Wine, sham and democracy

Uganda’s long-time president is certain to win — again. So why bother participating? [View this email in your browser]( January 14, 2021 [Mail & Guardian]( [Mail & Guardian]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [YouTube]( Hi there, Once upon a time, in what used to be the Buganda kingdom, there was a man who came to power and was hailed as the face of change in African politics. He was scathing of leaders who would not relinquish power. Now, after 35 years in office, he is running for president once again. “The problem of Africa in general and Uganda in particular is not the people but leaders who want to overstay in power.” These were Ugandan president Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s words in 1986. Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, his latest challenger, who goes by the stage name Bobi Wine, was four years old at the time. In the 2016 polls, his former doctor, Kizza Besigye, and former prime minister, Amama Mbabazi, chided Museveni for being the old geezer who — to use his own words — “overstayed.” At the time of writing, [as Nick Perry and Grace Matsiko elaborate]( Ugandan citizens have begun to cast their votes in a poll described as farcical. This isn’t new to Ugandans. Museveni is seeking a sixth term in office, unbound by the constitution after parliament removed presidential age and term limits. The 76-year-old has claimed every election since taking power as a rebel leader in 1986 — almost all marred by irregularities and violence. Bobi Wine will struggle to win, for many of the same reasons that Besigye failed to unseat the incumbent, despite many attempts. In Uganda, the police, the military, intelligence agencies, resident district commissioners, the Uganda Communications Commission and the Electoral Commission all work to ensure that the electoral process is a mere feature of Museveni and the governing party’s hold on power, not the basis for it. If he’s going to win, why bother campaigning so hard and [switching off the internet]( you may ask. It’s simple really: Museveni, like many liberation leaders around the world, suffers from a uniquely dangerous paranoia. When Museveni’s forces took Kampala in 1986, his new National Resistance Movement government quickly banned the party politics that he believed had fostered — as he put it in a speech in 1987 — “sectarianism, indiscipline, ideological and political opportunism”. For Museveni, his presidency is the only thing that prevents chaos. Museveni does not trust anyone else to guarantee his legacy, not even those within his own party, and does not trust elections to generate responsible leaders. As a result, he is likely to try to retain power for as long as is feasible. Unfortunately, Museveni appears to not remember what happened to his Zimbabwean counterpart in November 2017. Robert Mugabe left office a broken man, with impeachment proceedings already underway while he was under house arrest. As the saying goes, those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Until tomorrow, Kiri Rupiah & Luke Feltham [Subscribe now]( Copyright © 2021 Mail & Guardian Media LTD, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in to receive communications from the Mail & Guardian either at our website or by taking out a print subscription. Our mailing address is: Mail & Guardian Media LTD 25 Owl St BraamfonteinJohannesburg, Gauteng 2001 South Africa [Add us to your address book]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences or unsubscribe here.]( This email was sent to {EMAIL} [why did I get this?]( [unsubscribe from this list]( [update subscription preferences]( Mail & Guardian Media LTD · 25 Owl St · Braamfontein · Johannesburg, Gauteng 2001 · South Africa