By Abbey K. Semuwemba

Politics is a “don’t trust me” ball game. Hon. Beti Kamya, the Rubaga North MP, has decided to play this game by hijacking the federalism debate to further her career in politics.  She didn’t give a damn about the many people who truly treasure federalism.

If she succeeds, we will be happy.  If she fails, she will probably jump on to something else to further her career.  lease, nobody should deceive you that there are no people in FDC, DP, CP or SDP fighting for federalism in Uganda.  Federalism is part of all these party’s manifestos.

For instance, Owekitibwa Joyce Sebugwawo has been fighting for Buganda as far as I can remember and nobody can compare her to Beti Kamya in this battle.  Sebugwawo probably would have won the Lubaga LC3 Chairmanship elections in 2009 against Peter Sematimba if DP and FDC had sat on the same table and kept their differences wrapped in a magic cloth somewhere.

Sebugwawo has been a rock for Buganda for ages.  Beti Kamya is just a new comer and we all know why she has jumped on the federo band wagon as well as on Buganda’s causes.  If Kamya was that much interested in fighting for federalism, why didn’t she join CP which has been doing it since 1980s?

In Mexico, there was a man called Francisco Madero who preached federalism and everyone knew that he believed in it.  He continued to preach federalism even after becoming a president.  He was one of the few Mexican presidents to preach federalism seriously.  He was however murdered in 1913 before he could achieve his goal of returning “political personality” to local government.

He was not like some people we know who preached federalism and “Ebyaffe” in the bushes of Luwero merely to further their political objectives.  As soon as they got into power, everything went out of the window.  That’s why no one should trust people like Beti Kamya who hijack serious causes because they have fallen out with their political parties.

As far as I know, FDC is not against federalism.  There are people in that party who are seriously fighting for it.  It was part of their manifesto in 2006 and it is likely to be in the 2011 elections.  Who could possibly be against a broader distribution of power, decision-making capacity, and economic resources that are now centralized in the NRM regime or Museveni’s state house?

It’s the NRM-O leader Yoweri Museveni who is actually against federalism.  You only need to follow what he has been writing or saying about Buganda and federalism in the media.  He said on WBS television last year that he will never grant federo to Buganda.  He is pushing for a regional government system called “regional tier” instead.  In any case, can the division of power implicit in federalism be implemented by an NRM-O government that acquired and kept its power under shady circumstances in both the 2001 and 2006 elections?

So federalism in Uganda is still a long way off if President Museveni and his NRM-O continue to lead us.  You simply can’t achieve it when a large number of influential politicians are against it.  There are signs that Ugandan politicians are not even aware of the need to consider what the role of federalism will be in the present situation.

Everyone is concerned with political survival; “how do I safe guard my constituency” is the question on their minds.  That’s why they have passed draconian laws that stop Ugandan’s in the Diaspora from returning home to compete for certain political offices.  They are therefore first class cowards who will do anything to stay in power.

In Mexico, the government in power believed in federalism and that is why it invested a lot in making the population and politicians understand what federalism was all about.  For instance, the Federal Chamber of Deputies in Mexico City sponsored a course on federalism for its members.  The classes attracted more than 100 deputies and government officials and it included a comparative study of the federal systems of Mexico, the United States, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, and Venezuela.

abbeysemuwemba@gmail.com

Mr. Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba is a Ugandan living in the United Kingdom