Prime
Why it is hard for Opposition to unite
Peter Cromwell Okello
What you need to know:
- ‘‘...today’s opposing leaders already accumulated wealth which they are afraid of losing."
I write in response to Phillip Matogo’s recent article published in the Daily Monitor advising that the jailing of Rtd Col Dr Kizza Besigye presents an opportunity for the Opposition to unite.
While his opinion recommends the ideal ground for Opposition unity, the conduct of present-day Opposition politicians demonstrates beyond rational doubt that they cannot unite against the NRM regime.
On the contrary, they can gang up against fellow Opposition politicians and parties as we have always seen petty bickering among their leaders. Moreover, there is no party with the capability of defeating the NRM single-handedly.
Certainly, there have been several opportunities that could have united the Ugandan Opposition leaders but they have constantly acted contrary to what the occasions demanded.
To begin with, when a party is internally disorganised, it cannot contribute externally by working with other parties. Within the parties, there are individuals and groups whose interests are odd.
For instance, the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party’s internal wrangles led to the eventual breakaway by the Maj Gen Mugisha Muntu faction that had different ideas.
Consider the Democratic Party’s (DP) internal chaos including the recent hegira of its members to the National Unity Platform (NUP) as the last straw that broke its back.
Moreover, because of how the DP has portrayed itself, even perceived capable leaders like Norbert Mao have failed to sell it beyond Buganda, neither has the DP been able to take Mao anywhere beyond their party president’s office in Kampala.
The once glorious Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC) has become a museum party in today’s Uganda politics. Jimmy Akena, whose presidency has been contested in court, is accused of making private deals with the NRM instead of using the institutional line to negotiate any coalition.
Today, the UPC is the only political party in Uganda whose president claims to be in the Opposition and his wife is a Cabinet minister in the government they claim to oppose. Some UPC members used to consider Jimmy Akena as the Moses sent to deliver Uganda.
In Exodus chapter 3-5, God sent Moses to deliver the children of Israel from Egypt and God told Moses that the rod in his hand would be used to deliver the Israelites. When Moses and Aaron were before Pharaoh, they cast down the rod which turned into a serpent and Pharaoh did the same. However, the rod of Moses swallowed up that of the pharaoh.
To the disappointment of the members of the UPC, Milton Obote’s rod in the hand of Akena, which could have delivered Uganda from Museveni’s rule, has instead been swallowed up by Museveni’s hat.
The UPC party is now involved in throwing stones at the mere birds instead of pursuing the elephants.
The struggle for ownership of the Milton Obote Foundation seems to be the only vision of the current UPC leadership since they are not involved in any activities with other Opposition political parties toward capturing state power.
Apart from a few consistently focused politicians like Dr Kizza Besigye, the behaviour of many Opposition political leaders of today is a testimony that they are involved in pursuing a smaller and more selfish agenda.
After the 2016 election, Dr Besigye was put under house arrest but these parties did not come up in solidarity to demand his release and there were equally no concerted efforts to challenge the election results.
The same story was witnessed before, during and after the 2021 General Election.
After the 1980 General Election, the Uganda Patriotic Movement chose to mobilise their supporters and they formed the National Resistance Army (NRA) which later brought them to power.
Today’s Opposition leaders and parties cannot do that, partly because contrary to the NRA fighters who were poor and had nothing to lose, today’s opposing leaders already accumulated wealth which they are afraid of losing. This justifies why the Opposition in Uganda is far from taking power.
Authored by Peter Cromwell Okello, [email protected]
