The dark side of democracy

One of the things I miss most about childhood is the games we used to play. Like other Ugandan kids, our closest friends at home were the neighbour’s kids. We reimagined games from the cartoons/movies we watched - werewolf, golf, baseball. If we’d seen it on TV, we invented our version of it and played it. There was always one problem though; our age differences meant it was fun to play with some kids and not others.

There’s nothing quite as frustrating as playing hide and seek with kids who can’t count to 20 because they’ve only been taught to count to 10! We’d do everything we could to avoid giving the toddlers important roles in certain games - often leaving them the boring tasks like switching off the lights or keeping a lookout.  Increasingly, I find correlations between my childhood experiences and the things I witnessed as an adult.

As a child, your introduction to democracy is straightforward - everyone gets a vote, and each vote is equal. It doesn’t matter that Samantha is 5 years old and still believes in the tooth fairy; she gets a vote too. When we grow up, we carry these beliefs with us and use the same logic to determine how decisions are made in different areas of our lives. For instance, in our friend groups, we all get an equal vote about where we hang out, even though there’s always that one friend who’s the designated driver. In romantic relationships, both parties collectively decide on where to eat, even though the bill probably won’t be split. Egalitarianism has been drummed into us from childhood, forcing us to overlook certain imbalances. Its cousin, political correctness, like my mother’s side-eye, forces us to bite our tongues in the face of obvious uncomfortable truths.

Looking back over post-colonial Africa, one is struck by the monumental task that was laid at the feet of our leaders. For instance, during the round table talks in the fight for Congo’s independence, the country’s presidential forerunner, Patrice Lumumba, intelligent though he was, had nothing more than a basic education. He and the rest of the Congolese delegation were woefully unqualified to negotiate the fate of their country. The rest of Africa fared pretty much the same; we had teachers, secretaries, and ‘entrepreneurs’ negotiating against savvy British, French, and Belgian lawyers.

Robert Mugabe, Julius Nyerere, Kenneth Kaunda, and the rest were all visionaries, and yet for all the good they sought to do, their legacies are marred by political instability and economic stagnation. They were brave. Brave and unqualified. The countries these leaders received on independence day with their vibrant economies and well-planned infrastructure have been destroyed by socialist policies a.k.a high-sounding nonsense.

Julius Nyerere, hailed by all as one of Africa’s greats, introduced socialism through his Ujama initiatives, costing the country dearly, leaving a once-thriving economy in tatters and the country in need of food aid.

Fast forward to the current reality in our beautiful country, and the dynamic still holds, although supported by different means. The least qualified people hold the most important roles, implementing policies, bypassing laws, and setting precedents we’ll have to pay heavily for in the future.

Democracy is supposed to be a good thing…on paper. In theory, every man should get a vote. In theory. In practice though, our brand of democracy seems to inevitably do more harm than good. In a population where the majority is either illiterate or semi-literate, living day-to-day in survival mode, entrusting them with the responsibility of determining the nation’s future may not be the most prudent decision. Democracy ought to be tailored to the realities on the ground. For instance, the electoral college system in the US is evidence that democracy can be curated to match the country’s unique situation.

The fact that a comedian can enter parliament (RIP) based solely on his ability to tell jokes should not only cause alarm, it should jolt us into questioning everything about our current system. This sounds elitist, politically incorrect, and downright exclusionary. Yes. Now take a look around; look at our roads, hospitals, and education system, every important system is failing because a person was voted based on everything under the sun except their ability to do the job.

Every job I’ve ever applied to required proof of capability before even being interviewed - the higher the role, the harder you have to work to prove you’re the person for the job.

Sadly, in Uganda, you just need to be a talker, a comedian, or a singer, the rest you’ll learn on the job!

@Omumbejja_BN