Uganda, one of Africa’s most beautiful and fertile countries, has been ill-served by its political class for many decades. That it stands out in this regard, on a continent similarly ill-served, is noteworthy. The country was once the stomping ground of the genocidal tyrant Idi Amin and the notoriously corrupt Milton Obote, whose brutal rule over two terms bookended the nine years (1971-80) of Amin’s clown-like performance. Hardly a promising legacy, especially when combined with a pampered officer corps forever lurking in the wings, awaiting opportunity to seize lucrative public office.
Yoweri Museveni’s rise to power from among the competing armed factions, following a coup against Obote, was at first viewed with great hope. The fact that his two predecessors were responsible for the killing of tens of thousands of Ugandan citizens meant the bar for political success was set pretty low. His poverty-stricken roots in Bantu southern Uganda and his youthful Marxism led to expectations on the Left. His pragmatism and willingness to wheel and deal were encouraging to the business community and Western Cold Warriors obsessed by the country’s instability. Museveni himself proclaimed: ‘This is not a mere change of guard, it is a fundamental change,’ with all the usual promises of a vigorous democracy and rooting out corruption.
