{UAH} BOB WINE: PRETENDER AND CHARLATAN OR THE REAL STUFF

FAO: ABBEY SEMUWEMBA: This article has been picked from here and printed in 7 other non-Ugandan publications, attracting a lot of debate.

Thank You.

Bobby

Try to put Mr Bob Wine's current campaign to be President of Uganda in the context of two contemporaries who also rose to power on the same or similar trajectory

A. Joseph "Erap" Estrada, elected President of the Philippines June 30, 1998, impeached on January 20, 2001.

B. Michel Martelly, President of Haiti, May 2011 until February 2016.

What connects these two leaders with Mr Bob Wine are the following:

1, Both were very popular individuals, both household names, Estrada as a moviestar and Martelly as a musician

2. Both were largely uneducated, and had very little involvement in mainstream politics before they burst onto the political scene.

3. Both burst onto the political scene at a time of tumultous changes in the country- In the Philippines, people had become deeply disillusioned by the failure of the People Power Revolution that had overthrown dictator Ferdinand Marcos. The Estrada government was not just incompetent but soon became the most corrupt in the history of the Philippines; Estrada himself spent all his time drinking and carousing with women, until a Second People Power Revolution swept the country once again and he was impeached for corruption and drunkenness.

 

But it is Michel Martelly who was elected on the wave of the earthquake that shook Haiti in 2010 that most mirrors Bob Wine's sudden rise to prominence in Uganda. Martelly's career has been described as weird as hell. He went from performing as a misogynistic, rum-drinking singer wearing adult diapers onstage as the pop star "Sweet Micky", to somehow morphing into a repressive and corrupt Haitian president. Shocked by the devastation that hit the country and claimed so many lives, Haitians turned to a man whose only claim to fame was his rowdy performances on the stage, pot and fun. Martelly also had the distinction of being supported by the USA, as of all the candidates, he is the only one who had supported the CIA led overthrow of the popular Haitian president Jean Baptist Aristides.

4. Both Estrada and Martelly had no vision for the countries they inherited, beyond just being "President". The two leaders had no political party or political organisation to help them with the enormous task of governance, and soon cabals, as they say nature abhors a vacuum, both foreign and local, took over the commanding heights of the economy, reducing the president into a mere figure-head, in the case of Estrada into a playboy who slept with women during the day time and moved all his cabinet meetings to night-time. The most infamous moments of Estrada's presidency was when he held an emergency finance meeting at 2 AM at a moment of crisis, dressed in his pyjamas, because his Finance Minister gathered all the relevant ministers and drove them to the hotel where he was holed up with three women.

 

It is very important for Ugandans to reflect on these two leaders and their performances when they were entrusted with power. People who lead popular resistances are not necessarily leaders. In fact populist uprisings very quickly atrophy for the simple reason that they are not led by a political movement and a political party with a clear vision or outline of what it wants to do to replace the mess it has inherited. We have seen this in the Philippines, where a people power revolution overthrew Ferdinand Marcos, without replacing the corrupt infrastructure and the military that kept him in power for so long, and with Michel Martelly who spent 4 years partying as if he was still a stage musician and is now in exile and wanted in Haiti for corruption.

 

Finally, Africa right now needs educated, enlightened and inspiring leaders. A person like Mr Bob Wine simply does not fit the bill. He will be found wanting within just a few weeks- not 31 months as Joseph Estrada was found out, or 4 years as Michel Martelly was found out. Uganda needs long term solutions, not short term fixes. Just look at any country in the world trying to get out of a quagmire. They have an intellectual leading the struggle, not a musician or a film star, however well meaning they are. Mr Bob Wine is likely to be another Michel Martelly- that is assuming the pot-bellied outlaw Kayibanda decides to move aside- and this is just an assumption.

--
Disclaimer:Everyone posting to this Forum bears the sole responsibility for any legal consequences of his or her postings, and hence statements and facts must be presented responsibly. Your continued membership signifies that you agree to this disclaimer and pledge to abide by our Rules and Guidelines.To unsubscribe from this group, send email to: ugandans-at-heart+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com