Why Ugandans Closely Sniff Kenya, Tanzania’s Elections

Sunday, August 21, 2022

By Alan Tacca

What you need to know:

Doom-mongering: When no serious misfortune turns up, the hungry household generates the ‘analysis’ that three-year-old Boy is being badly brought up and destined to be a liar and a thief. White crystals on his lips sometimes show he has been licking sugar.

In congested localities, members of an impoverished household always pay very close nose attention to the aroma from the food cooked by Maama Boy next-door. They will even count the number of times the neighbour cooks chicken every month.

A mixture of emotions can be aroused in this intense curiosity.

Wishful thinking: In the chronically hungry household, there is a lingering desire for three meals a day and an occasional treat. Like next-door.

Envy: Then again, sometimes, the hungry household is hit by a wave of envy. They wish some misfortune paid a visit next-door. A windy storm whipping through an open window would deliver a day of misery when they return to find everything wet. A robbery in the house would be even better. Then their two households would be in the same hunger boat for a while.

Doom-mongering: When no serious misfortune turns up, the hungry household generates the ‘analysis’ that three-year-old Boy is being badly brought up and destined to be a liar and a thief. White crystals on his lips sometimes show he has been licking sugar.

Infighting: The hungry lot can neither eat food smells nor be compensated by misfortunes next-door. So they clash over who in their own household is really responsible for their hunger.

The man; why don’t you work as hard as Taata Boy? Do you squander your money in sports betting and on other women?

Maama Boy, are you a fool? You cannot stop doing your hair even when the children have no food.

Bambi daddy tries. But why doesn’t mummy, like other women, also try some income-generating work, instead of always waiting for daddy to leave the invariable Shs5,000 on the ka-table?

That is before the children are accused of mowing away food like caterpillars!

Now, Ugandans are hungry for democracy, for justice, for human rights, for equal opportunities, and now often even for food.

Without belittling the newcomers, Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda are the original members of the East African Community (EAC). And just as Uganda’s rulers always refer to our special history to justify their wrongs, they should accept the special (EAC) history that leads Ugandans to compare their country to Kenya and Tanzania on the subject of democracy.

Democracy in Kenya is still volatile because it has yet to show Kenya’s poly-chromatic dynamism rise above political power engineering to confront the country’s endemic corruption and evil inequality.

Democracy in Uganda is rotten because it has degenerated into one-man worship. And our rulers rejoice when Tanzania and Kenya go native. If his election stands, William Ruto will have the challenge of not deepening his own mafia to the obscene level where the Kenyattas and the Odingas he criticises took their cronies. And to do so without resorting to militarised barbarism as witnessed in Uganda.

Appearing on CBS radio shortly after the Kenyans voted, Uganda’s Electoral Commission chief Simon Byabakama was asked about the violence and tear-gas in Uganda’s elections. Byabakama replied that the EC budget did not include tear-gas.

And what about (FDC presidential candidate) Patrick Amuriat’s infamous bare-footed appearance before the Electoral Commission? Byabakama replied that wearing shoes was not official dress code.

Byabakama was reflecting the regime’s mindset, which often reduces serious rights concerns to cynical jokes. Yes, most Ugandans want to learn from Kenya and Tanzania’s (imperfect but better) elections. However, under NRM rule, their hunger will persist.

Mr Tacca is a novelist, socio-political commentator.

altaccaone@gmail.com