Why Multi party democracy still has a long way in Africa

The recent elections held in the United States of America and in Africa paint a contradictory picture of multiparty politics in Africa and the western world. Despite the fact that, democracy is now seen as a prerequisite for development, there is a profound sense of hope being frustrated by previous and current governments under multi party democracies, of stereotypes being reaffirmed-that Africans can not govern themselves or if we can, that we are still a long way from the fruits of multiparty democracy.

The African historical context is not a democratic one. Historically, chiefs and kings were not voted, they were appointed. Every African leader who has come in has taken himself or herself as a king. As such, anyone who defies or challenges them is deemed rebellious. That’s why in such contexts incumbent presidents do not have kind words for their opponents- the opposition and government see each other as enemies. The era has changed but the mindset of many African leaders has not.

Governments in Africa elected on a ‘democratic tickets’ have become corrupted by the conscious development of personality cults. In Uganda, UPC had this weakness where the Party president then the late Mr. Obote Milton built an occultic personality that UPC was Obote and Obote was UPC, the reason why UPC has not really been able to pick up without Obote. Today we have similar challenges with the NRM, where the President is synonymous with NRM and the NRM is the President. Further more, each party is a resemblance of the iconic person's ideology. The challenge is that there is no separation between party issues and personalities, if I criticise a party then I have criticised the person. There is also no longevity with the party ideologies compared to the Luther King or Malcom X Movements in the West. When Kwame Nkruma or Nyerere for example died, that was the end of their ideologies.

One of the major challenges of multi party democracy in Africa is hunger for power by current leaders and how this hunger for power can lead to the erosion of democratic values, electoral fraud, and the near breakdown of relatively well-functioning multiparty systems. Many leaders come to power with the wrong objective to get rich, enjoy pompous life of status and power at the expense of the poor masses. Often time, the leaders in the opposition are only struggling to get into power not ignite social transformation but also to only get power or a piece of the national cake.

Patriarchy is the major anchor of power hungry leaders. Evidence is there that shows, that in Africa we have raised majority of the most power hungry dictators in the world. Why? Dictators and power hungry leaders arise because of the way patriarchy reigns in our homes. In Ugandan homes for example, we have kingdoms and absolute monarchies where the power of a man is absolute and unquestionable. Even right now some parents are busy raising dictators in young boys who will grow up to become the future dictators.

Tribal politics has remained one of our major unfolding. Every party that is existing in Uganda right now is meddling in tribal politics. Africa is also familiar with the concept of military democracy. For as long as the gun is brought into politics then multi party politics can not be effective because the gun has more power than the vote- the power to finish off life.

Multi-party politics however, is the only way to true representative democracy in Africa yet true democracy must take into account the perspectives of all people, tribes and genders and issues of marginalised groups. The over all challenge is that it will take time for African political parties to build coalitions beyond the interests of one region or one ethnic group or gender and to build a party platform beyond the ambitions of a single leader or one interest group. This took time in the West, but it happened. It will happen in Africa too, and I believe that the time is now. Meanwhile, we must not succumb to the notion that Africans are less deserving of their freedom to express their political views than any other people on Earth.


The Writer is gender advocate and policy analyst

What is the future of the Peace Process in Uganda?

I have been following the Juba Peace talks with interest as a concerned Ugandan. The most recent report is that the LRA chief has again failed to turn up for the signing of the final Peace talks. Four peace preliminary peace agreements have so far been signed except for the final agreement which would indeed signify the end of the conflict in Northern Uganda. According to reports in the Saturday Vision of 13th September 2008, LRA Chief Joseph Kony on Thursday called the chief of the Acholi, Paramount chief Rwot Acana II to mobilize the Acholi cultural, religious and local leaders to mediate for a way forward. According to the LRA chief, some people were fighting to fail the peace process by blocking him from singing the final peace agreement adding that the major reason why he was not signing the final peace agreement was because of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The ICC under the request of the government of Uganda issued arrest warrants for LRA’s top 5 commanders including Joseph Kony for crimes committed against humanity during the insurgency in Northern Uganda. The Northern Uganda insurgency has been rated one of the worst human crisises in the recent times with tens of thousand of people killed or burnt to death, maimed, women and girls raped and facing all sorts of sexual violations imaginable. More than 30, 000 children have been abducted to serve as rebels. The population in this region is the poorest and this has gone on for 21years. The recent peace negotiations therefore in Juba were a source of hope for many people especially women and children who are the worst hit victims of this conflict, with the current youth of this region not knowing what peace is called since birth.

