An old man, his exiled son, a metal box and African dictator

What you need to know:

The old Museveni. ...Rosenblum had just been in Addis Ababa, and covered the Organisation of African Union (the precursor of the African Union) summit, and Museveni had put on a show that shook the organisation and broken several golden. He had denounced other African leaders, called them dictators, and berated them for doing nothing when Ugandans were being tormented.

The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), Dakar, Senegal, is having a kind of knowledge bazaar this week in the Senegalese capital.

Many of Africa’s stars of the social sciences have walked through CODESRIA’s doors. Among them is our own Prof Mahmood Mamdani, who was its president for 10 years.

In the early years of President Museveni’s government, Kampala – and Mamdani’s house – were a popular destination for CODESRIA fellows, much like it was for African and pan-African intellectuals, writers, and journalists. It seems like fiction today, but at that time, the events in Uganda were unique in Africa.

The NRA/NRM had in 1986 become the first home-based guerrilla movement to oust a post-independent government in Africa. There is a small book titled: What is Africa’s Problem?

It remains one of the best small books on what ails African politics. It argued that one of Africa’s problems were leaders who cling to power and die in office as presidents for life. It was also one of the first non-academic books by an African that relied heavily on data, instead of just ideological passion, to argue its point. When people ask me for quick reads on Africa today, I still recommend it. The author? President-for-life Museveni!

One day at Weekly Topic, I was told an American journalist was at the reception and wanted to see me. I asked the receptionist to bring him to my desk. When he introduced himself, I nearly collapsed with a mix of disbelief and excitement. It was Mort Rosenblum, author of Coups and Earthquakes: Reporting the World for America, one of the most enjoyable books you’ll read on the life of foreign correspondents and international journalism, and a constant companion when I was in journalism school.

Rosenblum had just been in Addis Ababa, and covered the Organisation of African Union (the precursor of the African Union) summit, and Museveni had put on a show that shook the organisation and broken several golden. He had denounced other African leaders, called them dictators, and berated them for doing nothing when Ugandans were being tormented.

He had also said the idea that you couldn’t intervene in a country to stop a leader who was killing his people because of sovereignty was nonsense. Rosenblum said he had come to Uganda to see where this Museveni came from.
Kampala was that kind of place then; the place people to came to see an African phenomenon.

This year, CODESRIA is scratching Mamdani’s back, and recognising his work. On Friday, there will be a “Professor Mahmood Mamdani Celebration” session.

There’s an impressive line-up that will talk about this son of the soil, and a few might even embarrass him with effusive praise.

Mamdani is in attendance, and I can’t wait to see him shift uneasily (or possibly smile from ear to ear) through the accolades. It will be a very different experience from the days he faced Stella Nyanzi’s arrows. So, beyond the drama, what really does Mamdani think of Nyanzi? Surprisingly, he’s very complimentary.

One of the more than 300 scholars and academics in Dakar is Thandika Mkandawire, who is currently a chair of African Development and professor of African Development at the London School of Economics, and a past executive secretary of CODESRIA. Then in exile, having fled the iron fist of Malawi dictator Kamuzu Banda, he was a regular at Mamdani’s house in that period.

So to take you to the Africa of the late 1980s and early 1990s, perhaps a story he told on one of the occasions will sum it up perfectly. Kamuzu Banda was Malawi’s president for 30 years, a majority of which period his Malawi Congress Party (MCP) ruled the country as a one party State.

While in exile, Thandika learnt that his father had become a member of MCP. He felt betrayed.

In May 1994, at the ripe old age of 96, Kamuzu lost the election after Malawi ended one party rule and returned to multiparty politics. After many years, Thandika could finally return home.

It was all pleasantries, but he finally got to ask his old man why he had joined the MCP. His old man only said, “follow me” and led him to his bedroom. He pulled aside their bed, and below it was a hidden chamber that he slid open. Inside was a locked metal trunk.

He opened it, and it was full MCP party cards, T-shirts, and party paraphernalia. While the mzee had paid for the cards, he never carried them.
“I never joined MCP”, he told Thandika. “I did it to survive, so I could see this day”, he said. Thandika was stumped.

If Museveni ends up leaving power at 96 like Kamuzu, how many NRM cards, T-shirts, or caps, shall we find in trunks hidden away in Ugandans’ wardrobes, ceilings, or hearts? You see, many times the stories about the past are about our present.

Mr Onyango-Obbo is the publisher of Africa data
visualiser Africapedia.com and explainer site. Roguechiefs.com. Twitter@cobbo3