{UAH} FOCUS ON MUSEVENI'S ONE PARTY STATE MONSTER

FOCUS ON MUSEVENI'S ONE PARTY STATE MONSTER

 

By CHANGE OF GUARDS

A One Party State is when one/single political party forms and runs the State. Most African countries gained their independence during the Cold War era between the then Soviet Union and the West led by the USA. The Cold War was about the spread of socialism and the prevention of its spread. The former backed the Marxist-inspired independence movements and governments. Consequently, several newly independent governments adopted the communist / socialist one party authoritarianism. Actually some other African countries took up the task of being local agents for the spread of communism / socialism. They did so under the guise of supporting the Marxist-inspired so-called liberation movements. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War era around the early 1990s, the Marxist inspired one party African states were compelled to adopt multiparty political dispensation and they reluctantly did so. Since then, the Soviet Union states have become a source of weapons and machinery for the new armed conflicts that have wrecked some parts of the African continent. The emergence of authoritarian China on the world stage has also worsened the situation.

As opposed to western democracy where the government is of the people, by the people and for the people through elections, in a one party state it is a selection process. The candidates are selected by the party and then imposed on the people through a sham electoral process. While in some cases, it's only one state party that is allowed to exist, in many cases, more especially in Africa where a ruling party is fused with the state, unfavourable legal provisions are enacted to curtail the operation of the so-called opposition parties. There are instances where the state-fused ruling party creates insignificant so-called opposition parties in order to gain democratic credentials.

Uganda gained independence under the UPC government that had just defeated the DP following an alliance with the pro-Buganda KY. Shortly after, the said alliance collapsed following massive defection of DP and KY M.Ps to the UPC. In 1968, President Obote initiated a number of schemes aimed at totally declaring Uganda a socialist state. The Move to the Left, the Common Man's Charter and the infamous Nakivubo pronouncement that were characterised by, among others, state control of the economy and compulsory National Service for all able bodied. He banned the opposition DP and had its President General detained before declaring Uganda a single party state.

By the time Obote was overthrown by Iddi Amin in 1971, Obote was organising a general election under the one party (UPC) state and the the staunch UPC young Yoweri Museveni was a parliamentary aspirant in the same electoral process. During Iddi Amin's eight years military rule, political parties were banned. When the idea of a general elections was floated under the Military Commission run government, Museveni who was then its Vice Chairman vehemently opposed the idea. He argued that the country was still undergoing a revolution but the truth is that he hated fair political competition. His stand was defeated and he opportunistically decided to contest in the 1980 General Elections under his hastily formed UPM after the DP had rejected his quest to become its flag bearer. It's not that he believed in a multiparty political process but he was just seeking an opportunity to access power through the gun. That is why his then campaign slogan was "If elections are rigged, I will go the Bush'. UPC was declared winner and DP became the opposition in Parliament. Indeed months later, he launched his sectarianism Bush War that lasted Five years. By the time the Okellos overthrew the UPC government in July 1985, preparations for general elections were in high gear.

Six months later when Museveni overthrew the Okellos, he decreed an indefinite suspension of party activities and operations. Through his grassroots Resistance Councils (RC) of his National Resistance Movement(NRM), every Ugandan citizen was compelled to belong to his NRM. When he decreed the extension of his four year interim period in 1989, the DP and UPC activists went into a defiant mode seeking for a return to multiparty. During the 1995 constitution making process, he included the continuous suspension of the multiparty political dispensation. A huge number of Delegates who subscribed to political pluralism walked out of the Assembly in protest. The first general elections under his one party dispensation was held in 1996 where the multiparty leaning opposition formed a loose coalition dubbed PAFO. The process proved to be more of a selection than an election.

The second round of general elections took place in 2001 and though under the one party dispensation, it proved to have been the bloodiest by then. This is because the socialist / communist model of the security forces taking a centre stage in determining the outcome of a sham elections was plainly manifested. The situation remained the same during the first general elections under the multiparty dispensation in 2006. Since then, the situation has been worsening and Museveni has been gradually becoming bolder in his designs for a one party political dispensation. He has publicly stated that he can't be removed from power by a mere 'piece of paper' (ballot paper). During his swearing in ceremony in May 2016, he publicly stated that by 2021 political opposition will be no more. With the ongoing sham electoral process for the January 2021 polls, it's not too late for Museveni to realize his dream of wiping political opposition from Uganda by 2021. The unprecedented level of violence by the security forces under the guise of enforcing the COVID-19 SOPs is testimony that the pretense is over. It won't be surprising if he allocates himself an election victory of above 80%. Moreover, the one party authoritarianism is creeping back into the African continent and will take root unless something is done.   

Therefore, in order get a clear understanding of Museveni's determination to create a one party state, just get to know the democratic credentials of his mentors and role models.

INFORMATION IS POWER AND THE PROBLEM OF UGANDA IS MUSEVENISM

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Rehema
Patriot in Kampala,East Africa:Assalamu Alaikum

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