There have already been messages in the media that indicate that government is planning another military onslaught against the rebels since the rebels have failed to sign the peace agreement. However, the LRA say, they will not sign unless the ICC withdraws its indictments against them. Where does this leave the youth and children of Northern Uganda who in their lives have not known what a good meal, shelter or clothing is like and whose hope for a good future is greatly threatened by such developments?

The rebels have consistently expressed the wish to face justice within Uganda rather than at the ICC. According to Justice Julia Ssebutinde, Uganda can still regain its powers to prosecute the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) leaders since the law establishing the ICC provides room for deferral of the indictments. This can be done by filing a formal inter-party request for the ICC to withdraw from a case, under Article 19 of the Rome statute, which established the court. The condition however, before the government applies for the withdrawal, it should ensure that the necessary legislation that will try the suspects is in place and are functional. The Peace Agreement signed on Accountability and Reconciliation signed in Juba by the LRA and Government provides that, a special tribunal for trying LRA case will be established. The final peace agreement is therefore still in balance until the two parties sort out the issue of ICC.

This is however, at the cost of people in these regions whose experiences are equivalent to living in hell while still alive and almost rendered a hopeless venture. There is no point justifying government’s position of resorting to military options after 21 years of fighting this war. Nobody can assume to be more grieved than the aggrieved person. Government has to respect the views of the people who suffered this war. To them Peace comes first and justice later. Indeed, for me as a person, peace is much more important than justice; because no punishment can ever be done to Kony and his people that will march the level of suffering that the people of the North all put together have gone through.

My take on this issue is that much as government is working hard to ensure that the LRA does not return to destabilize Northern Uganda, it has not explored all the possible peaceful avenues to resolving this conflict. I was on a talk show this morning where we were discussing the status of the Peace talks, and it clears to me from the comments of some of my colleagues (men) that, they supported a military onslaught against the LRA. I called men war mongers, because when you look at the wars being fought every where in the world, who is fighting them? and who are the main victims-women, children and young persons. Who make such decisions of fighting these conflicts-men.

I would like to see all Ugandans living in peace and prosperity. This should be the mindset of all Ugandans no matter what region ones comes from, because a country in war is a poor country. For stake holders that are involved in the peace process, peace must be achieved and maintained at all costs, because people want Peace! Also, now that government has already developed programmes aimed at the recovery of Northern Uganda, it must support this through adequate funding, it must recommit itself to fighting corruption country wide; strengthen the justice and law sector as well as the operations of local governments who are charged with implementing these programmes.

Above all, involvement of women in all decision making processes spells progress for all Ugandans, without 50% of the total population of Uganda, means a 50% loss for the country, that is why we are seeing such wars dragging on unnecessarily.
It is not until; the day women will lead Uganda or this world for that matter, that the world will truly experience peace and prosperity. Ask me to substantiate this statement when that happens! I thank you readers.

Arrest of kingdom ministers portends trouble for Mengo

I was shocked upon learning of the arrest of Buganda Information Minister Mr Peter Mayiga, Deputy Information Minister Mr Medard Lubega and chairperson of the kingdom’s civic education committee Ms Betty Nambooze for inciting sectarianism. The action of arresting the three Mengo notables reflected humiliation of the people they represent.
I am a listerner to all of the accused’s programmes on the kingdom’s Central Broadcasting Service radio. While I sometimes find their language confrontational, their arrest will only inspire them to hero status and will only increase resentment to the NRM government.
Being the mouthpiece of the kingdom, whoever ordered their arrest should have respected their position in Ugandan society. The manner in which the youthful minister was arrested is a clue to what the police has already been accused of.
Why would an elite police force smash the window glass of a car whose occupant Nambooze cannot match the size of the smallest police constable? The image of the police force should be preserved.
Secondly, this should not have been done on the occasion of the Buganda Conference for it would loosely be interpreted that whoever arrested them was cowed by their achievement.
The government should be made to know that the people of Buganda today are more united against any force that will seek to antagonise them. Diplomacy would have been better than confrotation.
It was also conspicuous that Prof. Apolo Nsibambi, he of the Mawazo fame, did not attend the Buganda conference when colleagues Mazrui, Mamdani, Juuko and Sempebwa were indulging in intellectual discourse.
Why was Ms Ruth Nankabirwa and Speaker of Parliament Mr Edward Ssekandi the only notable people from the central government? Where was Prof. Makubuya? Was this scenario deliberate? Was it a reaction to Nsibambi’s recent humiliation at the funeral service of the late Kiggundu? Is this how a government reacts to pressure from a non-armed force? We need to differentiate between wit and abuse. Who of Mengo and the President is abusing the other. I don't need to be educated to know that words like 'Gasia tu', stupid, swine and many othes from the president's vocabulary are abusive.
That said and done, closure of CBS radio could be next. But how will Baganda react? Are we not rapidly sliding back towards 1966? Time will tell.

