Ugandans-At-Heart

Dear Ugandans at heart,

This post contains 5 bullets, including a ‘post -script’.So please bear with us when reading it.

Summary: Sembabule  is, in the electoral sense, a microcosm of the eternally flawed Electoral process in today’s Uganda. Indeed, the Sembabule NRM vote-handling and the way machinations were the order of the day, must be painful spectacle and experience to the anti-Corruption crusader. The absence of the practice of right of polling stations to declare their results as tallied, leaving that right to the Electoral Commission [or, to a body far away from the centre of events (from the Stations)] is the biggest disservice that is being perpetuated by the current plutocratic regime.

One candidate wins at a station but the announcement comes out with the opponent as the winner, with altered results. We saw this in the 2001 and in the 2006 Presidential elections and we have seen it now, in the current [NRM=National Rigging Movement as the Red Pepper put it] Primaries. But, Sembabule is only an illustration.

1/5. One of the aberrations in our Uganda of today is: Many Ugandan activists and commentators look at the current M7 plutocracy in isolation of its ingrained ideology of “super-race” syndrome, thus missing the pointer to their actions, both tactical[short term] and strategic [long term]. Otherwise, it would be easy to predict their actions in advance, as was the case with my post on this forum, some days back.

I shared on Sembabule, on this forum, that, in the minds of the generals like Tinyefuza, etc,  “SEMBABULE MUST be liberated” at any cost and that Bululi and ‘Bunyala’ [whatever the later means] are rehearsals. Main target: Sembabule. The  home of ‘Bigo-bya-Mugyenyi’  and of ‘Ntuusi’ archeological sites/settlements must be ‘free’ or may be [sorry for the term], even ‘pure’ – politically, culturally, etc, depending on one’s area of interest.

2/5. Back to the mis-election in Sembabule where the ‘bad side’, that is, the ‘anti-Kutesa, anti-establishment’ side, “LOST COMPLETELY” [Monitor’s words in quotes].

Have a look: The Daily Monitor wrote today [09.09.10, p.3]:

The ‘big’ loss

“Theodore Ssekikubo, the MP for Lwemiyaga, lost his position as NRM flag bearer in the 2011 elections to Mr. Patrick Nkalubo, by 43 votes. yesterday he rejected the results, saying, evidence’ had been burnt. Mr. Ssekikuubo’s faction also lost with Ms Joy Kabatsi coming behind incumbent MP Ms Anifa Kawooya, in the race for woman MP flag bearer“

What the caption did not add was that the current LC V Chair, from Ssekikuubo’s side, lost too, to the same Kutesa’s side that, by declaration, ‘swept the board’.

3/5. The Truth

But what loss are we talking of here, in the case of Hon. Ssekikuubo? They say he lost by 43 votes but, the same syndrome of declaring results that differ from those tallied at the polling station, as the Supreme Court confirmed both in the 2001 and the 2006 elections, is still with us and was rampant here.

An Example will illustrate what I mean: We take one polling station in Lwemiyaga, Sembabule [Hon. Ssekikuubo’s constituency]:

For Mr. Nkalubo [on Kutesa's side and opposing Hon. Ssekikuubo]:

Station: Kamwojje.

Tallied: 68 votes (on site)

Declared : 680 votes (by the Returning officer, at the District)

So, if Ssekikuubo lost by 43 votes as declared and yet the opponent got, from nowhere, a bonus of 612 votes on top of those from the polling station as tallied and signed for, even by his opponent’s own agents, who is Ssekikuubo not to ‘run amok?’.

This is where any electoral officers in Uganda should be ashamed. People vote and their votes are ‘counted’ on site but the powers that be, in this case, the GISO’s, the DISO’s and the RDC’s [all so called GoU workers but on partisan activities] submit doctored results. Indeed, this practice, plus that of deleting names from the roll on polling day, even after verification at the same polling stations, remain the main ways of rigging an election – the reason the EC must change or cause civil strife in Uganda.

4/5. Conclusion & Recommendation: The practice of barring stations from declaring their results as tallied and even forbidding the media from quoting them [like Paulo Muwanga and Mzee Kikira’s EC  in 1980 –yet the bush war was ostensibly against such practice], leaving the right to declare the results ONLY to the returning officers at the Districts/The EC Headquarters, is one of the main sticking points in Ugandan electoral malpractice(s). And unless this practice of altering vote counts by manipulation is outlawed, then forget any fight against rigging. It is the root cause of the Ugandan electoral ROT.

Christopher Muwanga,

Nakasero,

Kampala.

5/5. P/S:

(A/B).

GISO stands for “Gombolola {sub-county} Internal Security Officer.

DISO stands for “District Internal Security Officer”.

