By Andrew Mwenda
Opposition have been in an overdrive on social and other media, hurling insults and abuses at anyone they suspect supports or is likely to support the removal age limits. Thy hope they it is through insults and intimidation that they can win over the country. Crap!
Meanwhile Museveni is not insulting anyone, not even his openly declared enemies. Most likely he will call real and potential opponents to state house, serve them tea, discuss ideas with them and respectfully agree or disagree with them. Many will tell him to abandon his plans for removing age limits and Museveni will bid them farewell, politely saying he will think over it.
As information of such meetings between Museveni and his critics and neutrals leak, opposition activists will strike. Without knowing what happened in the meeting, they will accuse anyone who met with Museveni of selling his/her conscience. They will hurl insults at such people, threaten their lives BD property. People who had told Museveni that they oppose attempts to remove age limit will find their position defined for them by opposition activists – they will find themselves being accused of promoting the removal of the age limit.
In the heat of intimidation and insults, such people will find that the only protector of their life and property is Museveni and his government. A man they initially thought was bad for Uganda will now look as their only protector & savior. Some will accept his protection and go silent. Others will get the protection and openly join him. A few will even take his money and campaign for removal of age limits.
This is how the tactics and strategies of opposition activists alienate allies, recruit for Museveni (without knowing it) and make the president look a much better alternative. The danger to opposition politics in Uganda is opposition activists. They lack strategy and employ wrong tactics. They are emotional, angry and intolerant which this makes their efforts counterproductive. Pointing this out is wearying and repetitive but still I must keep pointing it out if only for the sake of posterity.
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