Kayunga crisis: Too much freedom killed Rome
Sep 14, 2009
THE recent mayhem and bloodshed over the Kabaka of Buganda’s visit to Kayunga should serve to bring into debate just how much freedom is necessary for a heterogeneous society to stay stable and secure.
KAROORO OKURUT
A literary and socio-political analyst
THE recent mayhem and bloodshed over the Kabaka of Buganda’s visit to Kayunga should serve to bring into debate just how much freedom is necessary for a heterogeneous society to stay stable and secure.
On the second day of the mayhem — Friday— I personally witnessed a woman being undressed and almost raped by hooligans at Bweyogerere trading centre — right by the roadside and in full view of everyone. There was no attempt to hide behind some house or in some bush. It was right by the Kampala-Jinja highway! By-standers, mostly hooligans, stood by cheering, while passers-by were too scared to intervene in an atmosphere of chaos and trauma that had engulfed the area.
I quickly reached for my mobile to call some security officers I know but luckily, two armed cops were attracted by the noise and decided to check it out. And just in time too because by that point the poor woman’s panties had been stripped off and she was on the verge of being gang raped.
A fuel station in Bwaise — one of the busiest and most congested suburbs and trading centres — was almost set on fire. In a place and a city where there are so many fuel stations close to each other, that is tantamount to launching a mass terror attack.
Several police stations were attacked, although it was one that was overrun by thugs — Nateete Police Post. The place was burnt down, 27 vehicles set ablaze, guns stolen, suspects in police custody were released and all case files burnt.
Elsewhere in the city a cop was stripped of his gun and promptly shot and he was left to die in a pool of blood, with his knee shattered. It will be a miracle if the leg is not amputated.
A fresh Police cadet was short dead without any provocation. In fact, far from claims that the Police was brutal, truth be told, it was the cops that were brutalised, trying to keep law and order among people who had made up their mind to disrupt it completely. The pattern of violence and criminality points to a well premeditated action by the rioters. Which justifies bringing in of other security services to support the Police.
Then there were thugs who targeted non-Baganda, dragging them out of their cars and beating them. The tribal chauvinists reminding us of a possible genocide. Are people bored with stability? I recall sometime back the late President of Tanzania, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere posing that question to Ugandans.
All this served to remind us of the post-election bloodbath in Kenya. All this chaos that overran Kampala need not have been because the President has time and again shown that he is a man of dialogue, something which has been the hallmark of his government for close to 24 years now. As it turns out, for two whole years the President of Uganda had been trying in vain to get in touch with the Kabaka of Buganda to hammer out a negotiated agreement to the outstanding issues. And for two years, the Kabaka had rejected the President’s calls!
Everyone knows that it is President Museveni who restored traditional or cultural institutions and their respective leaders — institutions that had been abolished by the very people who are now trying to portray themselves as firm friends of Buganda.
In the past fortnight, it has come to light that the President had to plead with his colleagues in the Army High Command, Army Council and NRC to restore these cultural institutions and leaders. It is, therefore, not right and fitting that these same people that the President fought so hard to restore to where they so much wanted to be, are the very ones stabbing him in the back.
The Kiganda proverb: “the one whose foot you heal uses the same foot to kick you†was, therefore, appropriately invoked by the President when he talked of how much he had done to restore Buganda to where it is, and the kind of ingratitude Mengo had shown him. “Ingratitude is as keen as a tooth.â€
Many of the serving army officers — including some generals — belonged to armies that battled the then National Resistance Army. Many government officers today are ex-rebels who were shown magnanimity by the Museveni administration. By all means, the NRM style of governance has been one of inclusion and consensus rather than exclusion.
The failure of Mengo to come to the negotiating table should be considered one of the cardinal reasons for this fracas.
The stories of this unfortunate showdown are endless, but there are many lessons that one could draw from.
First, there is the double positive that Mengo finally called off the Kayunga visit and hold talks with Government.
The second lesson is rather less savoury. Clearly, Uganda is suffering and bleeding from its own success, notably too much freedom.
The liberalisation of the airwaves by this government was done in good faith, with both politics and economics in mind. Politically the argument was that the vibrant and free media is one of the strongest guarantors of democracy and good governance.
Citizens should be able to speak their minds as freely as they can and hold their leaders accountable. Significantly too, it drives change in the society as people get transformed through receipt of various ideas that shape their way of thinking and make them adjust to patterns that foster wealth creation.
Unfortunately, too many people have chosen to abuse this freedom and you hear all kinds of stuff on the airwaves that break every rule in the book: defamation, sedition, treason, incitement of violence, promoting sectarianism, name it. The Government has, without doubt, played soft for too long, leaving many of these elements — to run riot.
The statements and sentiments that graced our airwaves from some corners in the run up to the Kayunga crisis remind us of the notorious Radio Mille Colline that orchestrated the Rwanda genocide, 15 years ago. Personally, I heard statements on CBS calling all the Baganda to come with whatever weapon they had to defend Buganda from attacks by aliens (abagwira)! Cry the beloved country!
