Demo in London unmasked opposition’s weaknesses

Sunday, 10th July, 2011	E-mail article   Print article
By Dennis Katungi  ITS Friday July 1 a mid-summer pleasant day. I am standing at Parliament Square — between Westminster Abbey and the House of Commons in London. I expect to observe demonstrators at close range. Emails and tweets had circulated from activists — all week — come to a ‘mass demo’ outside parliament. These are orchestrated by dissident and opposition groups based in London. The intention is to discredit the Government and Museveni in particular and to re-enforce the lopsided ‘failed state’ accolade recently accorded to Uganda by the Foreign Policy Magazine. Uganda? a failed state? What a wrong prognosis by a so called reputable publication. What do I see? No single soul of a demonstrator. Two previous Fridays had seen a mix of black and white miserable souls, about 15 in number, in Whitehall and Trafalgar Square — waving placards reading: ‘Stop the Uganda dictator Museveni’ Save Uganda from dictatorship’, We want free and fair elections’. Ring leader? Moses Luzinda, a self-styled chairman of Uganda United Pro-Democratic Forum [UUPDF] and two young Canadians, Hanna Conpanna and one Rantan, who refer to themselves as human rights activists. They appeal to a foreign audience because of the power dynamic of ‘donor funds’ and the well cultivated God-father figure the West exercises on the developing world. Little do they know that the critical factor is the home audience of voters. Ugandan voters gave their verdict in February 2011; 68% elected a party and a president of their choice. The Commonwealth and other observer groups sanctioned the elections as free and fair. I submit that the actions of these groups and their backers are the kicks of a dying horse. Kicks can scrape and hurt if they land, but the horse will die in the end. Opposition in and out of Uganda need to re-think their strategy and make themselves more relevant to the Ugandan voter rather than permanently pander to the donor community. Without offering an alternative and winning the voting population over to their side, they will remain in the wilderness permanently. Development partners may be important but they are not determinant of destiny. Save for the unsavoury interventions we see in Libya and other places, they have limited remit as far as the domestic body politic functions and that is critical for the opposition to understand. Most enlightened commentators in the West are well aware that Uganda is not a failed state. This came through clearly in a discussion this Sunday July 4, a hosted by Oxford Educated Henry Bonsu. He presents the flagship current affairs programme on Sky –vox- Africa TV. I had been invited together with Dr Nicola Rolloc of the Institute of Education at University of London to discuss the British Broadsheet headlines of the weekend. The Independent newspaper led with: ‘Starvation returns to the Horn of Africa-Drought and war threaten millions with famine, as the refugee camps in Kenya overflow’— Daily Mail on Friday warned that majority of jobs created in Britain could go to immigrants’ what I see as the usual rhetoric by the Tory right wing about immigration. The Observer screamed: ‘Minister warns David Cameron of rise in homeless families due to benefit cuts’. There had been a strike on Thursday 30, by public sector workers fighting for their future pensions. Henry inquired how I sketched these headlines with tongue in cheek. He also wanted to know my take on Uganda’s new accolade as a failed state. I told his audience that the strike and demo in London last week was by far more virulent than recent ones in Kampala. I noted the Daily Monitor lead story earlier in the week ‘Museveni (fake) birthday party flops’. The difference between demos in Kampala and those in London is about civility and policing. In the UK, as in Uganda, demonstrators are obliged to notify police before embarking on any public assembly or movement. Those in the UK follow suit and the Police is at hand to guide them. In Kampala, demonstrators, mainly politically motivated, are rougish! They play hide and seek with the Police and intend to cause chaos and mayhem within the central business area hence the sometimes high handed Police intervention. Policing ends up reported as ‘keeping law and order in the UK, but in Uganda it is reported as — Police brutality and repression’. I asked if it made sense for a country like Uganda whose troops are playing a vital role in stabilising Somalia, to be lumped up with the same label of failed state as Somalia. Using what criteria? It beggars belief. Who makes these subjective judgements? Analysts in lofty skyscrapers in New York and London whose credentials are mainly academic! They are Harvard, Yale and Oxford educated and that’s it. God have mercy! Space allowing, I will soon be writing about what is happening in the UK detention centres such as Yarlswood. This is where people are detained before deportation. Its tantamount to human rights abuse!  Writer is with the NRM London Bureau