RDC stands for “Resident District Commissioner” – a political presidential political appointee, normally bragging that they represent the H.E. The President,  in their places of deployment. They are in charge of security and therefore responsible for denying the opposition the constitutional right of assembly and demonstration.

The three GoU officers are/were the NRM primaries returning officials, on State expense. The fusion of “party and State” are therefore complete in today’s Uganda. Otherwise, their daily docket involves monitoring  NRM ‘eating’ programmes like NAADS, NUSAF, etc, in addition to harassing and blackmailing the opposition and even, in many cases, political rivals, competitors and challengers, perceived or real, at village level.

(B/B)

History and current Practice: In any election, recently or in the past, it is these officials that normally alter the tallied results before sending them to an NRM clearing centre that then sends the doctored results onwards to the EC [National Electoral Commission of Kiggundu]. It is for the because Kiggundu and his commission are unable to reject the results doctored by the NRM agents [instead of the agents of the commission on site] that the opposition thinks he is compromised. This doctoring was twice proved before the Supreme Court of Uganda and by the International observers. Since we see the same in today’s rehearsal and the personnel at the national EC remain the same, the fears are that the electoral roll will continue to be doctored on the eve of the election and that the votes declared will always differ from those cast and tallied on site. Uganda’s electoral pains therefore are not about to ‘go away’.

CM.

09.09.10.

Summary: In perusing Uganda’s party-political history, two Youth leagues and their violence come to mind, both threw punches at National Delegates Conferences and elsewhere. But they differ on two ingredients . One: the reasons. Two: the action of the parent’ bodies, in the wake of the youth chaos. Have a look.

A. Case one:

1) It is 1964. The Cold war and therefore the ideological war is raging, not only between the Super powers but also between their lackeys, Uganda not excluded. The UPC delegates’ conference has to take place in Gulu. As a prelude to that, things in Buganda are ‘hotting up’. The UPC cannot consider itself a national party without branches in Buganda [UPC-KY provision in the Alliance Agreement]. The UPC Buganda youth are therefore punching it out (must have seen pictures of youthful Bidandi Ssali, Ssegwanga Misisi, etc throwing punches at the UPC Buganda office). The struggle is bigger though. One Kakonge has graduated with an M.Sc. in Agriculture from India but, drunk on liberation ideology, has become the first Ugandan graduate, with a Masters at that, to not seek a job! Obote is scared. The western -leaning ideologues [the wa-Bezi group] are scared. They must be shown exit. And the Place: Gulu.

2) The UPC went to Gulu. Punches flew. There was an ideological shift. The so called socialists/young Turks were overthrown. Kakonge was no more as Party CEO or Secretary General. The Ibingira-Nadiope group won, especially with the Busoga ‘validation act’ as the icing.

Cause: The struggle was purely ideological.

Verdict: The unruly youth wing was proscribed. The Executive banned the UPC youth Wing[what democracy???] In other words, in its usual ‘cannibalistic style’,  the party ‘fed on its own children’, the divide-and-rule way.

B. Case two

The year is 2010

3. The venue is Mandela National Stadium at Namboole [a project first mooted by the Chinese in 1965]. The Regime is a mature plutocracy. It is NRM primary elections, whereby the winner is assured of 100% [??] rigged success in the upcoming National elections.

Dictatorships thrive on the divide-and-rule theme of old and ‘power-drunkenness’ which, combined, make the oligarchs allergic to democracy.

4. Look: NRM say they have called the youth to Namboole but BUT in detail, they are in reality bunches of Northerners, Buganda representatives (not Baganda), Easterners and so called ‘Westerners’ [some districts in the west are represented by Kampala residents].The way things move, it is obvious that the party CEO, one Mbabazi has deployed his ubiquitous forces such that his ‘region mates’ have everything easy. Meanwhile, the tough, excitable Bagisu are causing chaos with their ‘imbalu‘ [circumcision] dancing, which takes the DISO’s, GISO’s and the other Mbabazi’s ‘underground forces’, by surprise. Why? In a mob environment, anything like sloganeering can be followed. Indeed that is what ensures, eventually: the Northern youth, taking advantage of the mob-atmosphere, announce and tell any journalist that wishes to hear, how the westerners have gerrymandered all proceedings.

5. In the command centre, the powers that be are worried. The first question from the “Big Man” to Mbabazi seems to be, “Who are these people and who is their leader? Who is the architect of this disaffection’ did their money not reach them?“. When the answer came that these were possibly IPC/FDC youth from Acholi, the boss did not take it on the surface. So, instead of banishing them as the 1964 leaders did at Gulu, the big man took his usual wisdom, against advice: He went on air and addressed the conference and the Nation and named the culprits: the Conference Organizers and the NRM Electoral Commission (in other words, those ‘westerners’ and Mbabazi’s and cheats are NOT M7 style!!”

