In Kenya, multipartyism was re-introduced in 1990 after a series of bloodbath and torture of innocent souls opposed to the demagogic misrule era of former President Moi. Abstrusely, even after the re-introduction of multipartyism, the then President Moi continued rigging elections, which meant that he continued ruling for two more successive five-year terms before finally his iron-fist leadership came to an end through constitutional limits after a span of 24 years. His two-decades-plus leadership was dogged by all manners of evils, from militarism to tribalism, to high-level corruption, tribal clashes, nepotism and injustices that reduced him from a nationalist to a mere unpopular but dreaded figure at home. The country was just a police state where things one man ran the show.
In 2002, and in the first post-Moi elections, the ruling party KANU was defeated massively by a hurriedly-composed coalition of parties selling under the brand of NARC. The election brought in a new government under a new man, the good old Mwai Kibaki. His resume read something like; a former senior government secretary, a former finance minister and a former vice president all under KANU and under Moi leadership. Trust Kenyans and their mannerisms! No one was bothered by his past. They wanted change and change it had to be. Exit Moi, enter Mwai. Not bad, is it? Well, until we analyze him according to his performance.
For the three operational years, NARC government has been hounded by problems that have almost crippled the country. Ministers continue to fight for supremacy thereby undermining their respective responsibilities. The police force has continued being ruthless and insufferable. They continue to harass innocent Kenyans openly in demand for bribes. The corruption levels are soaring, with the only eye-catching difference being the secrecy involved. Tribalism is abounding everyday and the drift between the communities can be felt. Nepotism, well, is it really a big problem in Kenya anymore? Things have gone spooky. Freedom of press is under siege and the independent media is facing the battle of lifetime against the state. Clearly, like before, the police state continues and the bad days lay ahead.
President Kibaki has proved his mettle in his first term. If he succeeds in the second term, we can only hope that like any other dictator, he does not remain in power forever. The Kenyans substituted a devil with a devil’s agent, an active despot with a passive autocrat. From the first three years, the report is that the student is beating the teacher in his own lessons!
At least he has shifted his focus to East Africa Political Federation. We can breathe for a minute.
Across Uganda, a rag-tag rebel outfit with fewer armories but sound popular on the ground entered the streets of Kampala under the leadership of an adorable and a lion-hearted young nationalist. The army had finally managed to get to the capital after staging a successive six-year guerilla war. In the dying hours of the rebellion, the junta government of Gen. Tito Okello was overthrown and a new president was sworn in. It was the estimable Gen. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. Having come from behind several authoritative governments, including that of the notorious Field Marshal Idi Amin, there was new hope everywhere with the new half-militant government.
Certainly, there was every reason for hope. The country had faced massive abuse under the previous governments. People had been tortured, oppressed and killed before so the new president, with his new points for stability and development, received a rousing welcome from the hordes of people who considered him El Dorado. He did not fail their enthusiasm. He breathed like a messiah and walked like one. He drafted for the country the ark to destiny that was all in a bus called Movement, designed exactly for that: movement. Immediately the Movement began, a cult-like insurgency started in the north led by a commandments-inspired illusionist Joseph Kony. The insurgency presented a threat to the new government but the hope in Movement did not dwindle and so the Movement continued.
Like they are wont to do, presidents in Africa always have greater power fallacies once new in the high office. The now popular, new African rising-star Museveni, a West-darling and a promising democrat was not spared the lechery. Fortunately, his power illusion came in a vision. The country was choked into the movement system that created absolutely no room for viable opposition. This continued until 1996 when the country had its first elections, sixteen years after the last elections that had resulted to rebellion. In the elections, President Museveni won easily earning the mandate to propel the Movement vision further.
In 2001, it was time for yet another general elections. By this time, dissatisfaction had been conceived and viable opposition had been born in the name of a former rebel doctor, Col. Kizza Besigye. The colonel had fallen out with his boss over the Original Movement Policy and he was offering the only serious challenge to the incumbent. With the playing ground tilted, the race was not polemically tight. However, by this time, a message was filtering through the wind: people were getting fidgety of the Movement. After all, despite the movement, they were getting nowhere! Poverty continued staring in the eyes of the peasants as the war in the north continued unabated and unstopped! People continued eking out life in IDP camps sprawling all over northern Uganda where suffering ruled their lives, all in the name of security. Development in most parts remained stagnant and there was little on offer for celebrations, if any. Although Gen. Museveni defeated the young Colonel in the elections, a message had been conveyed through the election results. People were truly tired of a movement to nowhere.
The sent message re-awakened the hydra. Things started getting out of hand for the opposition members. In a twist, Gen. Museveni started showing face of the army General he was. Col. Besigye was forced to flee the country. People started being harassed for sounding different. Regions got segregated for voting the enemy. Nepotism was budging to the peek as corruption glided to lofty levels. Like an old train, the engine that was in the Movement vision continued. Chokes of tribalism and regionalism offered a new challenge to a country reeling from the shock of continuous dictatorship. With little to do, people started showing resigned faces and it was only a matter of waiting for the turn of events. After all, even if nothing would stop the less-popular Movement vision, there was hope in the amended constitution that had been adopted to spell out boldly a two-term five-year presidency.
The year 2005 will go down in the historical annals of Uganda. This is the year when President Museveni finally acquired the status of the newest African dictator when he arm-twisted the constitution to pave way for life presidency. On a positive note, it was the year when finally the country voted back for a return to multipartyism in a national referendum. Col. Besigye jetted back into the country after four years in exile and declared interest in presidency. After some days he was in jail charged with rape, misprision of treason and treason. Once again, the dragon was wounded.
23rd February, 2006 was set to be the day for the first multiparty elections in the country after a period of twenty-five years. Once again, the General was pitted against the Colonel. By now, the opposition had grown in size and strength. In the campaign trails, the cry echoed in most parts of the country was agende, simply telling the General time was up. The race was too tight to call with the opposition having a clear edge over the government simply due to the government’s mass failures in administration and management. There was prevalent power shortage in most parts of the country, government ministers were implicated in corruption scandals and the economy remained in a state of shock. Surely, the opposition was having a field day in the run up to the election day.
However, the opposition victory was not to be. The elections were dogged by immense bribery, disenfranchisement of voters, intimidation and massive rigging that resulted to a slim Movement win. 20 years down the line, President Museveni earned the mandate to steer forward his Movement vision. And slowly but sure, the country is leaning back to the past. Power shortages, corruption, tribalism, regionalism, nepotism and despotism now threaten the survival of the nation. To conceal his ambitions, the government has turned it war machinations to the independent press. After all, it is the press hat must blame for the growing opposition in the country! As if that is not enough, 19 years since it started, the war in the north rages on. People continue living in modern day slavery, worse than refugees yet in their own country! All this despite the government showing the machinery to impede the war. Definitely, the government is either reluctant to end the war or it is waiting for the right time to do so. When still at it, statistics show that the opposition has its power base mainly in the north. From that, you can read the writing in the wall.
Whatever, and somehow, the Movement vision continues, from Uganda to East Africa!
