Free political space won’t cause turmoil
Jul 25, 2005
As the referendum date draws closer, there are some people who would want to vote for the opening up of political space, but are still skeptical about the return to parties in view of our political history.
Moses Byaruhanga
As the referendum date draws closer, there are some people who would want to vote for the opening up of political space, but are still skeptical about the return to parties in view of our political history.
I have noticed this as I addressed different groups on why we should open up, the recent one being the National Youth Council last Sunday.
Some of the questions being asked are: Since for the last 19 years Ugandans have been fed on a menu that parties were bad, what has happened to the Movement leadership to recommend freeing of political parties now?
Others ask that, since Uganda went through turmoil under parties, will opening political space not take us back to that bad history? The other concern I have come across is that under the Movement system, interest groups, which were formally marginalised under multipartyism, that is, the youth, women, people with disabilities, workers, have been brought in the limelight through special representation in Parliament, local government councils and youth and women councils, thus being part of the decision-making process, will this special representation continue when we open up? These are genuine concerns, which I feel duty-bound to explain here to alley fears.
On of the Movement having said parties were responsible for the turmoil that Uganda went through, it is true the turmoil this country went through was as a result of the sectarian foundation of the old parties; the UPC, DP and KY.
When Christianity was introduced here in 1877 for the Protestants and 1879 for the Catholics, within 15 years, by 1891/2, there were religious wars between the Catholics at Rubaga and the Protestants at Namirembe. Each of the two Christian faiths wanted Uganda to be under the “influence†of their mother countries. The Catholics were from France while the Protestants were from Britain.
Eventually, with the help of Capt. Lugard, the Protestant forces defeated the Catholics and the Protestant Church was regarded as a state religion. Buganda, which had 20 counties, was divided, with the Catholics taking eight counties, Protestants 10 and Muslims two. When the two churches introduced education, they did so on a sectarian basis. No Protestant could go to a Catholic-founded school and vice versa.
Since the Muslims were more in trade and did not start Muslim schools, many of them did not attend school in the early days because they could not go to either the Catholic or the Protestant schools. Since Protestantism was taken as a state religion, most of the jobs in the public service like chiefs were a preserve of Protestants. The fact that people went to schools based on their faith made it worse as there was no integration between the followers of the different faiths.
In 1955, after the Kabaka had come back from exile in Britain, there were elections of the Katikkiro in the Lukiiko. Stanislus Mugwanya, a Catholic had stood with two Protestants, Kintu and Nsibirwa. Fearing a Catholic was likely to win, Nsibirwa was asked to step down and as a result, Kintu won with four votes. In the following year, Mugwanya, feeling he was being denied leadership on account of his religion and since most of the chiefs were Protestant; Mugwanya founded DP, as a Catholic resistance against Protestant domination. The other parties that were founded later, UPC in 1958 and Kabaka Yekka around 1960 had a Protestant foundation. KY was not only Protestant but also a Baganda party.
This is the brief account of the political history of Uganda, which exposes the old parties’ sectarian foundation. Will Uganda go back to this past when we open up political space? The answer in a big no. The Movement has healed the wounds of sectarianism based on religion and tribe. You can no longer have a party based on religion or tribe like KY was and with the promotion of the private sector, such things as jobs being offered on the basis of ones’ religion are no more. This has been occasioned by the unity brought about through the local councils in the villages. People are now demanding development based on their needs as society irrespective of their faiths.
So, the political quarantine the Movement subjected the parties to, has worked. In the last 19 years, Ugandans have been immunised against sectarian parties and those who were affected by this disease have already been cured by joining the Movement. It is now time to lift the quarantine.
The parties that were based on religion are withering away, with DP winning a few seats around Kampala. The same is happening with UPC, which has become a regional party. Those fearing that opening political space will bring back the political turmoil of the past should rest assured this cannot happen again.
Besides, the people cannot allow the old parties to win power and misuse the same way UPC did in early 1980s. NRM will be a mass organisation like ANC in South Africa and CCM in Tanzania. As a mass organisation, it will dominate the politics of Uganda for a long time and continue with the stability it has created even after opening the political space.
What will happen to the representation of special interest groups after opening political space? They will still be represented at all levels of decision-making as has been.
The difference is that representatives of special interest groups will be elected on the party basis with each part offering a candidate and the electorate choosing from the various candidates offered.
