Isn’t Museveni supposed to be a good man surrounded by bad people?

Last October, in Colorado, I attended a small private dinner. The guest list was mostly pensioners. I was the only Ugandan [African] in the room, so I got “that look” when I introduced myself.

During a refilling break, I was approached by an elderly lady who was visibly overjoyed to (finally) meet someone from Uganda. She was 78 and had left East Africa, where her father was a General Motors executive, in 1976. Probably never met an East African between then and that evening.

The effect of fine wine, a lovely evening, and the nostalgia of a good time now well into fading memory took over. And because she was elderly, I was happy to indulge her. From stories about hunting expeditions, trips to national parks, a Swahili word here and there, the Nairobi and Kampala life of old, and everything between that.

I could tell that she had little bits and pieces of information about today’s Uganda, mostly gleaned from international media. Most of it was inch-deep though, the kind that one would have on an old lover with whom things ended abruptly but not on a bad note. And that is when things got a little intense.

She started to talk about President Museveni, and how he had ruined a good country. How he was engaged in corruption and was busy jailing his opponents. Apparently, homosexuals were getting impaled on Kampala’s streets, getting thrown in jail, and sometimes getting shot. We had been joined by three other guests at this point, who interestingly, had never heard about Uganda.

I had a quick decision to make. How do I clarify the untruths even when I know for sure that many Ugandans are homophobic and our leaders are quite loud and seemingly proud of it? How do I say that it was implausible to get shot for being gay but you could die from supporting the opposition?

For every Ugandan, there is a patriotic duty to defend your country and point out that Uganda is a beautiful country, like no other. That urge to encourage foreigners to visit and spend their savings and pensions in our parks and on experiencing our diverse culture. Or bring their investments here.

But then, they were working with half-truths. They weren’t exactly right about Uganda but they were also not exactly wrong. How do you, for example, promote the country without being blind to gross human rights abuses? How do you pitch for investment while knowing the hostile environment that local enterprises endure?

So, instead, I did what I usually do when I need to help a conversation move along and hopefully, come to a quick end. Keep quiet. Don’t interrupt. I also told myself that I wasn’t going to stick my neck out for a leadership that was most likely to prove me wrong. Because with Uganda, you never know where and who the blindside is. A minister here, a Speaker of Parliament there, an army general the day after, a religious leader maybe. Someone will embarrass you and undo whatever effort you have put into promoting the country.

It used to be that many of these screw-ups were blamed on individual cases of incompetence and greed. But if you hang around a brothel long enough, it is only a matter of time before you dabble in its services. From the looks of it, fortune hunters have overwhelmed the system and captured the President along with it.
It is now not clear who is using whom. Those who steal with such crude recklessness can get away with it as long as they can mobilize for the next election. We’ll just deflect and blame foreign elements and gay promoters. Troublesome youth who are dissatisfied with the status quo can sometimes get maimed, killed, and jailed if it will send a message that opposition is dangerous. Nepotism and tribalism can thrive even if it’s at the cost of jamming government systems.

And there is, as the Ebonies would say, “the excruciating conundrum” for a majority of young Ugandans. Increasingly getting squeezed out of the politics and economics of their country, they are forced to seek greener pastures afar.

There, they bump into those who ask about home and have just a moment to decide between talking about the Uganda they hope for and the one they see. The (Museveni) leadership doesn’t seem to care, so why should they?

Benjamin Rukwengye is the founder, Boundless Minds. @Rukwengye