By Timothy Nsubuga

17^th January 2011

In good times: L-R, Sarkozy & Ben Ali hug

They both captured State power through illegal and unconstitutional means.  Both of them have ruled their respective countries with a democracy “carrot”  in one hand, and a big tyrannical “stick” in the other hand for almost a quarter of a century.

We are of course talking about President Yoweri Museveni who came to power in 1986 and his ‘political twin’ President Ben Ali of Tunisia who came to power in a bloodless ‘palace coup’ in 1987; only a year after Museveni had fought his way to power in Uganda.

Both of them then outlawed political parties for some time.  Both of them have locked up their political opponents on trumped up charges.  Both of them have organised and rigged elections in their respective countries.  These virtual ‘political twins’ of Africa have also presided over the most corrupt regimes in the history of their respective countries.

And that is not all.  The duo have also practiced grand nepotism for the entire duration of their rule; appointing their brothers, sons, wives, nephews, relatives and political cronies in powerful government positions.  They both made sure their relatives and cronies who surround them became the wealthiest people in the countries they rule.

To survive politically for as long as they have, Africa’s virtual ‘political twins’ were also quick to align themselves to the foreign policy objectives of Western powers like the United States of America, France, Spain, Italy, and the United Kingdom; to mention but a few.

In the process of aligning themselves to the Western powers, in one way or another, the ‘political twins’ also decided that it would be politically prudent to stand “shoulder to shoulder” with the Western powers in the so-called “war against terrorism”, against the spread of “political Islam”, and against “illegal migration” by Africans to the West.

To show the West how high they can jump when commanded, both Museveni and Ben Ali introduced tough “anti-terrorism” laws in their respective countries; laws that they then used to clamp down hard on their political opponents and the enjoyment of fundamental human rights as a whole.

In the case of Uganda, it is fair to say that by implication, Museveni could even be accused of having had a hand in the death of eighty five innocent Ugandan civilians who perished when Al Shabaab bombed Kampala on 7^th July 2010 in revenge for Museveni’s unilateral decision to deploy UPDF soldiers to Somalia.  Nearly fifty Ugandan soldiers have also died in Somalia fighting what some analysts have called “an American war”.

However, for all their efforts to please the Western powers that bankroll their domestic political activities, the most interesting and yet bitter irony is that the American diplomatic cables leaked recently by WikiLeaks describe both Museveni and Ben Ali as being “out of touch” with the boiling public resentment against them.

But to their credit, the ‘political twins’ have also succeeded in producing a good percentage of young and highly educated professionals.  In fact, according the UN, Uganda has the youngest population in the world.  The problem for Africa’s ‘political twins’ is that they may actually be victims of their own successes because they both failed to create sufficient employment opportunities to absorb the thousands of graduates they were producing.

And it is a combination of all the above factors that brought problems for Museveni’s ‘political twin’ President Ben Ali of Tunisia.  For weeks, thousands upon thousands took to the streets of the Tunisian capital Tunis in protest after an unemployed graduate set himself ablaze and burnt to death.  That was the beginning of the end for President Ben Ali.

His partisan army swung into action and killed 12 protestors but the protests didn’t stop.  Being the political opportunists that they both are, President Ben Ali sensed the growing tide of public opinion against his regime and tried to side with the people by sacking his Internal Affairs Minister; the man under whose docket the army falls.

But the protests didn’t stop.  On the contrary, many more Tunisians joined in.  In the end, President Ben Ali’s “loyal” army and police force turned against him.  Overwhelmed by the plight and determination of his fellow citizens to liberate themselves, one Tunisian soldier was seen openly weeping before the advancing protestors.

Not even Ben Ali’s promise to the people of Tunisia that he would not seek another term in office could save him.  The protest simply didn’t stop.  An oppressed people had had enough of President Ben Ali’s 23year reign of terror, corruption, poverty, and nepotism.  The protestors broke into and burnt down any business establishment that they thought was linked to President Ben Ali and his relatives and cronies.

Defeated by sheer people power, the hitherto invincible Ben Ali fled the country under the cover of darkness to start life in exile.  But even that wasn’t plain sailing.  Without power, he was now an ally who had outlived his usefulness in the eyes of the West.  President Sarkozy of France turned against his erstwhile ally Ben Ali and refused to allow his plane to land in France.

That is how President Ben Ali ended up in Saudi Arabia on the night of Friday 14^th January 2011.  Ordinary Tunisians, armed with only their conviction and burning desire to liberate themselves from twenty three long years of tyranny, have shown the world that it can be done.  The big question that is now occupying the minds of analyst is this:

Could what happened to Museveni’s ‘political twin’ Ben Ali happen to Museveni himself or other leaders like him in Africa?  Ory Okolloh, a Kenyan Lawyer and political pundit, said on her Twitter page that, “…I hope every corrupt leader of a country with a demographic bulge of young people is watching Tunisia”.

An American Professor of political science who appeared on Aljazeera also suggested that we could see similar revolutions in Africa.  “…it was a melting pot that simply boiled over with people power.  Something that was unimaginable in Tunisia only a few weeks ago became inevitable.  I am sure other African leaders like Hosni Mubarak will be watching the events the in Tunisia very closely”, the Professor said.

By the time Uganda Correspondent went to press, all efforts to get a comment from NRM Spokesperson Ofwono Opondo had failed as his phone rang without answer.  We would love to hear your views on the subject.  Please log into www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories and anytime mid-week for our news updates.