By Ambassador Henry Mayega

As President Yoweri Museveni’s legacy continues to disconcertingly drown out Uganda’s opposition, recent Africa-wide research has declared the country number 2 on the continent in terms of democratic rankings. Simultaneously, a fete was recently organised at Kololo ceremonial grounds to honour the president’s legacy and stellar contributions to Uganda’s economic development and political stability.

The President has, over the years, assumed a string of electoral wins; right from 1996 through 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016 to 2021, he has made elections predictable and regular, a departure and norm-shattering iteration away from our checkered history devoid of democracy. Why have they continually elected him? Because citizens have prized his solid record and legacy, typified by the following:

First, rather than sit drably in the droughty corridors of power, the Yoweri Museveni administration restored Uganda to the international files of honour by reinstating peace, stability and security in a once pariah country it had become before 1986. The unseemliness of the opposition, which characteristically argues against this thesis, astounds nobody, given their finite space on Uganda’s political canvass. This administration obliterated all Uganda’s rebel groups, pacified the country, and up its sleeves, it boasts of helping with enforcing and keeping peace in the DRC, Somalia, and South Sudan, amongst others, because you can’t give what you have not.

Secondly, this administration, rather than upend the precepts of the already heated-up national political climate by 1986, choreographed and effected decentralisation in Uganda, thereby devolving power from the centre to the periphery. Thusly, new terms—decentralisation and power-sharing—were added to Uganda’s political architecture of governance, thereby mobilising citizens for development. Many responsibilities hitherto shouldered at the centre are now obligated to peripheral leadership.

Thirdly, the women who were hitherto confined to the kitchen environment have, for the first time, taken up prodigious leadership roles such as Vice President, Speaker, etc. Ugandans ought to remember this administration’s progressive policy interventions of: 1.5 marks added to females’ scores to massify admission to university; the district women MPs; the national women council; women representatives at local councils; 30% executive representation in all registered political parties, etc. Uganda’s women’s emancipation strategy did not descend from heaven; it was well calibrated, time-tested and implemented initially during the 1980–1986 bush war struggle. It got the stamp of approval and was executed once this administration took government in 1986. The conflicted opposition orbit comprised of Wine, Besigye, and Ilk will, characteristically, not agree because, to them, Yoweri Museveni is exhausting all the possible achievable national goals, leaving no gaffes for them to use against him.

Fourth, in both the health and education sectors, this administration has outperformed all its predecessors combined; it has refurbished the 5 national and 13 regional referral hospitals, built health centres: iis (3364), iiis (1570), and ivs (222), and implemented a robust immunisation programme, amongst others. Museveni’s haters may not agree, but the massification of education opportunities through UPE, USE, the higher education loan scheme, revamping TVETs, and the construction of county-based secondary schools have been the handwork of this administration to shore up access to basic services for citizens.

Fifth, in terms of development infrastructure, this administration has convincingly outmatched all previous governments put together, including our colonisers; from a paltry slightly over 1000 km (1986) to the current 7500 km (2022) Tarmacadam road network, this is an astronomical achievement in terms of revamping infrastructure. The few heretics who are crosswise with his administration have largely been shunned because of the huge political delta between what they say and what Uganda’s bombastic voter has seen this president do.

Lastly, the restoration of traditional rulers in regions that revere them, the restitution of their assets, and the passage of the law that provides for and protects them from political predators speak to this administration’s desire to put out the blazing political embers in all senses. Surprisingly, in the army council that sat in Gulu in 1988, Kiiza Besigye was one of the statistics who opposed the restoration. Relatedly, the likes of Betty Nambooze have always wanted to appear as if they love the Kabaka more than the restorer, Yoweri Museveni.

Amb. Henry Mayega

Counsel General

Dubai, UAE

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By Dr. David Matsanga in Surrey UK

This is my opinion. It is based on the experience I have gone through after researching on some of the conflicts zones across the globe. In the former Yugoslavia, Colombia, Northern Uganda, and Northern Ireland there were some similarities. It might sound sour to some people but solutions come when comparative politics is at play

The UN announced on July 8, 2024 that Uganda supports M23 Rebels and the UN wants the world to believe in the type hyped lies they have spread for years. It is rather sad a trad sounding used by UNSC of Nations” as the UN made such allegations.

I will leave the rest of the DRC citizens and others to suggest alternative solutions. For me I want to be like Julius Nyerere who recognized Biafra or like Mark Antony who consolidate the Roman Empire after the assassination of Julius Caesar.

