The system of rule we have in Uganda today is more appropriately called an autocracy. Obviously, the ruling classes and their supporters most strongly disagree with this characterisation.
Autocracy is a system of rule where one individual or a tiny group of people in a party wield enormous powers, doing so over a sustained period. While generally associated with personal rule embodied in a single autocrat, autocracy can also be viewed through the lens of a single-dominant party system.
Autocracy is not exactly the opposite of democracy. The latter denotes rule through the mandate of the people and where rights, freedoms, accountability and responsive governing are upheld while the former can have traits and trappings of the same.
In fact, starting from the 1990s it became a default modus operandi for autocracies to thrive through precisely the instrumental use of democratic institutions ranging from legislative and judicial activities to electoral processes and media spaces.
On his part, however, our ruler-for-life, also known as the Ssabalwanyi (Chief Fighter), Gen Yoweri Museveni strongly believes his is nothing short of a democratic system. He once told Al-Jazeera that Uganda is the most democratic country in the world! He cited the routine and regular ‘democratic’ happenings in Uganda, including general elections, in which he seeks the mandate of the people as he is presently doing.
What is more, it is not uncommon to hear analysts and different strands of the chattering classes talking about Uganda’s ‘democracy’! But as the great Russian thinker Alexander Herzen once noted, logical truth is not the same as the truth of history. And historical facts are not to be conflated with facts of history.
In 1986, Mr Museveni and his NRM guerrilla group undoubtedly had history and facts on their side. Today, the facts of history are lined up against their record, and the truth of history when written in the future will have at its centre a marked departure from the 1986 democratic promise. It has been 40 years of one-man rule, an incredible feat in a very complex country.
Except for the most committed partisans, it is hard not to see President Museveni and his NRM regime as on downward trajectory of misrule displaying clear features of an aged autocracy, not to say anything about the autocrat’s age.
Decay, dysfunction and rustiness of government is ubiquitous. The judiciary that held a decent record of independence in administering justice is today little more than an accessory for injustice and a key tool of state repression. Brutality of security agencies, primarily the police and the military, is nothing new, especially during election campaign season. But where in the past we had subtlety and sophistication in the use of repression, we now have brazen and bizarre unleashing of state violence in full view, captured on the conveyor of viral social media.At one point in the past, the president made a strong statement condemning torture of citizens and strenuously arguing that the philosophy of his NRM as a revolutionary movement is to persuade not harm political opponents. Today, the prince of power who is the absolute commander of the army can blatantly blurt out threats of physical harm to an opposition leader or, even worse, gleefully reveal that a citizen is undergoing physical torture at his behest. Not a word from Mr Museveni or any other top government official drawing the line in the sand.
Worse, in our current age of aged autocracy, one cannot help but bemoan the intellectual deterioration that is so evident. The Ugandan intelligentsia is today arguably at its most appalling, unable to summon the courage to speak out against state excesses.
The voices that for long valiantly spoke truth to power with moral clarity and offered intellectual leadership in the public square have either quietly retired or lost ground in a rapidly shifting demographic terrain.
In their place, both in social media spaces and on traditional media platforms, including in the opinion pages of this newspaper, many among today’s self-appointed apostles of public opinion flatter to deceive. They equivocate rather than directly confront the issues of the day. Some speak from both sides of the mouth, wary of running afoul of the dreaded ‘drone’ or simply keen to protect their livelihoods in an environment of abuse and uncertainty.
As I noted a few weeks ago, writing a newspaper column in this dear country was for long a straightforward matter, no looking over one’s shoulders. Not any more today.
In the political trenches, the smouldering fire of dissent and utter disapproval keeps growing; it can only continue spreading inexorably down the line.
Yet, behind an impregnable wall of self-delusion, the rulers are fully convinced about the permanency of their tenure. This is the more bewildering because, to his credit, President Museveni always takes history seriously and goes about business with a scientific mind. He would be the first to know that the course of history is often random, and the forces of social change can pummel through even the most fortified pillars of power.
moses.khisa@gmail.com
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