THE LAND ISSUE IN UGANDA: BREWING YET A NEW CONFLICT

Once again Uganda is awash with tensions over the controversial land issue which in fact is brewing a possible bloody conflict in Uganda

For close to six months now, there have been hostile discussions concerning land in Uganda. These as a result of Government’s suggested amendment to the Land Act 2007. The main sticky point to date has been that the fact that Land Amendment Bill seeks to protect tenants from being evicted from land they have lived in by their landlords without the notice of the Minister.

The reason why this is a sticky issue is because it will mainly affect the Baganda who are in the central location and capital of Uganda where the fertile is and where majority of the land is owned under tenancy system. Secondly if this Amendment passes through in parliament, majority of the Baganda risk loosing their land which has been occupied for long time by people from other parts of the country since the land is in the central business region of the country.

The Baganda have not of course taken this lightly. They are up in arms against the current government with the Buganda Kingdom being the central mouth piece of Buganda concerns with some Members of Parliament coming from the Buganda region.

The recent incidents showing the stand off between the government and Buganda Kingdom have been arrests of three Buganda officials who were conducting civic education on the proposed land amendments. The Officials were accused in relation to allegations of acquisition of illegal guns, inciting violence and secretarianism. Since the arrested persons have been critical of the proposed land law, and vociferous in demanding for federo against the declared intentions of the state, their arrest raises eyebrows.

The youth have taken to the streets. Incidents of violence have already broken out from some parts in the central region in resistance to the arrests of the officials and what is believed by the Buganda Kindgom as an affront on the Baganda. This is exacerbating the existing ethnic tensions in Uganda and brewing a possible ethnic clash.

Ancient animosities threaten an east African country yearning to be modern

A grumpy kingdom
Jul 24th 2008 KAMPALA
From The Economist print edition

ONE feature of Uganda is the persistence of its five Bantu kingships. They have no formal political power but centuries of powerful tradition behind them. Foremost among them, or so its subjects crow, is the kingdom of Buganda, from which the modern state of Uganda takes its name and whose people, the Baganda, were once the most numerous and powerful. For many years, however, they have felt unfairly treated—and are becoming ever-more-hostile to the 22-year-old regime of President Yoweri Museveni.

Once again, land is a burning issue. The now ghostly realm of the Baganda takes in the fertile lands in and around the capital, Kampala (see map). The Baganda number only 5m of Uganda’s 31m people, but are proud and prickly about their past. They say they were never conquered by the British, but entered voluntarily into a protectorate. Certainly they were favoured with a measure of autonomy. The tensions between their kingdom and the Ugandan state have never disappeared and are now as high as they have ever been since independence.

The Baganda have long nurtured a catalogue of grievances. They cannot forget how their king, the kabaka, was burned out of his palace in 1966 and exiled. King Edward Mutesa, known abroad as “King Freddie”, a former officer in Britain’s Grenadier Guards who was then serving as Uganda’s non-executive president, later died of alcoholic poisoning in London in 1969; some Baganda think he was murdered. After a bloody interregnum during the years of Idi Amin (1971-1979) and the ensuing civil wars, the king’s son, Ronald Mutebi, was allowed to return by Mr Museveni. The idea was to use the kingships (the others being Ankole, from which Mr Museveni hails, Bunyoro, Busoga and Toro) to build national reconciliation and attract educated and prosperous Ugandans back to a ravaged country.

But the Baganda say that Mr Museveni is breaking a promise to give back their communal lands. They claim 9,000 square miles (23,310 sq km) of central Uganda. Mr Museveni dismisses this claim out of hand. He says that the calculations are erroneous, that the claims to title are shaky, and that those who occupied the land for the past few decades should have rights to it. His government says that 420,000 Ugandans with land in the best parts of the country should not have priority over 30m Ugandans who have little or none.

The minister of lands, Daniel Atubo, argues that the Baganda cannot reasonably lay claim to more than 700 square miles. This assertion was applauded by many non-Baganda, particularly the rival Bunyoro, to the north-west. The government is resolved to push through a new land law that would strip Buganda of its communal lands and weaken the hold of all landlords over the land they still control. The Baganda are also furious at a government policy of settling pastoralists from other parts of the country, along with their cattle, in Baganda villages.
Some fear that this could lead to war. Several young men filing out of Buganda’s Parliament building in Kampala on a sunny Saturday afternoon say so. “The government has squeezed the kingdom too far,” says one, waving a tract on Baganda land rights. “It’s time to fight,” says another. The potential for outbreaks of ethnic violence of the kind seen in Kenya after last year’s disputed general election is high; in some districts, fighting has already been reported. Aggrieved Baganda may target pastoralists and other poor non-Baganda with nowhere else to go.

