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Explaining his support for the NRM government after making a career from criticising it for more than a decade, journalist Andrew Mwenda often says he grew up, learned a lot about power and politics, became an entrepreneur and thus appreciated Museveni more.
Lately, he is fond of taking a prophetic stance and prophesying that those seeking to replace Yoweri Museveni will be worse – meaning more authoritarian and tyrannical – than Museveni himself.
It is not true that our friend Andrew Mwenda is a slow learner, and it had to take him over a decade to appreciate power and become more sympathetic to Yoweri Museveni. Mind you, this is a man who has prophetic powers as he is able to predict with certainty that seeking to replace Museveni will be worse.
Someone powerfully challenged Mwenda one time: If this man was bad in the late 1990s into the 2000s, when he had just come and had committed far fewer crimes, was handsomer and more articulate, why join him now when his crimes have almost tripled, and the man himself become haggard and wobblier?
Interestingly, Mwenda will candidly tell you about how exhausted Museveni is mentally and physically, but instead of telling his man to stand on the side, he turns around and says those opposing him are worse.
One jester asked Mwenda one time, if those challenging him will be potentially worse, and Museveni is tired and exhausted, why doesn’t Andrew Mwenda pursue the campaign to find the right people to replace the exhausted man? (Was Patriotic League of Uganda the response?)
EXHAUSTION, EXPIRY
Sometime back, I wrote about the challenges of struggles which carry on forever – and the pains of watching hitherto wonderful comrades cross to the side of our adversary, the oppressor.
While this is often discoursed in terms of money – that they have gone to eat – it is my sobering belief that this has so little to do with money.
Discussing these struggles with an elderly friend of mine recently, he told me about our (mostly financial) struggles, which overwhelm and force us to join the oppressor: debts, fees, dead-beat old cars, unsettled wives, and threadbare ‘consultancies.’
You might add ill-health, and related family stresses, which eat into the veins of the warrior. When one crosses to the side of the oppressor and a soft life immediately follows, we are quick to conclude that this is about money.
But this is not entirely true. Rather, fatigue. Especially where one is fighting ghosts through their agents – modern indirect rule – protracted struggles are exhausting. The activist or opposition politician gets exhausted.
Folks watching on the outside, equally going through similar stresses, but soldiering on steadily may never understand this capitulation. It looks like greed. A desire to eat. It looks like weakness.
As I explained then, this is entirely about a warrior’s shelf-life, which differs from one person to another. In truth, we are like organic or industrial products with a manufacture sell-by date.
While there are vintage cars, and white Land Rovers, whose shine never fades (Col Kizza Besigye, the late Hajji Hussein Kyanjo, Imam Kasozi), there is a Toyota Raum, and Hondas. Or a bicycle.
These look shiny, practical and exciting, but they are useful for a small time (put a name close to you). The point I am making is that at that point of expiry, the activists chasten themselves with the cliché, “if you cannot beat them, join them.”
But true to all expired products – industrial or organic – are simply dangerous to the ecosystem, especially if aggressively used or exposed to the environment.
FIRST AS TRAGEDY, THEN AS FARCE
While I appreciate the dilemmas of crossing over, watching new recruits go about their businesses is absolute comedy. It is not painful anymore.
While it would be safer to cross over and keep quiet – I would gladly recommend that and maybe appear at NRM events and stuff – most of these latest crossovers are really naughty loquacious blocks.
While I believe expired products, especially the industrial nature, could be repaired and made useful longer than their expiry dates, some of these machines are so impatient to get back on the road.
Not too long ago, I did some political talk-shows with two recent crossovers: former East African Parliament legislator, Mukasa Mbidde and a director at Uganda Investment Authority (UIA), Dr Anthony Wakida.
Both of them are vying for parliament in this election. Mbidde, while belonging to the opposition party, the Democratic Party, proudly supports the NRM presidential candidate: Yoweri Museveni.
Activist and former FDC politician Dr Wakida is standing for parliament on the NRM ticket. These men represent the pains of protracted struggles – and the decision to keep talking non-stop. (Plus, Minister Nobert Mao?)
In one voice, Mukasa Mbidde would detail the mess in the country, from land grabs to a broken judicial system, all happening under Yoweri Museveni, and then turn around and say he supports Museveni for president. He opposes the same man.
He will then laugh that it would have been unfair to present Nobert Mao for president as better than his master, Yoweri Museveni. Recall, Mao is a minister in Museveni’s government, while he leads an opposition party interested in replacing the same man. (Maybe there is no contradiction.
But it is as funny as hell). Asked about what he understands by the NRM campaign slogan, “Protecting the Gains,” Dr Wakida, who comes from another extremely forgotten constituency, would rather take a bullet than speak directly about these gains.
Instead, he obfuscated, attempted to confuse the host, spoke with long pauses, pivoted, and consumed his entire time.
That a director of UIA feels less empowered to transform Uganda and thus has to join parliament for empowerment, is nothing but tragicomedy. Well, the season of circus continues.
yusufkajura@gmail.com
The author is a political theorist based at Makerere University.
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