Reflections on 33rd anniversary of NRM

What you need to know:

  • 20 years of UPE. If UPE is so good, how come the political class and especially the ruling elite of Uganda prefer to send their children to very expensive private schools here and abroad?

On January 26, the government and people of India celebrated Republic Day with pomp and circumstance. India achieved independence on August 15, 1947, three months before I was born, with Jawaharlal Nehru as India’s first and so far the best prime minister.

On the same day, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) celebrated the 33rd anniversary of its violent ascension to power in Uganda, a day which has been incongruously named, “Liberation Day” which many Ugandans dispute.

For the information of Uganda’s young men and women who were born on or after January 25, 1986, I would like to inform them that NRA guerrillas stormed Kampala and grabbed power by the barrel of the gun on that day, which begs the question, why not mark the anniversary of the NRM regime on January 25?

From credible and reliable sources, I learnt in 1987 that some NRA sympathisers with a sense of history advised against January 25 because it would coincide with the day Gen Idi Amin Dada staged a reactionary military coup in 1971 and overthrew the first UPC government led by president Apolo Milton Obote. The rest is history.

As many Ugandan commentators have argued, despite the disingenuous tactics employed by the NRM to deceive and hoodwink Ugandans from day one, the fact remains that there is amazing similarity between the two military regimes. The NRM regime might as well mark and celebrate its anniversary on January 25, which is historically the correct date.
The theme of the Tororo event was: “A moment of glory that set a new chapter for unity, peace and prosperity for Uganda.”

After apologising for coming late, as usual, Sabalwanyi outlined what he claimed were the four principles of NRM, namely, patriotism, expanded market for East Africa, socio-economic transformation and democracy. In 1986 NRM promulgated 10 principles contained in something called, “The 10-Point Programme” and democracy was point number one of that blueprint; democracy has now been downgraded to last position and, I guess, is on its way out. Well, that looks like another fundamental change.

Sabalwanyi then launched into a vicious attack on “sectarianism” which is laughable and akin to a lion extolling to deers, kobs and zebras the benefits and virtues of a vegetarian diet, especially fresh green grass and explaining how deadly and poisonous eating meat is for all animals!

Almost 10 years ago, Andrew Mwenda published an incisive opinion on sectarianism and nepotism in The Independent magazine of March 11, 2009, titled, “Farewell Republic of Uganda, welcome Rwakitura kingdom” which says it all. Mwenda writes:

“During its 48-year history, our nation has seen many leaders, but none has been as openly corrupt and nepotistic as Museveni - not Idi Amin, Tito Okello and not Milton Obote. Our cover story shows the vast number of known relatives and in-laws of the President in government positions (see page 8); his son, brother, sister, daughter, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, etc. Therefore, the appointment of his wife to Cabinet is a small symbol of an otherwise large and chronic malaise that has been eating at our nation’s entrails. Museveni has been stripping away the difference between himself as a person and his official job as President.”

A decade after Mwenda wrote this accurate and damning indictment, the situation which he described graphically in 2009 is even worse; so for Sabalwanyi to decry corruption and sectarianism is frankly tantamount to adding insult to injury which Ugandans have suffered for three decades as primary victims of the blatant and gross abuse of power by him and the NRM government which he leads.

At the same function, Sabalwanyi praised UPE and launched a book titled, “Universal Primary Education: Transforming Uganda” to commemorate 20 years since the UPE project started in 1997. If UPE is so good, how come the political class and especially the ruling elite of Uganda prefer to send their children to very expensive private schools here and abroad?

It is hypocrisy and dishonesty of the highest order for anybody in the NRM government to allege that UPE is a success story. UPE is qualitatively a failure. Ugandans deserve a lot better!

Mr Acemah is a political scientist and retired career diplomat.
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