President Yoweri Museveni’s recent criticism of ‘Western elements’ could complicate his reliance on foreign donors. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni won a sixth term with 58.6 percent of the vote last month, in an election marred by unprecedented violence and repression. Measures supposedly aimed at enforcing covid-19 regulations de facto criminalized political competition, preventing or banning the opposition from electoral campaigns. Security forces targeted opposition candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, known popularly as Bobi Wine, and his supporters, in particular. Kyagulanyi and his National Unity Platform party firmly rejected the election results as fraudulent. The United States and European Union noted concerns over the credibility of the Jan. 14 election, and the United States called for an audit of the returns. While Museveni appears likely to rule for another five years, the regime’s growing legitimacy problem presents stark choices for the government and for foreign donors.
The challenge the West has is that they are fighting hard to prop up a subservient puppet in soon-to-be oil-producing Uganda. The unfortunate bit is that they cling on a candidate that is completely unelectable by the rest of the country apart from his tribe. The West has not appreciated the internal tribal workings of Uganda, which have always simmered undetected. Even if a new election was held, Bobi Wine or any Muganda (his/my tribe) will not garner enough votes to democratically presided over the affairs of this country even for a day. These are not issues you will readily find in political party manifestos and on political talk shows, but they are the ugly realities of our politics that you can only appreciate if you are privy to whispers after the lights have deemed or died. I, therefore, don’t expect the West and their press to appreciate this reality that’s hidden in plain sight. It is very important to let democracy organically prop itself up. The wipeout of the opposition in Tanzania’s recent election should have fought the West a very good lesson.