Besigye is suffering from presidentialmania

By Charles Okecha

For some time I pondered the psychiatric status of the former FDC presidential owing to his many rants in rallies and interaction with the media. I finally came to a logical conclusion when I watched him.

On NBS TV after being whisked away from Entebbe airport which he imagines functions like Kisekka Market he is prone to visiting. His boastful narration of the ordeal of being escorted to Kasangati using police sirens as being VIP exposes his state of sanity.

Don't forget the sirens were used to transport him to his Intensive Care Unit at Kasangati! My fear is that the highly contagious and infectious presidentmania is prevalent in his supporters who need evacuation especially those with advanced stages like Pastor Ngabo who are potential agents of infection and transmission. Let's examine the visible symptoms.

The First is his claims that he is better than Museveni who persuaded him to leave Nairobi to join the liberation struggle and live in the bush. Who is greater than the other, the teacher or the disciple who can never be greater than his teacher? How many guns or recruits did he take with him to Luwero in the first place? People have more power than the gun because Museveni used people to get guns from UNLA.

Unlike others like Angola's Jonas Savimbi who traded for weapons with minerals and used mercenaries, he commanded the first attack on Kabamba in person. In a similar fashion Dr. Kizza Besigye should now use less than the 27 fighters that Museveni used by applying one unit of Power-10 to prove his cowardly worth.

Secondly, Dr. Besigye has never ceased to apply the lowest level of knowledge which is assumption to advance his claims that he has won every election since 2001 but just rigged out of the State House. He has never dared to register his supporters not even in his home district of Rukungiri to avoid disappointments but relies on random sampling at political rallies where he uses comedy and demagogy to attract idlers and onlookers. If his own people in western Uganda do not see his value, why should the Karamojong whom Janet Museveni served for years? Moreover this time he moved all alone his witty spouse Winnie Byanyima watching from the diaspora to avoid the inevitable.

Thirdly, Dr. Besigye has expressed the worst form OF corruption because he failed to account for the money donated to him by the poor at his rallies. Nobody knows his total collections per district, the breakdown of the expenditures and the outstanding debts. Party faithful would continue remit funds to cover all expenses but instead he chose to rush to Europe and America because FDC is too weary to believe this ever-loser candidate. Except for those with acute cases of presidentmania who still assemble at the Kasangati residence, the others are now normal and carrying on with business as usual.

Fourthly once doctor always doctor and once teacher always teacher.

These professions and abilities just flow by instinct and if Besigye really cares for the sick, he would be seen treating those in his own community who fail to find treatment in government healthcare facilities. At least to provide palliative care like how to avoid diseases because treatment is not always about injections and drugs.

He is thus unaccountable to the people of Uganda who funded his education and professional training. Indeed in the first place he has never explained why he forsook them to work in Kenya and would have remained there hitherto if it were not President Museveni who gave him lessons on patriotism. Unfortunately he dropped out of  political school and claims he graduated to become successor and president thus presidentmania.

Not to worsen his pathetic condition I beg the people of Uganda to learn from this beautiful Lugwere proverb: "Obanga otaka okigyira kimu embwa girwana, otolawo eyigumba". Meaning if you want to reconcile two fighting dogs take away the bone.

Take away the uncalled for crowds and cult-leader status you accord to Besigye which worsens Presidentmania.

For God and my country.

 The writer is a teacher at St. Paul's College, Mbale.