The writer is special presidential assistant on political affairs and head directorate of mobilisation
As the referendum date draws closer, there are some people who would want to vote for the opening up of political space, but are still skeptical about the return to parties in view of our political history.
I have noticed this as I addressed different groups on why we should open up, the recent one being the National Youth Council last Sunday.
Some of the questions being asked are: Since for the last 19 years Ugandans have been fed on a menu that parties were bad, what has happened to the Movement leadership to recommend freeing of political parties now?
Others ask that, since Uganda went through turmoil under parties, will opening political space not take us back to that bad history? The other concern I have come across is that under the Movement system, interest groups, which were formally marginalised under multipartyism, that is, the youth, women, people with disabilities, workers, have been brought in the limelight through special representation in Parliament, local government councils and youth and women councils, thus being part of the decision-making process, will this special representation continue when we open up? These are genuine concerns, which I feel duty-bound to explain here to alley fears.
On of the Movement having said parties were responsible for the turmoil that Uganda went through, it is true the turmoil this country went through was as a result of the sectarian foundation of the old parties; the UPC, DP and KY.
When Christianity was introduced here in 1877 for the Protestants and 1879 for the Catholics, within 15 years, by 1891/2, there were religious wars between the Catholics at Rubaga and the Protestants at Namirembe. Each of the two Christian faiths wanted Uganda to be under the “influence†of their mother countries. The Catholics were from France while the Protestants were from Britain.
Eventually, with the help of Capt. Lugard, the Protestant forces defeated the Catholics and the Protestant Church was regarded as a state religion. Buganda, which had 20 counties, was divided, with the Catholics taking eight counties, Protestants 10 and Muslims two. When the two churches introduced education, they did so on a sectarian basis. No Protestant could go to a Catholic-founded school and vice versa.
Since the Muslims were more in trade and did not start Muslim schools, many of them did not attend school in the early days because they could not go to either the Catholic or the Protestant schools. Since Protestantism was taken as a state religion, most of the jobs in the public service like chiefs were a preserve of Protestants. The fact that people went to schools based on their faith made it worse as there was no integration between the followers of the different faiths.
In 1955, after the Kabaka had come back from exile in Britain, there were elections of the Katikkiro in the Lukiiko. Stanislus Mugwanya, a Catholic had stood with two Protestants, Kintu and Nsibirwa. Fearing a Catholic was likely to win, Nsibirwa was asked to step down and as a result, Kintu won with four votes. In the following year, Mugwanya, feeling he was being denied leadership on account of his religion and since most of the chiefs were Protestant; Mugwanya founded DP, as a Catholic resistance against Protestant domination. The other parties that were founded later, UPC in 1958 and Kabaka Yekka around 1960 had a Protestant foundation. KY was not only Protestant but also a Baganda party.
This is the brief account of the political history of Uganda, which exposes the old parties’ sectarian foundation. Will Uganda go back to this past when we open up political space? The answer in a big no. The Movement has healed the wounds of sectarianism based on religion and tribe. You can no longer have a party based on religion or tribe like KY was and with the promotion of the private sector, such things as jobs being offered on the basis of ones’ religion are no more. This has been occasioned by the unity brought about through the local councils in the villages. People are now demanding development based on their needs as society irrespective of their faiths.
So, the political quarantine the Movement subjected the parties to, has worked. In the last 19 years, Ugandans have been immunised against sectarian parties and those who were affected by this disease have already been cured by joining the Movement. It is now time to lift the quarantine.
The parties that were based on religion are withering away, with DP winning a few seats around Kampala. The same is happening with UPC, which has become a regional party. Those fearing that opening political space will bring back the political turmoil of the past should rest assured this cannot happen again.
Besides, the people cannot allow the old parties to win power and misuse the same way UPC did in early 1980s. NRM will be a mass organisation like ANC in South Africa and CCM in Tanzania. As a mass organisation, it will dominate the politics of Uganda for a long time and continue with the stability it has created even after opening the political space.
What will happen to the representation of special interest groups after opening political space? They will still be represented at all levels of decision-making as has been.
The difference is that representatives of special interest groups will be elected on the party basis with each part offering a candidate and the electorate choosing from the various candidates offered.
The writer is special presidential assistant on political affairs and head directorate of mobilisation