Even if violence is prevented, the problem of how to settle and protect the displaced poor while not angering the landed would be hard enough. Moreover, Uganda has other big worries. Its population is exploding; in the past half century it has leapt from 6m to its present 31m. Grazing land for cattle is fast running out. In the north, some 1.7m people, mostly of the Acholi tribe, are still displaced as a result of the brutal decades-long rebellion of the Lord’s Resistance Army. Mr Museveni is far from achieving his ambition of turning Uganda into a regional industrial power.
Educated Baganda, especially those in the government, accept that a compromise is necessary if Uganda is to move forward but say land reform must be fair. They complain that some of the disputed land has been dished out to army officers friendly to Mr Museveni. Independent land experts and bankers agree with the government that some of Buganda’s land claims are hard to prove but add that the land law is full of inconsistencies.

By hook or by crook
Mr Museveni may be trying to split the Baganda’s vote before the next elections, due in 2011. Though he strong-armed Parliament three years ago into changing the constitution to let him serve his current third term as president, the latest whisper is that he is bent on having a fourth. Hence the latest grumbling among Ugandans of all tribes (except his own), but especially among the once-dominant Baganda.

Creating a clearer federal structure for Uganda could help, but Mr Museveni is against the idea. Though he has warm relations with the government of Ethiopia, which has championed ethnic federalism, he says Uganda is too complex, with many ethnic groups living together in mixed areas, for such a system to be anything but divisive. Besides, it would mean loosening his grip on power at the centre. The Baganda seem loth to rebel in the near future. But if the 2011 elections are badly handled, Uganda could slide into violence again. And the land issue could all too easily be the catalyst.

Copyright © 2008 The Economist Newspaper and The Economist Group. All rights reserved.

TRACING THE ROOTS OF ARMED CONFLICT IN UGANDA

Uganda is one of the countries that has had a long history of conflict. Conflict has been part and parcel of the lives of many youth in Uganda. Since my child hood, there has been conflict occurring in different parts of the country at any one time.

I want to address in this article a fundamental issue that is a root cause of conflict in Uganda but is often un addressed and not discussed. When discussing the root causes of conflict in Uganda, it is easy to trace it to the colonial legacies, ethnicity and tribalism that has affected national cohesion as well as the materialistic tendencies of leaders that have so far been in power. Domestic violence or conflict is however often not mentioned in such debates.

Every one of us comes from a family and the family plays an important role in determining what kind of human being one will grow to become. As children grow, their perspectives of their society are largely shaped by what their parents tell them and what they see happening in their environments. When male children are told by their parents and communities that they are more superior to their female counter parts; that is the beginning of violence. When such a child grows into a man that batters his wife and does not respect other persons in his communities, who is to blame for the current violence that we see occurring?

Evidence from a national wide study undertaken by Uganda Reform Commission in April 2006 indicates that 66% of Ugandans report that domestic violence frequently occurs in their homes. Records from the Police stations indicate that domestic violence ranks among the highest of the cases reported monthly to these stations. North and Eastern Uganda are the worst affected areas with the highest incidences. These areas are also the worst affected by conflict and poverty in Uganda. Where as poverty and conflict are contributing factors causing domestic violence in homes, the root cause lies in the unequal power relations between women and men built on a culture that subordinates, discriminates and subjugates women in all aspects of life. Women in the Ugandan communities are battered by their partners, denied basic needs, abused, sub ordinated and disrespected. Domestic violence or conflict is any act or threat that is likely to result into physical, psychological, economic or sexual abuse and it us usually perpetrated by men against women.

When children grow up in such an environment, it is difficult to achieve a peaceful community or country. We are all reflections of one another; the armed conflict in the country is a true reflection of the domestic conflicts occurring in the homes which ultimately impact on the larger society.

Time is now however, that the current generation rewrites the history of their families and nation, Uganda. If as a young person I come from a family with a history of domestic violence, I can choose a different destiny by denouncing this bad practice in my own life. By doing this we will all be contributing to changing the destiny of our beloved families and country, Uganda. What do you think?

UGANDA THE BEAUTIFUL PEARL OF AFRICA DESTROYED BY CHRONIC CONFLICT

Uganda-The Pearl of Africa is a very beautiful country found right in the middle of East Africa. Blessed with lots of natural forests, waters, very fertile land producing all sorts of food particularly some of the sweetest fruits on this planet earth. Uganda boosts one of the best tropical climates, indeed a must visit destination for every nature loving person who needs to see nature at its best.