The formation of Second Triumvirate for the Roman Empire is what might save the collapse of DRC. DRC has similarities of Yugoslavia in Europe. It had a strong man Tito who had put it together but after his death it collapsed.

DRC was United under a bad strong man Mobutu but after his ouster it collapsed into several enclaves. It left several rebel groups on the soil of DRC. If we don’t do the right thing early enough DRC will collapse. My view is to do the right thing by officially re-arranging the State of DRC.

This is where UN has baffled me. Instead of researching on what can be done and find the root causes of the conflict in DRC they have resorted to accusations against Uganda and Rwanda. What has interested me is the kind of doublespeak and hypocrisy of the UN itself.

It is on record that Government of the DRC has also on several occasions accused UN force in DRC of supplying arms to M23. Has UN exonerated itself from such accusations? How has UN helped rebels to take territory? So such words by UN add injury to the pain on the suffering people of North and South Kivu .

The statements made by UN was to create a topic for discussion at the NATO summit .The UN is very keen to impress upon the NATO meeting that they were doing many good things to change the tide of the war in DRC but it was these two countries frustrating peace in the region .

The truth is that UN is covering the bad manners of France a key conduit of all problems that we see the in DRC . They just wanted to justify the route for Sanctions by the big five on my country Uganda. The UN wanted to work with DRC and especially France to frame Uganda.

I want to state here that UN itself has allowed countries in UNSC destroy the DRC. Uganda’s presence in the DRC was sanctioned by the Government of DRC. It is illegally in DRC under the bilateral arrangements.

The UN should be ashamed of the report. It is the politics of “scapegoating” by using legal means. The UN cannot get peace moving in DRC.  They can’t deliver DRC with over 18,000 men and women in DRC. Their agenda for peace is not honest .”

UN has been in DRC for over 20 years and has not liberated an area where refugees can feel safe. UN has been accused by international human rights groups for committing crimes like rape, defilement on the citizens of DRC. French soldiers were accused of rape of Congolese women. Where is the report?

The UN has been a complicit to many economic crimes in DRC. It is common knowledge that UN lacks a strong dose of medicine that can bring peace in DRC. I am therefore, saddened and opposed to the political posturing of UN which has been the dominant actor of in last 20 years of exploiting the people DRC.

But as I see terrible contours of UN vision for peace in the region, I cry for the people of DRC who will never see peace because of the terrible conspiracy by France and other countries that want that conflict to continue. I think I can foresee possible stumbling blocks on the road to Peace.

UN’s announcement is highly toxic loaded with high international politics of interests – by which I mean high-minded UN officials of the grubby stuff in which DRC as a country doesn’t come first – Minerals resources come first.

It is done with the help of UN soldiers who engage in acts of economic mafia operations. UN high ideals on peace keeping betray the very peace that they claim to restore in DRC.

The UN Secretary General is, at least, following in the footsteps of some his predecessors like late Kofi Annan who sat and watched Rwanda bleed. The world must know that the old model of trying to run everything in UN from USA is broken.

UN is portmanteau. It is a huge bag that opens and have two halves – war and exploitation. I am sure that one would immediately forget the UN report because it is just the intellectual continuity without solutions.

What then are the solutions for DRC? How do we bring peace to the DRC? How do get the rebel groups to sit on the table? There must be a serious idea and one which even if it contains the seeds of discord must be said in order to change the way DRC works.

I write with admirable honesty and clarity about African issues. I say what UN must exactly hear and do -rearranging Congo. The problem of DRC is that of ethnicity. The West don’t want to see the ones in East as Congolese – A sharp divide that accelerates the conflict.

The Government itself has failed to rule DRC. DRC is simply ungovernable. There are no proper structures of governance in DR.   There are people in DRC who think Mobutu is still alive. The country has both logistical and security challenges.

The amount of dishonesty exhibited by all the stakeholders in the DRC conflict worries me. The UN itself is dishonest, the government of Felix Tshisekedi is very dishonest, the rebels are dishonest, the western countries are dishonest. 

As I land my pen I want to be eloquent and use sledgehammer to bring my point home, the problem of DRC is the deliberate lack of good governance structures based on diversity unity. So, in the absence of the structures in a country polarized by ethnicity, the centre cannot and will not hold.

In normal conflict resolution that I know the answer to all these challenges is the creation of new states or formation of a formidable formula for the re-arrangement of DRC governance structures. I have therefore done what the late Nyerere would have done if he were alive.

God bless.

The writer is a Pan Africanist based in London, Political scientist & International Relations expert, studied conflict Resolution, a member of Royal African Society (RAS) Founder /Chairman Pan African Forum (UK)Ltd @MatsangaDr

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