Between violence and money (Part II)

How NRM’s level of organization has made it impossible for the Opposition to mobilize the masses against Museveni

 

Sections of the opposition in Uganda have been arguing that it is through violence that President Yoweri Museveni has been able to sustain his political power. While this may have been the case for the first decade, it has become increasingly counterproductive for the President to use violence as an instrument of rule.

Between violence and money

How Museveni has shifted from reliance on military force to coerce political support to the use of money to rent it

My article, “What keeps Museveni in power” (The Independent April 12-18), attracted the most intense debate on our website. Apparently, most critics of President Yoweri Museveni place disproportionate importance on the contribution of violence to his ability to hold power.

Rwanda’s international bond debut

Why African countries should follow the example of Rwanda, Ghana and Zambia by moving from foreign aid to bond markets

Last week, the government of Rwanda issued an international 10-year bond to raise $400 million for infrastructure development. Within two days, the bond had been oversubscribed as investors placed orders worth $ 3 billion for a piece of this pie. Given that Rwanda’s GDP is just $6.4 billion, this is a great show of confidence by self interested investors. It was also a slap in the face of the self-righteous merchants of charity who have recently shown low confidence in the country.

Western impressions, African perceptions

How our admiration of Western systems has more do with how it perceives itself than the reality of its being

I still cannot explain what got into my head recently to re-read William Shirer’s, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, a 1,200 pages tour de force. I had first read the book in 1999. It left a lasting impression on me for the details on the Third Reich and the elegance of its prose.

NRM and its rebel MPs

How party’s tolerance of rebel MPs was typical of its tolerance of other ills and a danger to democracy

 

Finally, the NRM decided to expel it’s so called “rebel MPs”. Many critics of President Yoweri Museveni and the NRM have denounced this decision. The MPs themselves are challenging it in a constitutional court. Yet most of this criticism is out of ignorance or opportunism. 

These MPs were violating the Loi fondamentale of party politics. In most multi-party democracies, they would have suffered a similar fate.

What keeps Museveni in power

How the President’s success in retaining power rotates around his obsessive focus on all threats to it.

 

A friend recently sent me a text message saying: “Man, what’s up with the Mbuya and Bombo attacks and an attempt on Kale. Ankunda’s answers in the Observer and Tinye’s incoherence don’t inspire confidence. I hope I am very, very wrong.” 

Freedom by foreign diktat

Why Western attempts, genuine though they may be, to promote democracy in poor countries is anti-democratic

As I write this article, a debate is raging in America on gun ownership – indeed it has been raging for generations. Every other day, there is carnage in America. Some crazy person grabs a gun and goes on a shooting and killing rampage – in a school, kindergarten, train station, shopping mall or church. 

Tens die, many more are injured. Americans have been debating how to stop this incessant carnage in view of the second constitutional amendment that gives that nation’s citizens a right to bear arms. Opinion polls show that most Americans prefer some restrictions on the purchase of automatic weapons. Yet the country has been unable to martial a politically weighted majority for gun-reform.