slight- ly modified version of Uganda as it was in 1980,” Prof. Oloka-Onyango adds. He says the book is the story of so many Ugandans who have lived through the same period; it is a story of renewed hope dashed by growing disbelief and crowned by sear- ing betrayal. “…Te Correct Line? exposes the soft
underbelly of the Museveni regime in a manner that no journalist or academic account has done. And there lies the rub: while the Museveni regime has profoundly transformed the economy and political discourse in the country, it has done so in a deeply Machiavellian fashion. Hence, the Museveni government has incarcer- ated more journalists than those detained in all of Uganda’s previous regimes; it has overseen numerous deaths in custody and has established an elaborate system of ille- gal and punitive detention – without trial through the so-called safe houses…” Prof. Oloka-Onyango observes.
New African June 2011 | 97
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