6. This way, the big man achieved many things:

i.        The NRM chaos is not of his own making.

ii.        the so-called ‘westerner’ vehicle to power is an imaginations. people make mistakes individually.

iii.        by openly distancing himself from the chaos, the Big man can soothe the rebellious youth and therefore keep them in the fold. He will appear [to the partisans,, to the Ugandans and most important, to his maters the Works over, to be above all the shame, corruption  and the chaos that has characterized the NRM ‘selections’ and vote buying.

C. Observation:

i.        . Causes: The 1964 UPC youth league chaos was ideologically based. It was not partisan. The NRM 2010 one is tribal, encouraged to be that.

ii.         The 1964 Gulu-chaos was sectored into sides based on elders’ groups. The Ibingira-Kakonge divide was clear. the 2010 Nambole thing is based on ‘who has paid out more money?’

iii.        The 1964 youth ‘riots’ took on the leadership but the 2010 NRM is funny: It’s the youth against the youth, on a tribal basis. That these are/maybe FCD, DP or any other agent provocateurs does not hold water because, after all, they hold NRM party cards and have been elected by their colleges back home.

iv.        Finally, except by partaking of the opposition tear-gas, the NRM leadership has not done anything about the rioting youth. they are encouraged, instead, to act as they have, because that is the modus operandi of the party.

D. Conclusion:

Uganda is gone and is now a failed state, where hooliganism, even inside the “Party and State” (fused together),  is tolerated, if not encouraged. Pray for us. To the “North American Association”: Did you have “The Restoration of Uganda as a Country-State” as a Prayer item on the Agenda- although it is reported here you were not enthusiastic about your meet this year?

Christopher Muwanga,

Nakasero,

Kampala.

Folks:

Have you posed to wonder about the cause of massive rigging in NRM?  According to my analysis, it has a lot to do with the forthcoming NEC elections. One camp-read mafia-wanted to bolster their line up so they targeted independent or unpredictable NRM members whom they could not count on.

Yes, the rigging was ordered by a senior NRM official from Kyadondo Road who hand picked most of those crooked returning officers and members of NRM’s EC to do his bidding. I challenge the journalists in Uganda -let NRM spins doctors deny this-to put their ears or the ground in order to get to the truth behind the open, massive and violent rigging witnessed in the primaries.

The just ended or ongoing NRM primaries are its waterloo. Mark my words, NRM like KANU after the 1988 mlolongo elections will never be the same.  But can the opposition rise to the occasion and punish or contain NRM at least at the parliamentary level where the NRM fallout is likely to be massive?   Will the opposition waste the opportunity due to their endless bickering, disunity and stupidity as reflected in the allegations of some in UAH against leading opposition crusaders?

With each passing day and the comments from some in the opposition, I say thank alleluia, I am in the neither/nor camp. I could not possibly associate myself with such imbeciles. And yes, folks, some are imbeciles.

The tragedy is that they delude themselves that they are helping their candidates. No. They are screwing them kabisa. That is why the opposition is more likely than not to waste the crisis presented to them by NRM.

I am hoping the news that the opposition has set up their kiboko squad is for real.  It is about time. I hope and pray that the opposition kibokos squads will be efficient, brave, ruthless, and decisive and determined as the Mungiki was. The opposition folks behind their Kiboko squads should study the Mungiki model.  Trust me, if they can mould kiboko squads that are 50 percent as good and dreaded as the Mungiki, then NRM will not dare.  Mungiki believed in the Colin Powell doctrine.

If the news were to reach Kampala that several yellow Kiboko squads, and yes even those seeking offices elsewhere had been whipped-do not kill, beat or assault women- but whip them really good and use overwhelming force, hell will break lose. Chances are once NRM’ kiboko squad hear such terror they will piss in their pants and run for dear life. Use the cell phone and you tube to broadcast your success with NRM goons.

The message I want to send to the opposition is this: better be serious because the yellow kiboko squads will be unleashed. Do not panic, but encircle them and then pounce. And when you pounce use, I repeat,  use overwhelming force and hit them really good,  but do not kill them.  And do not beat or molest women.  If you get a chance to reach or encircle Mutale sue your imagination but irrespective, hit him hard. If you get a chance to reach that scam bag from Bushenyi who beats journalists, beat him really good.

Fear must be met with fear. But the opposition better be serious because their supporters are going to to put their bodies in line of fire. The opposition cannot afford to blink.

Yes 2011 will be war. And if a police person like the Regional police commander who was commanding the police in Bukedea presents him or herself to facilitate NRM rigging or kiboko squad, I say chafuwa. That police commander is an idiot and could have been killed by her own police forces.

If NRM is going to use mobs to intimidate voters or influence election, outcomes, then the opposition has no choice, but to mobilize their mobs as well.
WBK