Uganda is suffering from the proverbial too much freedom that killed Rome and as a nation it is time to protect us from our very selves. We have come so far in the past two decades that it does not make sense for us to allow a few wayward fellows to reverse the gains made.
A literary and socio-political analyst
THE recent mayhem and bloodshed over the Kabaka of Buganda’s visit to Kayunga should serve to bring into debate just how much freedom is necessary for a heterogeneous society to stay stable and secure.
On the second day of the mayhem — Friday— I personally witnessed a woman being undressed and almost raped by hooligans at Bweyogerere trading centre — right by the roadside and in full view of everyone. There was no attempt to hide behind some house or in some bush. It was right by the Kampala-Jinja highway! By-standers, mostly hooligans, stood by cheering, while passers-by were too scared to intervene in an atmosphere of chaos and trauma that had engulfed the area.
I quickly reached for my mobile to call some security officers I know but luckily, two armed cops were attracted by the noise and decided to check it out. And just in time too because by that point the poor woman’s panties had been stripped off and she was on the verge of being gang raped.
A fuel station in Bwaise — one of the busiest and most congested suburbs and trading centres — was almost set on fire. In a place and a city where there are so many fuel stations close to each other, that is tantamount to launching a mass terror attack.
Several police stations were attacked, although it was one that was overrun by thugs — Nateete Police Post. The place was burnt down, 27 vehicles set ablaze, guns stolen, suspects in police custody were released and all case files burnt.
Elsewhere in the city a cop was stripped of his gun and promptly shot and he was left to die in a pool of blood, with his knee shattered. It will be a miracle if the leg is not amputated.
A fresh Police cadet was short dead without any provocation. In fact, far from claims that the Police was brutal, truth be told, it was the cops that were brutalised, trying to keep law and order among people who had made up their mind to disrupt it completely. The pattern of violence and criminality points to a well premeditated action by the rioters. Which justifies bringing in of other security services to support the Police.
Then there were thugs who targeted non-Baganda, dragging them out of their cars and beating them. The tribal chauvinists reminding us of a possible genocide. Are people bored with stability? I recall sometime back the late President of Tanzania, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere posing that question to Ugandans.
All this served to remind us of the post-election bloodbath in Kenya. All this chaos that overran Kampala need not have been because the President has time and again shown that he is a man of dialogue, something which has been the hallmark of his government for close to 24 years now. As it turns out, for two whole years the President of Uganda had been trying in vain to get in touch with the Kabaka of Buganda to hammer out a negotiated agreement to the outstanding issues. And for two years, the Kabaka had rejected the President’s calls!
Everyone knows that it is President Museveni who restored traditional or cultural institutions and their respective leaders — institutions that had been abolished by the very people who are now trying to portray themselves as firm friends of Buganda.
In the past fortnight, it has come to light that the President had to plead with his colleagues in the Army High Command, Army Council and NRC to restore these cultural institutions and leaders. It is, therefore, not right and fitting that these same people that the President fought so hard to restore to where they so much wanted to be, are the very ones stabbing him in the back.
The Kiganda proverb: “the one whose foot you heal uses the same foot to kick you†was, therefore, appropriately invoked by the President when he talked of how much he had done to restore Buganda to where it is, and the kind of ingratitude Mengo had shown him. “Ingratitude is as keen as a tooth.â€
Many of the serving army officers — including some generals — belonged to armies that battled the then National Resistance Army. Many government officers today are ex-rebels who were shown magnanimity by the Museveni administration. By all means, the NRM style of governance has been one of inclusion and consensus rather than exclusion.
The failure of Mengo to come to the negotiating table should be considered one of the cardinal reasons for this fracas.
The stories of this unfortunate showdown are endless, but there are many lessons that one could draw from.
First, there is the double positive that Mengo finally called off the Kayunga visit and hold talks with Government.
The second lesson is rather less savoury. Clearly, Uganda is suffering and bleeding from its own success, notably too much freedom.
The liberalisation of the airwaves by this government was done in good faith, with both politics and economics in mind. Politically the argument was that the vibrant and free media is one of the strongest guarantors of democracy and good governance.
Citizens should be able to speak their minds as freely as they can and hold their leaders accountable. Significantly too, it drives change in the society as people get transformed through receipt of various ideas that shape their way of thinking and make them adjust to patterns that foster wealth creation.
Unfortunately, too many people have chosen to abuse this freedom and you hear all kinds of stuff on the airwaves that break every rule in the book: defamation, sedition, treason, incitement of violence, promoting sectarianism, name it. The Government has, without doubt, played soft for too long, leaving many of these elements — to run riot.
The statements and sentiments that graced our airwaves from some corners in the run up to the Kayunga crisis remind us of the notorious Radio Mille Colline that orchestrated the Rwanda genocide, 15 years ago. Personally, I heard statements on CBS calling all the Baganda to come with whatever weapon they had to defend Buganda from attacks by aliens (abagwira)! Cry the beloved country!
Uganda is suffering from the proverbial too much freedom that killed Rome and as a nation it is time to protect us from our very selves. We have come so far in the past two decades that it does not make sense for us to allow a few wayward fellows to reverse the gains made.