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From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Sun May 08 2011 - 18:08:23 EDT
Would Uganda's Museveni recognise his former self?
By Will Ross
BBC News, Uganda
8 May 2011 11:52 UK
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Concerned about the future of his 25-year rule, Uganda's once-popular
President Yoweri Museveni is taking drastic measures to prevent an
opposition uprising like that witnessed in the Arab World.
Kampala's largest bookstore is impressive.
Just next to the motivational publications that tell you how to think like a
millionaire even if you are broke, there is a Ugandan section.
State of Blood is sadly not a novel, it is the inside story of Idi Amin.
The Dungeons of Nakasero is another tough read.
I was looking for a copy of the book, What Is Africa's Problem?
In it, the author says, back in 1986: "The problem of Africa in general and
Uganda in particular is not the people but leaders who want to overstay in
power."
And who wrote it? The current president, Yoweri Museveni, who has been in
the job for 25 years.
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The government will not admit it, but all is not well in Uganda right now.
Food and fuel prices have gone through the roof and seizing an opportunity
to hurt the government, the opposition called walk-to-work protests, a
cunning way of getting around the ban on demonstrations, as President
Museveni has seen enough evidence of their impact in the Arab world.
But when politicians started strolling to work they were arrested.
Walking, it seemed, had become a crime.
Each time the main opposition politician Doctor Kizza Besigye resisted
arrest, there were ever more violent clashes.
Ugandans watched the evening news and were horrified.
The sight of plainclothes policemen smashing the politician's car windows
and spraying him with chemicals before dumping him on the back of a truck
was the tipping point.
Angered by what people condemned as police brutality, riots erupted.
Out came the army and the tear gas and the bullets.
Former allies
The service at Kampala's All Saints Cathedral started with an unusual
announcement.
"We will be praying for the president and we will also be praying for Doctor
Besigye," said the vicar, Diana Nkesiga.
The president and opposition leader used to be allies but have not spoken to
each other in more than 10 years.
During the 1980s bush war that saw Yoweri Museveni shoot his way into power,
Kizza Besigye was his personal doctor.
But after serious disagreements they have since stood against each other in
successive disputed elections.
The white-robed Diana Nkesiga knows a thing or two about reconciliation,
having spent years trying to heal wounds across the colour divide in South
Africa under apartheid.
She told me now was the time for talking not fighting. "For me as a child
those were our deepest nightmares, we don't want to go there."
Sharing this view, different religious leaders popped up on television
calling for dialogue.
The president's response?
He told them to keep their noses out and stick to their religious work.
"Do you see me baptising people?" he asked.
Outside the gates of Makerere University there was a bizarre sight.
A mosquito net under a tree, a mattress on the ground and a jacket and tie
swinging on a coat hanger.
There was also a sign: "Hunger Strike. End Police Brutality Now!"
The one-man protest had only been going a couple of days, when the young
student collapsed and was taken to hospital to recover.
At the High Court, there was a bigger show of dismay.
Uganda's lawyers had agreed to go on strike.
In their black gowns they thronged the court grounds to hand over a petition
to the chief justice.
"We are mourning the death of rule of law in Uganda," the law society
president, Bruce Kyerere, told me.
A lot of lawyers did not join in perhaps fearing the possibility of tear
gas.
"The lawyers like money too much. It won't last long," a Ugandan journalist
said with a smile.
Changed man
Whilst most Ugandans are disgusted by the way police have handled protests,
the government has appeared out of touch, stubbornly defending the use of
force.
President Museveni used to be seen as very much in touch with the people and
almost everyone agrees he did a fantastic job for the country for part of
his time in office.
But now with increased reliance on the military, the signs are not good.
In a Kampala restaurant I met George Kanyeihamba. He was a minister and
attorney general when President Museveni came to power in 1986. He retired
from life as a Supreme Court judge last year and is extremely worried about
where Uganda is headed.
He suggested the very issues of injustice that led to Yoweri Museveni taking
up arms were coming back. I asked him to compare the Museveni he knew then
and the man now.
"They are two different people," he said.
"Some Ugandans have said that if the Yoweri Museveni of 1986 were to meet
the Museveni of today they would fight on sight - they would shoot each
other."
How to listen to From Our Own Correspondent:
BBC Radio 4:
A 30-minute programme on Saturdays, 1130.
Second 30-minute programme on Thursdays, 1100 (some weeks only).
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qjlq> Listen online or
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/fooc> Download the podcast
President Yoweri Museveni
Museveni has started using violence against his people
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