William Pike’s book fails to analyse Museveni

William Pike’s recently self-published book, Combatants: A Memoir of the Bush War and the Press in Uganda, is an important account of how the NRA fought its way to power.

It provides some useful insights into the modus operandi of the guerrilla outfit, Museveni towering role as the charismatic frontman and the nature of the NRM government in its early years.

But the book is decidedly one-sided, flawed and lacks a balanced appraisal of the NRA both as a rebel group and the NRM as a government. It ends up reading more like a narrative of the victors and why the vanquished deserved what they got. Worse, Pike fails to confront a critical component of the political crisis we face today – life presidency. I return to this in a moment.

Pike first arrived in Uganda in 1984 and was the first journalist to interview rebel leader Yoweri Museveni deep inside the jungles of Luweero. He was the first person to present the rebels to the world and shored its diplomatic standing.

But he was not an impartial journalist. In fact, he got so entangled with the NRA and played a crucial role in shaping the narrative about mass killings in Luweero’s war theatre. As he concedes in the book, he was seen by NRM critics as a propagandist and a cadre of sorts.

In any event, given that he led the government-owned New Vision newspaper for 20 good years, and was closely ensconced to the State and the inner echelons of the ruling regime, his book would ideally cover substantial ground. It does not. The bulk of the book was written more than 25 years ago - between 1990 and 1992.

Only one chapter, the last, was written in 2007 shortly after his forced resignation as the New Vision’s chief executive and editor-in-chief. So the newest material in the book was written 12 years ago.

The curious reader has to ask why Pike would elect to publish in 2019 a book written in 1992 and thus says almost nothing about Uganda since 2007.

Nevertheless, the chapter about his forced departure from the New Vision helps in shedding light on Museveni’s creeping authoritarianism and the road to a presidentfor life. Apparently, Museveni had become too agitated about the New Vision not doing enough of what he wanted: Granting him and his government unfettered positive coverage and serving the interests of the regime, not the public.

According to Pike, Museveni particularly loathed New Vision’s coverage of his chief political challenger, Dr Kizza Besigye. For example, when the paper published pictures of huge crowds at Besigye’s campaign rallies, he was livid and harangued Nobel Mayombo (then board chairman), who would in turn lambast Pike, betraying a deep sense of political insecurity and paranoia.

Pike also reveals something instructive yet unsurprising. Asked by a foreign ally about why he has to continue living a life of a huge security ring around him, Museveni reportedly stated that he was addicted to power. Thus, he can’t contemplate getting on with ordinary life and the routine of a citizen. This is unsurprising because the logic is unequivocal: The longer Museveni has held onto power, the more he has convinced himself that there is no life for him outside State House. This also means that the cost of clinging on keeps rising.

More money is needed to oil the patronage machine, including paying stupendously to amend the Constitution. The cost to the state of the rule of law and the quality of governance is unquantifiable and more insidious than the financial one.

The other implication is that Museveni increasingly sees Uganda as no more than his real estate over which he exercises unlimited personal authority. Anybody who seriously politically challenges him is, therefore, construed as engaged in creating confusion, telling lies and committing crimes.

On his part, by contrast, he seems himself as the source of uncontested truth, unique wisdom and the only problem solver. The sum of it is a slippery slope all of the way.

Dr Khisa is assistant professor at North Carolina State University (USA).
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