{UAH} Besigye actually won 2021 by simply not standing

A friend of mine in close People Power circles – before NUP was born – tells a fascinating story about how Col Kizza Besigye and Bobi Wine attended a function in one countryside and locals thought Besigye was Bobi Wine.

[It might shock some that there are Ugandans who have never seen Bobi Wine or Kizza Besigye].

They had heard a lot about Bobi Wine as the unconventional ragga-muffin, a [retired] marijuana-smoking dreadlocked singer/activist who fought for the "unwashed" of Kampala and was driving Museveni crazy. They must have assumed these stereotypical traits about Bobi Wine from covers of cassette tapes of Bob Marley, or when the moving cinemas visited.

And they would have been right had he opted to remain authentic. Here were two apparently prominent Ugandans both seated at the front and cordial with each other. There was a man in a blue checkered oversize shirt with a hoodie. He looked kinda unkempt, like had just stopped doing marijuana. 

The other was a dandy fellow, in a dark-blue fitting suit, and an American knotted tie, glasses and kempt hair. Then the MC messed up things introducing these. A scrawny fellow standing by remarked sharply, "Bobi nga anyirira, mbadde manyi yooli. Ali bulungi, bambi."

Those nearby could also be seen nodding and sighing in agreement. There was a little disappointment in their faces. In the words of Okot p'Bitek, those who have fallen into things tend "to look those things."

Okot noted that since they slept on soft beds, and ate meat from breasts of cows, their wives grew large buttocks. The wananchi, on the other hand, slept on the same aching earth on which they slept before uhuru.  In these lines, p'Bitek speaks to appearances, too. Those "in things" look the part – round buttocks, round cheeks and neat suits – while those with "no things" look clearly without – malnourished, scrawny and in secondhand hoodies. 

This is how those local fellows at that function received these two prominent Ugandans. Bobi Wine did not really look like them, as they had thought, while Col Kizza Besigye, the more traditional politician, actually looked like them.

There is power in representation, in identifying with a community. This power is often enshrined in performative and symbolic initiatives including fashion and language. The oppressed (and people more generally) tend to establish connections from seeing others that identify like them. 

And presently, [if I could afford some generalization], looking good and dandy, is associated with "being in things" or "being washed," in some more disenfranchised circles.  But see also: the struggle in Uganda presently is one for livelihood and dignity, not [electoral] democracy.

Ugandans have appreciated that democracy has actually earned them more misery than any autocracy they lived through.  In fact, one of their most renowned regimes of autocracy – Idi Amin – is one they look back to with admiration.

Besigye decides not to stand in 2021: Ugandans have another stupid election on their hands. That it is billed as "scientific" makes it even more heedless.

While I understand those standing for lower positions – their opportunism notwithstanding – I struggle to understand those standing for the presidency – especially if they promise to change the status quo. These contenders have zero appreciation of our modern autocracies. Why stand when defeat is certain?!  

This is why I am lyrical over Kizza Besigye decision not to stand.  [It should have come earlier, maybe ten years, but it is never too late to turn].  My sense is that Besigye actually won 2021 by simply not standing. 

For the first time, he reflected an understanding that the Museveni machinery is structured in a manner that no one wins the presidential election as long as Museveni's name is on the ballot. Thus, those who stand are not only humiliated by the process, but are also used to legitimize a pre-determined victory.

To this end,  Besigye repackages himself as a true statesman. He portrays himself as not simply obsessed by holding the office of president but, rather, changing the status quo. 

Changing the status quo requires something he vaguely termed as 'Plan B,' which is rightly readable as sustained activism.  And from his now permanent sense of fashion, Besigye completed a switch of roles with Bobi Wine.

Ugandans banked on Bobi Wine, not in him becoming another "elections contender," another Kizza Besigye. Bobi Wine was expected to galvanize crowds,  especially his core constituency of the wretched of the earth onto the streets of Kampala to chase Museveni with sticks and stones.

He seems to have abandoned this one for some simple games – elections – where Museveni remains the unbeaten, and perhaps unbeatable champion. [Museveni owns the game, hires and fires referees, security guards, promoters, and sets the rules, etc.]

yusufkajura@gmail.com

The author is a PhD fellow at Makerere Institute of Social Research.

--

"When a man is stung by a bee, he doesn't set off to destroy all beehives"

--
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
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ugandans at Heart (UAH) Community" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to ugandans-at-heart+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/ugandans-at-heart/CAFxDTfqZcUhpfoOJtHS2uxjKkjqghujOhZVcYfpWBmaANVJ%3D1g%40mail.gmail.com.