Today the National Resistance Movement (NRM) under Yoweri Museveni is marking thirty-nine years in government, and forty-four since its founding from a loose-rug-tag political outfit mostly of young men, to today’s worldwide formidable organisation. This year’s commemoration is being held in Mubende district under the theme “39 years of NRM/A; Salutations for those who re-sanctified our homeland.” Those bones lying in unmarked and unnamed graves yearn for remembrance.
The trigger to the NRM revolution, prosecuted through the five-year protracted people’s war, between 1981 and 1985, was maladministration and particularly a heavily rigged general elections of 10 December 1980 in favour of UPC under Milton Obote seeking to return to the presidency he lost in the military coup of 25 January 1971.
Uganda since Independence from the British in 1962 had been under Obote and UPC, who run down the country through reckless political maneuvering, violently toppling cultural institutions, abrogating the 1962 Constitution, imposing a One-party State, and jailing political opponents without trial until the coup. The cascading events provided Idi Amin Dada, later self-proclaimed Conqueror of the British Empire, and Life President of Uganda, with the excuse to topple and launching one of the bloodiest reigns of terror on the African continent for the next eight decades until he too was militarily forced out of power.
The advent of the NRA/M, greeted with excitement, has provided countrywide support and every benefit of the doubt for the last thirty-nine years because it promised to bring “A fundamental Change” of transformative revolution and socio-economic transformation for shared happiness in prosperity. Much has been achieved and all cannot be exhausted here. Among them have been sustained security, peace and stability which provided a strong foundation for reconstruction, and development of the politics, state, government, economy and massive infrastructural projects that have expanded goods, services and opportunities.
However, the celebrations, and NRM’s long tenure, are being overshadowed by multiple aspects of growing political indiscipline including widespread lethargy, corruption in high places, political and election violence, social intolerance, and rising sectarianism, all threats to NRM/A revolution, national stability, progress and prosperity. Our politicians, as conscious beings, should not follow the rule of the old wild jungle in which the fittest and most cunning usually survive.
As Uganda enters into the runup to the next election circle, NRM must as a first step, formulate a rigorous regulation for its internal processes to deal with the political indiscipline particularly by aspiring candidates that have caused so much disrepute to the party. The failure by NRM to fulfill some of its key promises, is helping to pave way for populist opponents to rise and fill the void as an alternative offer by enticing the unsuspecting losers especially the young generation feeling the frustration. The anger of those disappointed by NRM is now being hijacked and misdirected by populist political anarchists, who often blend so well with those of criminal intent.
These bad actors have pounced on new digital information and communication tools, and platforms to spread misinformation, disinformation, fake news, and hate politics that are driving intolerance as acceptable political modus operandi. It is becoming increasingly visible at public gatherings even during solemn occasions like funerals for negative politics to reign, often uncontrollably, a scenario some opposition elements seem to want to use at the forth-coming general elections.
And the media ecosystem that has young journalists, no better than the average peasants in world outlook, but enjoying uncontrolled access to the population are becoming even more harmful than the active but discredited, shallow and opportunistic political opposition. Travelling around Uganda, the bell seems to be tolling louder, and louder for NRM, and hopefully, there are open ears actively listening, otherwise, the thirty nine years have been a roller-coaster.
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