My dead NRA uncle must be turning in his grave today
By Shelly Nambozo
28th March 2011:- In my last article published in these pages [Why I think the Luwero blood was shed in vain], I ended by saying that unlike in Britain where opposition leaders are treated with respect, in Uganda they are treated as enemies of the State. And by the State I meant virtually all institutions of State.
We saw the way the Electoral Commission boss sneered at Dr. Kizza Besigye when he requested to meet him. Even mere policemen feel they have the right to slap opposition leaders and get away with it. After all they believe that is what the people “above” would like to see.
The nepotism and cronyism! Do I need to elaborate? No! Corruption is now a way of life for many of us. It seems Ugandans have decided that if you cannot beat them, join them. Many of us are now beneficiaries of corruption and we are not ashamed of it. That is why we are happy to maintain the status quo.
As I travelled through Entebbe airport recently, I met a Ugandan businessman heading to China. I told him how appalled I was with the corruption at the airport. Two check-in girls had boldly asked me to pay half of my excess baggage fee “without a receipt”. When I rejected their corrupt offer, they looked surprised. I narrated this incident to the chap next to me on the plane. But he laughingly shrugged it off. “…What do you expect from those poor girls. They need to survive”, he said.
He then gave me a lecture about the benefits of corruption. “…As a businessman, I make money when I import goods and don’t have to pay the full taxes. Corruption becomes bad when I am forced to bribe for a service I am entitled to. In Uganda today, you can do anything or get anything as long as you have the money”, he said.
And yet the previous week, I had met a man at a clinic in a Kampala who could not afford ten thousand shillings for an injection for his five year old son. “…That doctor was cheating. Where did he expect me to get that money from? I just prayed for my boy and he recovered”, the poor old man said.
A friend recently lost his teenage daughter to cancer. I remember his heart wrenching experiences of queuing up and sleeping in the rain outside Mulago as they waited for a bed. Our leaders on the other hand fly to Europe to treat their colds.
It was after Obote’s overthrow that I became a bit politically aware. I was in a primary school in Mbale then. My parents had been cut off from us by insecurity and we were not sure when or whether they would ever return to Mbale from Kampala.
There were road blocks everywhere. Men in both uniform and civilian attire were brandishing weapons and terrorising passengers. It was therefore a relief when Museveni came and “returned” the army to the barracks where they belonged.
While the nasty roadblocks have not YET returned, today we have men with weapons all over the place terrorising perceived state enemies. One of my acquaintances once boasted that if he ever needed anyone to sort anything out, he would call one of his intelligence guys.
Today, it’s not unusual to see armed men in uniform beating up unarmed civilians in full view of media cameras. Police officers beat up suspects as they drag them into the back of their pickup vehicles. In a recent NTV video clip, I saw two policemen beating up a man who wasn’t resisting arrest. They pushed his head down and placed their boots on his head as the vehicle sped off.
The days when you were told why you were being arrested and by whom are gone. Today you can be kidnapped by unidentified armed men only discover that you are in the hands of the intelligence services. How different is this from the days of the dreaded “Nile Mansions”?
Very soon, we shall be afraid to speak on our phones because they are routinely tapped. Already, the middle class are afraid to discuss politics. Many of them would rather keep their opinions to themselves; afraid of being victimised. How different is this from the Uganda of the 1970’s.
Very soon, our university lecturers will be arrested [like their Malawian counterparts] for discussing the revolution in North Africa. In Malawi today, national broadcaster has been banned from covering the Arab revolution. Why should Ugandans be thankful “to be free from jail without freedom?”
What is most disturbing is that there is a cross section of society that pretends not to notice these ills. They are totally blinded by the benefits they get from the rotten carcass that is Museveni’s Uganda. They argue that “at least we have development”. That is also very debatable in my view. Development at what cost! Is it wrong for me to enjoy both development and political freedom in my own country?
My uncle died during the NRA struggle. Initially his family were consoled that his death was not in vain. Looking back now, I have to ask whether this is what my uncle shed his blood for. Was it really worth it?
I am sure he is turning uncomfortably in his grave today. What a waste! END. Please log into www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories and anytime mid-week for our news updates.
