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No-Holds-Barred
By Peter G. Mwesige |
Museveni missives: Illusion of openness
Oct 9, 2003
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BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA —According to the unwritten manual of many Ugandan journalists, you should steer clear of President Yoweri Museveni’s family and the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (his army?) if you want to stay out of trouble. So when The New Vision’s gossip about First Daughter Natasha Karugire’s trip aboard the presidential Gulf-Stream to give birth in Germany provoked a political storm that played out on the front pages of the press, it was always clear the President would fire back. The question was how? Unlike in the past when journalists could not easily prove allegations of official scandals and the like, this was a straight story that State House could not easily dismiss. It could not instruct prosecutors to bring the usual charges of “publishing false news” either. So the official line became the legality of the trip. Ugandans were reminded that the Presidential Emoluments and Benefits Statute entitles each member of the president’s immediate family to an annual holiday, be it home or abroad, at state expense. But that did not appear to have stemmed the outpouring of outrage at the revelation that Mrs Karugire had made such an expensive trip at state expense. As we have argued before, we should not confuse legality and legitimacy. The commander-in-chief had to come in himself to try and put out the fire. This he did in a lengthy statement that he sent to the press (see “I Paid for Natasha’s Bills In Germany—Museveni,” Sunday Monitor October 5, 2003). The president went to great length—and apparently pain—to explain that “the issue is about security given some of the hostile doctors we have in the medical system here.” He added that “when it comes to security of myself, my family and my country there is no (and there will never be) any compromise.” But critics (at least the reasonable ones) of State House and government excesses are not suggesting that the President should expose himself or his family to unnecessary security risks or “give an easy ‘donation’” of himself or his family to “criminal forces” as he put it. However, it also speaks volumes that after Museveni’s 17 years in power, a system that has been filled with thousands of Kyankwanzi-trained cadres still cannot afford the president’s family the security it deserves, and that they still have to live, in his own words, “the kiyekera way of ‘constant vigilance, constant mistrust, constant mobility.’” By the time I was done reading the president’s statement, I was less concerned about the holes in his arguments and more interested in the strategy that he had adopted to put away this nagging problem. Not many presidents in Africa, or anywhere in the world, write such personal statements to the press or make impromptu calls to radio talk shows as our man does occasionally. On the face of it, Museveni comes off as an angel when he decides to “fight” the media and his other “detractors” with their own weapon in a region where many leaders would (do) not hesitate to throw journalists who write dissenting reports or opinions in jail. Writing such personal statements or making impromptu calls to talk shows appears to be a populist tool that has the potential of creating the perception that “our president” listens and is responsive to our problems. But if you look back carefully at Museveni’s performance in the media, you will discern a distinct pattern, and it is far from a picture of a listener. The president writes or calls in to “teach” Ugandans, “enlighten” us, “explain” to Ugandans, or “correct distortions” by the media. Not once has he written to a newspaper or called in to a talk show to acknowledge public outcry or to concede that some of the public criticism that he has faced is justified (although he sometimes blames his political appointees and the technocrats). There is nothing wrong with a leader teaching and enlightening fellow citizens, or defending his policies, but sometimes you have to be modest and accept some of your own mistakes. Clearly, Museveni has no interest (at least he doesn’t show it) in a national conversation on the state of the country or its future. He is the mwalimu (teacher) with all the answers. Recall how he reacted when Col. Kizza Besigye published the controversial statement in which he charged that the Movement had lost track of its mission and had become corrupt and undemocratic, or more recently when ex-ministers Eriya Kategaya, Bidandi Ssali and Miria Matembe opposed Project Third Term. Moreover, just like his African counterparts, Museveni occasionally instigates the criminal prosecution of journalists over alleged false stories about the conduct of government business and affairs of state. In the last one year, his government has also got the dubious distinction of [temporarily] closing down a newspaper (The Monitor) and a radio station (Kyoga Veritas FM) over their reporting of armed rebellion in the north and eastern Uganda, and the president has defended these actions—in one case he even admitted having ordered the closure. Museveni’s “missives” in the press and appearances on talk shows may create the impression of unprecedented political openness in Uganda, but the reality on the ground shows no let-up in his contempt for public opinion. It is all an illusion, folks. Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] |
© 2003 The Monitor Publications
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