Dear Editor,
Ref: Regional Tier Bill: Minister’s puzzling response to Hon. Musumba
The statement made by the Minister of Ethics and Integrity, Mr. Tim Lwanga prompted this letter. Perhaps he will be kind enough to shed some light on the pertinent questions posed below that arose from his response to Hon. S. Musumba’s contribution to the Regional Tier Bill debate.
“I will not ask Hon. Musumba in which capacity she would consult the Kabaka, but I would like to inform her that he was extensively consulted.” This is how Ethics and Integrity Minister Mr. Tim Lwanga queried or challenged Hon Salaam Musumba’s ‘capacity’ read - right, to consult the Kabaka.
The above is a veiled threat, disguised as a statement: That an MP, and an elected one at that, has no (legal? or ethical? “capacity”) right to consult the Kabaka, and by implication any regional ruler outside of the MP’s own constituency confirms the colonial mentality that permeates the collective mentality of the bigwigs of the postcolonial government of Uganda.
Before colonial rule, horizontal linkages among Africans of different cultures existed in trade, political, socio-cultural and many other spheres of life. The colonial regime used psychological, military, religious and other weapons to weaken and in many cases successfully dismantle the pre-colonial horizontal links along which, diverse ethnic groups communicated and were gradually becoming united.
The vertical hierarchy imposed by the colonial rulers invariably placed the Master and his race at the apex of a very narrow ledge of the skin-color sensitive pyramid: Less dark races were placed in the broader middle section, and the darkest native African occupied the wide base of the colonial pyramid.
Just as colonial regimes marketed their divisive policies as reflecting the ‘best interests of all Ugandans’, the colonial policy of ethnic isolation, which robed the African of her/his capacity to horizontally consult fellow Africans, without going through the colonial government channels ‘listening post’, has new champions in form of the Africans who inherited the colonial mantle.
In their dogged continuation of the divide-and-rule policy, politicians controlling the central government supplanted themselves as required intermediaries in all transactions between African ethnic communities (tribes - as the colonial master loved to disparagingly refer to Africans nations and communities), despite knowing that for millennia, inter-ethnic interaction in all spheres of life had proceeded without mediation from a third party.
The clamoring for a federation of ‘East Africa’ by the black faces, which replaced the white faces of the colonial era, at the top of the pyramid, sounds hollow, when we realize that, Black rulers are faithfully clinging on to the same divisive colonial policies. By questioning the ‘capacity’ of African leaders to inter-relate, the minister’s statement demonstrates that like their colonial predecessors, these postcolonial Black masters loathe inter-ethnic interaction and cooperation at the political, and other levels within a member (of the Federation) country, such as Uganda.
Does the minister share his colonial predecessors’ sentiments regarding the interaction of fellow African at any level? If not, why is he perplexed enough to wonder as to how: an African, such as Hon. Musumba, dares to leave the minister’s government out of the loop, in her planned consultation with a fellow African and a leader of a sizable community, the Kabaka?
Some of the many questions inspired by the minister’s statement are:
Who delegates the ‘capacity’ (the right?) of leaders of different ethnic communities to consult each other on matters of mutual interest to their respective communities?
What is the procedure Ugandans must follow when applying for the ‘capacity’ (to which the minister referred) to consult compatriots?
What benefit do Ugandans derive from preserving the colonial era divide-and-rule policy, which prohibited (removed the ‘capacity’) inter-ethnic cooperation, communication and collaboration in matters that affect the socio-political, economic and other aspects of the welfare of Africans?
Does the minister believe that policies that promote inter-ethnic isolation, such as those that challenge the ‘capacity’ of Hon. Members of parliament to consult leaders from other areas accelerate or impede the process of integration and the development of a spirit of nationalism amongst Ugandans?
I hope you’ll find space in your esteemed paper to publish this letter, for I’m sure many compatriots would like to find out from the minister how they can obtain the ‘capacity’ to interact amongst themselves without earning the ire of the State Minister of Ethics and Integrity.
Sincerely,
Agnes Nampeera
Email: <agnes_nampeera@hotmail.com>
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