Brig Deus Sande and the funeral’s useful drunkard

Little known Brig Deus Sande, the Commander of the Masaka Amoured Brigade, broke the law and made headlines when he jumped into the arena of partisan politics. 

While addressing NRM Mobilisers, he made it clear that UPDF was rooting for the incumbent, President Yoweri Museveni, who is the NRM presidential candidate in the 2021 General Election. He said the army would not ‘thoughtlessly’ hand over to politicians who are ‘ideologically bankrupt.’ 
He went on say they (UPDF and NRM) were, in fact, consolidating not thinking about relinquishing power to anyone. 

An army officer diving into partisan politics under the NRM’s 34 year rule is not new in Uganda. It has happened in the past with mixed consequences. 
If the opinion of the soldier is for any entity not in tandem with the ruling NRM, say the Opposition, then the officer is deemed to have broken the law. He is vilified for being undisciplined and discussing in the wrong forum. They are then threatened with disciplinary action.

If they are batting for the NRM (like Lt Gen Peter Elwelu and the late Maj Gen Kasirye Gwanga did very often), they will either be loud silence from the Army or they will typically say the individual is speaking for themselves, not the institution. End of story.  
 
Recently, an RDC of Mbarara, Lt Col James Mwesigye, told civil servants to go out and mobilise for NRM and that they risk being sacked if they do not support NRM or if they decampaign the party and its leader Museveni.
Considering also that the Opposition is hardly allowed to mobilise and is met with brutality by enthusiastic security agents, there is no indication that we are preparing for a free and fair competitive process. 

But we still hold these elections anyway because for the incumbent to transact business and be recognised globally, he must as a minimum, come through an election for the sake of legitimacy.  If it is a shambolic process like we have had overtime, we have learnt to sanitise it along the way. 
First, when individuals in the Opposition take part and get pieces or crumbs of the pie that will be allowed to fall their way by the NRM, they lend gravitas to the outcome. It will be observed that the elected government, like in a normal civilised political environment, tolerates an opposition side in parliament. This side acts as a check and a representative of divergent views which are core tenets of democracy.

Second, if the result is contested in a court of law, it ironically make it even better. The judges will sweep the malpractices under the carpet and legitimise the government by claiming that the rigging was not substantial enough to affect the result. 

Third, election time is one of those periods that helps income and national resource distribution. There is a lot of procurement which does not go through formal process because it is treated as an emergency. There will be a lot of unscrutinised classified expenditure for the security of the process, which will enrich some individuals. 
This plus all the money which comes as gifts and bribes to voters, payment for service providers, printers, etc, makes it a popular process even it is light on meaning. 

There will also be many a government opponents who will be financially disarmed and gradually rendered politically vulnerable as they compete using their own resources against NRM candidates financed from the national kitty. 
Many end up seeing the light and crossing over to the NRM or becoming ‘friendly opponents’ of the government side, which silently finances them. Genuine Opposition slowly fades away.

It all goes back to where it started when the NRM captured power in 1986. It was a one party outfit conveniently championing ‘no party democracy.’ It ended up doing 10 using constitutional making as an excuse. Having consolidated power it still feels uncomfortable with competition.

This tells us that the trip to the bush was not an altruistic exercise to rid the country of dictators and restore democracy. It was to capture power and enjoy it for as long as possible. They are only shy to say it loudly.
That is left for the Brig Sandes of this world, who are not erratic fools. They are effectively communicating what cannot be said by self-respecting people. They remind one of the setting at a funeral in the home of a feared anti-social rich man who is proud and remains aloof in matters of concern to the community. 

Should there be a bereavement in his home, the people who fear him and self-respect will buy a village drunkard liberal amounts of alcohol. Then they will coach him on expletives to deliver out loud, especially during the moments when a preacher is delivering a sermon and all are present and attentive. 

The inebriated shabby fellow will shout that the rich man is an arrogant, mean land grabber, wife poacher, who does not visit the sick or attend burials. 
The same people who bought him the booze will then make feeble attempts to shut him up, but deep down, they will be rejoicing that they have been heard.