Uganda’s politics is about self-interests, not public service

The brutal assassination of Arua Municipality MP Ibrahim Abiriga last week sent shockwaves of grief and fear through the country. On the evening of Friday, June 8, news of the untimely death of the NRM MP flooded the media and quickly spread to international news.
Most Ugandans were in deep shock because it was difficult to believe another pseudo-commando style assassination could take place in public after the equally chilling murder of high profile Assistant Inspector General of Police Andrew Felix Kaweesi in March last year.
As the country mourned, recognising that the Arua MP was of the Muslim faith, understandably burial arrangements and time was of the essence in accordance with religious practices, Parliament convened at short notice to pay tribute to a fallen comrade.

One of the most memorable eulogies in Parliament came from the Relief and Disaster Preparedness State minister Musa Ecweru.
“There are many of us in NRM when you do a small thing you think you should be treated as a special person. There are many of us in NRM who have accumulated unnecessary wealth because we think we are entitled. We as NRM need to humble ourselves. If we keep this sense of entitlement we’ll ruin the country,” he said.

In a moment of sadness it was encouraging and surprising for the public to hear these honest remarks from minister Ecweru. The display of opulence lifestyles, increased corruption, lack of public accountability, extravagant and excessive international travel amidst escalating foreign debt, lavish car allowances, free fuel has steadily lead to an insatiable appetite for uncontrollable entitlement among the political elite.
It is undeniable that the new culture of entitlement may well continue for many years, plundering the country’s resources while accumulating individual wealth.

According to a research study carried out in 2014 by psychologist Paul Piff, findings show new information on the effects of wealth and inequality on people’s attitudes: “Wealth cultivates attitudes that are against redistribution and the more severe inequality becomes, the more entitled people feel and less likely to share national resources. Therefore, the wealthier a specific segment of society becomes, the more vulnerable communities and less economic development to expect.”
In other words, in Uganda the current culture among some political elite no longer recognises their role as that of service provision for their constituents aiming at economic growth and development. The fight against poverty, jobs creation, reduction of high unemployment and public resource accountability disappointingly are no longer their responsibilities as political leaders.

In South Africa, according to political analyst Moeletsi Mbeki, the African National Party (ANC) reflects liberation saturated in the entitlement syndrome, “focused on the party as the liberators of the country, therefore, entitled to state resources, above the constitution, democracy that is prescribed in the constitution surprisingly is no-longer in the hearts of liberation movements. Therefore, cliques are formed that start viewing democracy as controlling the state, in particular government revenues whilst helping themselves to it. These unfair actions continually divides, alienates people in societies.”
In Uganda, although minister Ecweru’s advice to the elite echoed the need to be more humble, unfortunately humility alone might not be enough to change prevailing systematically promoted degrading culture.