Rukundo Paul Rwabihurwa
Uganda is geared up for a hot political period. Most of the political parties are focusing on formation of party structures and election of flag bearers who will represent their respective parties in general elections scheduled for early 2026.
Like any other African countries, Uganda is not much different when it comes to political rhetoric, often not correlating with actions, especially in areas of governance reforms, corruption, infrastructure development, human rights and service delivery. This mismatch between promises and tangible outcomes frustrates Ugandans and undermines public trust in state institutions.
Our country is currently faced with serious challenges of patronage characterised by heavy corruption that has seen the country lose Shs9.144 trillion per annum, as per the Inspector General of Government’s report. Frequent and endless promises to fight corruption have turned to be the Lord ’s Prayer that is said every morning while sinning continues as if the Lord himself abandoned the hearts/city.
The little efforts of fighting corruption we see are marred with selective arrests, while high profile cases rarely lead to convictions and one wonders whether there is a threshold for what should be stolen and what should not.
Such tendencies are very dangerous for a government in power as they widen the gap between the haves and the have-nots, which threatens the longevity of that particular party in power.
By Uganda’s demographics, the youth are the consumers of these lies being the majority voting population and just like ancient diplomat Niccolo Machieveli put it that “one who deceives, will always find those who will allow themselves to be deceived,” it’s what we are set to witness in the coming elections.
The unanswered question is, what if young Ugandans decide to take it on themselves? What if they reject the handouts politicians are distributing and start demanding for real change that will create meaningful jobs, create a working health system, revolutionise education, infrastructure development, mechanised agriculture, and punish corrupt officials?
What if they start speaking one language in unison? Democracy in this country presents a give and take situation where what is given is not equivalent to what is taken. Most Ugandans who join politics do it for selfish monetary interests and gains, but not for service delivery to the people.
The political business is very lucrative to the extent that politicians are willing to risk it all to enter Parliament or even the local/city council hall as councillors and district political heads.
The cost for one to become a leader in this country is so high for one not to avoid shady deals in order to recover what they invested. This has greatly tempted political leaders to initiate and take bribes, steal money meant for public projects, which is why we are where we are as a country.
Young Ugandans through different fora have raised their voices over issues of governance reforms like the electoral reforms where they have challenged government on issues of nomination fees, militarisation of elections like we saw in the Kawempe North by-election where journalists were brutalised. All these concerns have been swept under the carpet.
Issues of human rights, political persecution are all concerning issues that the country is hurting from, and addressing these questions will require an inclusive approach where politicians, religious leaders, cultural leaders, civil society organisations, young people, minority groups and senior citizens are involved in providing answers and charting a way for a Uganda that works for all.
It's high time these political parties start building trust among Ugandans to dream and imagine again. This is not only a responsibility of the National Resistance Movement as the party in power; it's rather a shared liability of all other political players to make Ugandans believe that the country’s resources can be equitably allocated in sectors that can impact their lives and restore the lost glory and hope.
Mr Paul Rukundo Rwabihurwa is a member of the Uganda Parliamentary Forum on Youth Affairs.