However, due to the conflict that has been a part of this country since its independence, Uganda’s vast potential has not yet been tapped and properly exploited. Since its independence in 1962, Uganda’s history has been marked-indeed charred by armed violence. Conflict has affected almost every corner of the country and all the conflicts have mainly been based on struggles for resources and power. However, there has been no other conflict with some of the worst and far reaching effects on people as the current twenty one year old protracted civil war in the Northern part of the country. The conflict between the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and the Uganda Government has been responsible for hundreds of thousands of wanton killings and gross violations of human rights and some of the worst human crises the world has ever seen. The war-torn districts have become grossly impoverished as a result of this war. About 70% of the populations in Northern Uganda live below the poverty line with each adult spending about 20,000 shillings (11$) per a year. The consequences of the war have generated untold suffering on the people of Northern Uganda which majority are internally displaced and forced to live in squalid and life-threatening conditions dependant upon relief from humanitarian organizations.

Although the effects of this conflict have affected the people of this region in various ways, there is perhaps no other group that has been more affected than the children, youth and women who have been the direct targets of attacks by the LRA. Over 25,000 children have been abducted and trained to become child soldiers by the LRA, a process in which they get killed in battle or face other physical and psychosocial traumatic experiences including being stigmatized for the conflict.

In the words of Herbert Hoover, ‘older men declare war, but it is youth that must fight and die’ many young people have died as a result of this conflict. While other children went to school, the abducted children were being trained to fight wars they never started. Others witnessed the killings of their parents or families members or were displaced with their families. Girls have been abducted to serve as sex slaves for the LRA soldiers who the media erroneously calls ‘wives’ of the LRA while others have also suffered body organ mutilation, rape and forced impregnation.

In July 2006 however, the LRA requested the Government of Uganda for Peace talks. These peace talks which have been mediated by Riek Machar, the Vice President of the Government of South Sudan in Juba were a light in the tunnel for many Ugandans particularly for those directly affected. The Peace Talks resulted into the signing of four preliminary Peace Agreements between the LRA and the Government of Uganda but however hit a snag in April 2008 when the rebel chief Joseph Kony refused to sign the final peace deal. Media reports however have indicated that the rebel chief has again requested that the peace talks resume.

Where as there is relative peace in the country side right now because there are no direct attacks of the LRA of civilians, peace for the people from this part of the country is yet to really to be achieved. This peace does not mean only the absence of guns shots but for a secured live hood and future for every one particularly for the young people who now are faced with the reality of growing up in a society where survival is practically a struggle.

Hi to all

Am Moses Kalanzi a human rights activist finalising my BA education degree at Makerere University. My areas of specialisation include human rights reporting and advocacy. I currently work with a youth-led community organisation concerned with resettling children from the streets of Kampala through the use of sport. We have realised that many of these children are victims of conflicts in the Northern part of the Country and from the North Eastern part of Uganda( Karamoja area) I look forward to exchanging experiences and learning from others in conflict areas.
Moses

Introduction

Dear Friends,
Greetings to all of you. It is great that we are having such an imoportant forum to learn from each other. My name is Monicah Amoding. Iam a Ugandan female aged 27 years from North Eastern part of Uganda, a region that is just recovering from the Lord’s Resistance Amrmy (LRA) conflict but currently working and residing in Kampala the capital city of Uganda.

I am a women’s rights activist consistently working to make a contribution to the women’s movement for gender equality in Uganda and Africa. I hold a Bachelors degree in Social Sciences with a bias in Social Administration and Economics. Currently Iam writing up my thesis for an award of a Masters degree in Gender Studies from Makerere University on a research topic; Youth Particiapation in Peace building: A gender anlysis of the peace building initiatives in Gulu District.

I have experience in Policy Analysis, research, Advocacy and Communications. My main interest is in the area of Conflict and Peacebuilding, Commucations, human rights and gender issues.

Currently, I am working for a women’s parliamentary association (Uganda Women Parliamentary Association- UWOPA) as a Policy and Communications Officer. I am also currently volunteering my time in building up a newly founded Young Women Leaders African Movement (YWLAM)-Uganda Chapter. Through this new initiative; I am working to strengthen the Young Women’s Movement in Uganda.

I am also a founder member of the Centre for Advancement of Gender Equality (CAGE), a newly founded organisation that we are building to promote the ideals of gender equality in Uganda. I am particularly building up a programme that will closely work with young women and men. I have special interest in working and empowering young people.


I look forward to fruitful exchanges with all the YAC team.


Monicah Amoding