New or old formations, we want a Uganda that delivers for us all

In some ways, FDC has so far failed the test. So much promise, so much potential. And not much else.

This is largely the story of Uganda the country — good geographical features and a complicated history but minimal returns from tourism; good soils but a lousy agricultural dividend; generally smart and entrepreneurial population, but uninspired government.

Most of FDC’s significant leaders ran away from NRM’s politics of intrigue, politics of the personality cult, politics of pettiness. Thus far FDC has delivered the same, a semblance of open contest for the top job notwithstanding. FDC has achieved this feat even without being in government. Got to tip my hat to that.

The party’s muddle-headedness has seen the decamping of its former president Mugisha Muntu.

As Gen Muntu said in a televised news conference on Thursday, FDC could well go on to consolidate its defiance agenda to become a force to reckon with now that the chief mole and wimp has left. Or its demons could persist, with the defiance purists finding yet another mole to gang up against.

We will indeed see more finger-pointing as FDC purists, some call them radicals, try to embarrass and quickly force out real or suspected supporters of Gen Muntu, especially MPs who can’t quit just yet for fear of losing their jobs. They will have it pretty rough, something that will only create more animosity within the party.

However things turn out in FDC from this point on, it is safe to say Dr Kizza Besigye will be its flag-bearer for president of Uganda come the February 2021 elections. It is his party, just like NRM is President Museveni’s animal.

It is beguiling to see in real time how the self-declared reformers outside the government resemble their opponents inside the government. Mr Museveni has set the general contours along which political parties in Uganda operate. The little dirty tricks, though, go back to Milton Obote.

His purge of UPC in 1964, starting with the ouster of party secretary general John Kakonge, has become the blueprint for our politics of bare-knuckles and subterfuge.

Gen Muntu now has room to live by his professed values of decency and transparency. Ideally, these are laudable principles. We teach them to our children and the religious leaders preach them all the time, even if half-heartedly. It is arguable, however, whether these are values Ugandans think can deliver power in a hard-charging political environment.

Gen Muntu will soon find out. The company he keeps may well sway him this way or that. What will be the approach of Bobi Wine, of Norbert Mao, of Asuman Basalirwa? These are three of the leaders he says he is talking with. All these men may be honourable political actors, how about their key supporters?

How about their NRM opponents? Will Gen Muntu get to a point where he has to go with the flow, damn the nice principles?

For now, he can be commended for trying to distinguish himself from a crowded field of political leaders devoid of scruples. A little branding is never a bad thing.

Even if Gen Muntu eventually turns out to be the best president Uganda never had, he has already contributed something useful to our political life: which is that politics need not be a dirty game. Some day Uganda may be thankful.

Bernard Tabaire is a media trainer and commentator on public affairs based in Kampala.
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Twitter:@btabaire