By John Ricardo Munyegera
People can talk of the ‘people’s president’ and indeed Dr. Col. Kizza Besigye has succumbed to the argument that he institutes his government with her headquarters in Kasangati. Either Kasangati will remain a home or totally turn into ‘State House’ remains mine and your guess. To those who have the feelings for change, that’s not enough though!
Dr. Col. Kizza Besigye on 6th April narrated that he’s planning what he called a “people’s government”. This government will be funded and run by the people. He further added that; ‘the people can run their own government. It will have 21 cabinet members. For a small efficient government to optimize the use of resources is quite necessary’. That sounds fine when you hear of the 21 cabinet ministers but again the clamoring FDC supporters; that’s not the change they want. Many think, they have to get as many posts as they can. What will happen in the future is quite conflicting than promising.
Let’s cross briefly to the politics in the land in line with what the Buganda Kingdom Prime Minister; Owek. Charles Peter Mayiga mentioned on Monday 4th April 2016, in his address to Buganda’s parliament called Lukiiko. I was not frightening, either proud or dismissal of the political statement. The moment I listened to his message; I realized that he’s basically a man of peace for Buganda and Uganda in general. He explained that; “Whoever was defeated should know that there is always a loser in every race.” The Katikkiro also applauded the Opposition for having sought justice through courts of law and not through violent means when they did not agree with the February 2016 Presidential election results. He commended the Supreme Court petition as the best to seek the best of rule of law. Finally he concluded that the government has to serve everyone the same way that MPs have to do even in those places where they did not get votes.
In a functioning good governance political system of today’s modern world; Mr. Mayiga is so right. One needs to admit defeat in order to progress in a country where democracy is still nurturing. We all know what happened with the Electoral Commission and what came out of the Supreme Court petition. Despite the fact that the petition was dismissed; there are some scores to settle. It exposed some problems were there’s need for reforms. Apart from that, everyone knows that what if the evidence wasn’t stolen from the lawyers’ offices, won’t that have another dimension of analysis? Despite all those conclusions and alienated solutions, Uganda is a constant here.
There’s a great need for the real fundamental change to happen in this country. In my opinion, Buganda Premier needs also to know that there are a number of grieving Ugandans over the concluded polls. The FDC supporters and indeed the leaders are aggrieved that they were ‘robbed’ of their 18th February ‘victory.’ Instead of telling them to keep quiet and move on; it could be better that the ruling party, NRMO should have a dialogue over this impasse. It’s impossible to have the gravity of the repercussions if at all Dr. Col. Kizza Besigye goes ahead and institute his government. Two competing governments in Uganda might lead to insurmountable problems. There’s a great need for a political understanding of both leaders on the edge of naming their cabinets. If nothing is taken to principle, then there’s an increased divide even among the citizens. If the negotiations are not worthwhile, then a government of national unity is the answer.
Way forward: Democratization and democracy must be the way forward. Democratization is the transition to a more democratic political regime. It may be the transition from an authoritarian regime to a full democracy, a transition from an authoritarian political system to a semi-democracy or transition from a semi-authoritarian political system to a democratic political system. Uganda is at the divide of an authoritarian political system to a democratic system.
Many people are in support of the NRMO system while the others are asking for the democratization of the country. Some of the authoritarian indicators are traced in the army presence in the legislative arm of the government; the militaristic operations of the Uganda police. Also, the enclosed operations of political parties with only offices in Kampala but their leaders are further clobbered, jailed and on a daily basis arrested. These are indicators of an authoritarian regime and need to change.
Secondly, ‘democracy’ is the dream for all Ugandans to harvest now and in the future. Democracy is a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives. It’s also the control of an organization or group by the majority of its members. You can also take the 1863 Abraham Lincoln’s definition as the government of the people, for the people, and by the people. Democracy works hand in hand with economic development therefore this is the best solution for Uganda.
Who benefits here? Of course Ugandans are the ones to benefit both directly and indirectly. If both Besigye and Museveni agree on the formation of government of national unity; peace and stability prevails in the country. There’s much to be observed here. The competition amongst the government institutions which might be handled by both the FDC and NRMO stalwarts generates development, easily fights corruption and bribery, seeks transparency, focuses accountability and condemns poor performance. This is what we need before succumbing to political questions.
John Ricardo Munyegera is a Graduate Student for Democratic Governance & Civil Society (M.A) at Osnabruck University in Germany. He can also be reached on +256774114510 (Uganda) and +4915210121723 (Germany)