Uganda’s politics is synonymous with Orwell’s Animal Farm

YOU do not necessarily have to be a literature student to understand what George Orwell’s timeless classic Animal Farm hinted about under the guise of comrades Snowball or Napoleon.

Basing on a society that cherished communist/socialist ideology, the novel brings out the truth in the adage, ‘Absolute power corrupts absolutely.’
It is a tale about politics that turns from sweet to sour making sworn comrades become bitter rivals overnight.

Let me recap a few of the touching moments in the novel that have a remarkable semblance to our politics of Uganda:

The fact that just after the overthrow of Mr. Jones all animals had been equal but much later some chosen few became more equal than others which is the cancer that eventually brings adversity in most newly created governments.

Presence of the comical maverick animal called Squealor who had an explanation for every wrong move made by the new government. This reminds us of the renown rhetoric loudmouths of today ever-ready to defend the government of the day at all costs regardless of whether their quibbling holds water or not.

The decision by the ruling pigs to sleep under the previously shunned beds belonging to the ousted Mr. Jones which if I can use the Movement government example, tallies with the recent craze for luxuries including state-of-the-art vehicles that were earlier never on the government shopping list.

Similarly, the pigs in an effort to effectively rule the animals on the farm decided to start making changes in the laws written on the wall. This is synonymous with the continuous constitutional amendments we are faced with including the contentious struggle by many African leaders to extend the presidential term limit for own selfish gains.

Although the pigs had overthrown man and considered everything about him bad, they finally decided to walk on two legs mimicking the ‘evil doer’ they had overthrown. There is widespread mimicry of past governments to talk of here like torture of government opponents in safe houses, which seems to take place regardless of the regime taking power in Uganda.

The assumption that only pigs had a vision for Animal Farm and had privileges like consuming all the milk produced so as to think well about farm (or is it national) issues. This reminds me that some Ugandan politicians have of late been feeding us on such stuff like the time has not yet come to get another president with a vision for this great country.

Well the above are just some of the surprising numerous similarities that make our local politics rhyme with George Orwell’s tale about the beasts of England and Ireland.

The writer is a freelance journalist