[UAH] Museveni plans to turn Uganda peasants into workers

Ugandans have been told many times that Museveni came to power with a plan to impoverish and render Ugandans powerless and voiceless, making it easy to govern them. Museveni didn't begin military training in the 1960s in anticipation of UPC rigging elections in 1980.

Museveni knew, even if he came from a populous ethnic group like Baganda, that he would need the military to get what he wanted that he would fail to achieve in a democratic society. Elections in Uganda are designed to meet donor requirement for receiving aid.

Museveni has mustered a language and practice that he has used to impoverish Ugandans. Except in security areas, Museveni hires other nationalities to do the unpopular work including by appointing them to top positions and then dictating to them what he wants done. He has carefully studied greedy or power hungry Ugandans whom he uses regardless of whether their people are hurt or not. Look at the people he used to mess up public education. Look at the people promoting and passing legislation that is hurting Ugandans especially Baganda. Edward Ssekande was speaker of parliament for ten years; Gilbert Bukenya was vice president for ten years; Apollo Nsibambi was prime minister for ten years. Mayanja-Nkangi is the commissioner for lands and Jennifer Musisi is executive director for Greater Kampala. Mayanja-Nkangi and Musisi know who is grabbing Uganda land and who is losing out.

The battle we are having with General Jim Muhwezi who has dispossessed a targeted group of people in Rukungiri is well known. Selfish people forget that there is something called tomorrow.

Museveni is among those who don't care about others. He has single-handedly denied lunch to primary school children, now dropping out of school in large numbers. He is now training doctors, nurses and midwives to force birth control on vulnerable people reminiscent of Eugenics. He is filling up Uganda with immigrants that will soon outnumber indigenous people. That is why he has delayed the population census and vital registration files have disappeared. That is why refugees from neighboring countries are still in Uganda long after the political situation improved in their home countries. That is why he is struggling to eliminate Uganda borders and force us into the East African political federation.

These are national security issues we are talking about and should not be confused with sectarianism or racism. Every sensible citizen anywhere in the world would oppose their leaders if they behaved as Museveni is acting towards Ugandans.  

Museveni has embarked on the last stretch – the enclosure system. He has, we are told subject to confirmation, decided to turn Uganda from peasants into workers: people without property or land. All they will remain with is labor to sell. And if none wants it they are finished. He wants to take Uganda to the European Middle Ages when peasants lost their land. Sheep that require few people to tend to them replaced cultivators. Wool became more profitable than crops. Today, beef is becoming more profitable than maize and beans. So Museveni wants to turn Uganda into a livestock industry and replace people from agricultural land that will be fenced off into enclosures as was done in Europe. By way of illustration let us see how the enclosure system occurred in England and was resisted.

"Step 1: A group of landowners got parliament to pass a local Enclosure Act saying they can start juggling around with their neighbor's property.

Step 2: Parliament sent down two-or three-man commissions to check who owned what, and they wanted written proof. No paper; no land.

Step 3: The commissioners drew a big map giving all the best land to the local bigwigs; smallholder families who had been farming for generations lost their lands and were forced to become hired laborers [from peasants to workers].

Step 4: The big landowners put up lots of fences and hedges round their new lands with signs like 'Keep Out' and 'Trespassers Will be Hanged at the Next Assizes' to keep the neighbors out".

These enclosures were resisted. For example, in 1549 there were rebellions and it took military intervention to put them down (Sea Lang 2004).

Fellow Ugandans that is what Museveni wants to do with Uganda peasants and their land. Amama Mbabazi said so a few months ago at Entebbe airport upon return from a foreign trip. We need to come together – and quickly – under patriotic leadership and unseat Museveni and his government before it is too late.

It is tiring to hear Uganda leaders saying that if they had all the facts they would have acted differently. Now you have all the facts about what Museveni wants to do with peasant land – give it to bigwigs who will enclose it – and turn former smallholder farmers and owners into landless workers. Uganda is under occupation and is losing land and property at breakneck speed.

Eric Kashambuzi

July 4, 2013