Museveni should smell anti-Museveni coffee now
By Charles Ochen Okwir
7th February 2011
I am beginning to feel really sorry for President Museveni. And let me tell you why! At about 21:15 GMT on Tuesday 1st February, I watched embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Aljazeera TV declare that he never intended to, and will not seek another term in office.
I took Mubarak’s declaration with not a pinch, but a bucket load of salt! I am convinced that Mubarak didn’t tell Egyptians the absolute truth when he declared that “he never intended” to seek another term in office. If that was indeed his true intention, then why did he have to wait until 1million Egyptians took to the streets to demand his immediate departure?
The clear inference I make from that is that Mubarak, like many dictators around the world, was totally out of touch with the reality of his unpopularity. It was only when he saw millions of Egyptians braving hunger, the Mediterranean cold, police brutality, and intimidation by his military jets that he was confronted by the bitter reality that millions of Egyptians detested every ounce of flesh in his 82 year old body.
It was at that point, I believe, that he finally decided that his time was up. Mubarak’s focus immediately turned to his legacy. He wanted to be judged fairly by history. Like Museveni, Mubarak talked about the great “sacrifices” he had made in battle for Egypt. Like Museveni, Mubarak talked about his peacetime contributions to Egypt. He said he wants to leave Egypt a politically stable nation.
To achieve that, Mubarak said he had instructed Parliament to amend the Egyptian constitution to restore presidential term limits; the same ones that Museveni blew out of Uganda’s constitution. Mubarak said he wanted to see a “peaceful transition”; the same one that Museveni denied Ugandans with his blind push to amended article 105[2] of Uganda’s constitution.
But all that was decades too late! Mubarak’s speech was instantly greeted with chants of “Leave, Leave” from Egyptian protestors in the capital Cairo and other parts of Egypt. Simple, ordinary, peaceful, and unarmed Egyptians had finally discovered their inner strength and they were using it to chase the mighty President Mubarak like he was a petty chicken thief caught in the village paths of Rwakitura.
In fact, one Egyptian protestor in Cairo even brought his pet Cat along while holding a placard on the Cat’s legs that simply read: “Cats don’t like dogs like Mubarak”. That clearly summed up what that Egyptian thought of Mubarak; a whole Head of State!
Another placard read: “People shouldn’t be afraid of their governments, governments must be afraid of their people”; a simple message that reasserts the fact that political power is derived from, and exercised by politicians on behalf of the people.
For all my political disagreements with Museveni’s policies, something in me still wishes him well. The lessons are abundantly clear for Museveni to see. It is as if God decided to start with Ivory Coast, Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen etc to forewarn his favourite son Kaguta in Uganda. If Museveni is indeed the wise man with the famous “vision”, then he must throw in the white towel now.
Mubarak clearly didn’t learn anything from Ben Ali’s ouster. If he had, he wouldn’t have even attempted to declare that he wouldn’t seek another term in office. That didn’t work for Ben Ali and it’s unlikely to work for Mubarak. So Museveni should know that when his time comes, possibly in a matter of weeks, an offer not to run for office again is unlikely to work for him either.
So what should Museveni do?
If I was Museveni, I would immediately [before polling day in fact] convene a “National Convention” with all opposition parties, religious leaders, and civil society stakeholders; just like Mubarak’s Vice President is trying to do now because Mubarak himself is now too embarrassed to face the people he once ridiculed as equals.
If I was Museveni, I would offer to resign immediately [citing the good of the nation that Mubarak is now talking about] and hand over power to a bi-partisan transitional government that will prepare the country for a new and truly genuine democratic dispensation.
I strongly believe the good people of Uganda are prepared to forgive. But that can only happen if Museveni smells the coffee now and throws in the white towel; just like Daniel Arap Moi of Kenya did to secure a peaceful retirement. Writing in Uganda Correspondent last week, Dr. Vincent Magombe predicted that the next people revolt “Bus Stop” will be Kampala. I wouldn’t ignore that prediction if I was Museveni. END. Please log into www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories and anytime mid-week for our news updates.
