{UAH} Allan/Pojim/WBK: Uganda’s EC fuels clashes, panic with clumsy routing of rallies - Comment
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Uganda's EC fuels clashes, panic with clumsy routing of rallies
What a grand finale it was! At the time of writing, earlier in the week, presidential election campaigns in Uganda had just been wound up, with the three leading candidates addressing large crowds at rallies in Kampala and its environs.
As they were each summing up why they and not someone else should be elected, foreign nationals had already been issued with warning by their embassies and a slew of foreign employers to, among other things, "stay indoors" on polling day, to avoid trouble, and "stock up on dry rations" to survive on for some days in case violence erupted after the winner has been declared and his opponents rejected the results and decided to show their displeasure.
And so a few days before Ugandans decided who should lead them for the next five years, there was the fear in the air that it could all end up in disaster.
Panic of this sort among outsiders who have been conditioned to be hyper-vigilant by formulaic briefings often evokes laughter among the more streetwise of their compatriots who spend time among ordinary Ugandans outside the more leafy bits of Kampala.
The fun, however, stops at seeing Ugandans sending their families away in search of temporary refuge outside the country "until things settle down again."
Of course, some Ugandans use the fear of possible post-election violence as a convenient excuse to take a holiday that, under normal circumstances, would be difficult to justify to themselves.
Others are probably naturally panicky, have little or no interest in politics, and are therefore unlikely to spend time trying to distinguish between silly rumour mongering and considered assessments of the situation.
In a way, politicians and their fanatical supporters are to blame for all this. Some go around promising trouble "if our votes are stolen," to which the alleged would-be vote thieves respond by promising to "crush" those who threaten "our hard-earned peace."
It would be good if it all amounted to no more than fighting talk, but the events in downtown Kampala and some of the city's outskirts on Monday, February 15, demonstrated how easily verbal duels can lead to street violence, the kind that conveys the message to the fainthearted that "things are getting out of hand."
On that date, key opposition leader and Museveni scourge for the past decade and a half, Kizza Besigye, was out and about, seeking to deliver his last message to his supporters and other members of the public who cared to listen. It was all in line with a programme agreed by the National Electoral Commission.
The police, however, had some specific ideas about how he should go about it, and which routes he and the large and growing crowd following him and chanting slogans, should take.
None of this seemingly last-minute guidance fitted what Besigye had in mind. By now Ugandans know that the man who among his fans goes by the moniker "KB" is no pushover. He does not obey orders just because they happen to be shouted at him by a police officer or anyone claiming that they are "from above."
With the police insisting that he could not go where he wanted and KB maintaining that he was following an agreed programme, the stage was set for a major clash. By the time it ended with many having "eaten" tear gas, traders having closed their shops and fled and one young man lying dead, the whole country, it seemed, had joined the quarrel.
While some castigated KB for seeking to bring the city to a standstill and in the process disrupt the activities of members of the public going about their normal business, others decided to go for the police, arguing that had it been "their boss Museveni," they would not have dared to tell him which way to go.
Yet others blamed the Electoral Commission for failing to rein in the police and prevent them from disrupting opposition rallies on grounds of "public order."
Amid all the arguing and shouting, one question remained unasked: Why on earth does the EC approve campaign plans that entail candidates using busy city roads and going into busy shopping areas, including local markets?
The risk of causing mayhem and bringing whole sections of the city to a standstill should be obvious. It means that whoever has any business, however urgent, to transact in those areas on that day, will not be able to do so.
The commission, the police and politicians must reflect on whether this is fair or sensible.
There is also something else that barely featured in all the angry commentary and exchanges: Candidate Museveni holds his Kampala rallies at Kololo Airstrip, outside the CBD. Perhaps other candidates can do the same? It would avoid unnecessary clashes and disruption, even deaths. That can only be good for all of us.
Frederick Golooba-Mutebi is a Kampala- and Kigali-based researcher and writer on politics and public affairs. E-mail: fgmutebi@yahoo.com
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