Mixed feelings on a Ugandan anniversary

For the last 26 years Ugandans have celebrated Jan. 26 as NRM Liberation Day. The celebration marks the day that the National Resistance Movement (NRM) seized power from an ineffective and corrupt army-led government. The coup marked the end to the long period of domestic instability that followed the disputed 1980 presidential elections.

The "bad days" of corruption and chaos under the old government were over. It was a new beginning for Ugandans. We were amazed when the new government lived simply and its ministers drove simple cars. They promised law and order, and we were ready to work with them. To be sure, violence and conflict continued around the country in places far from Kampala. Some twenty-two rebellions are recorded. So even when the world said that peace reigned in Uganda, it was a conditional peace. Those of us who lived in the "safe zones" carried on with our lives and only read about the armed conflict in the newspapers. We felt sorry for the affected areas.

Yes, war is a bad thing, we agreed, as we watched the grainy footage on Ugandan TV that showed the skulls in Luweero, the battleground of the war that brought the NRM to power. When First Lady Janet Museveni formed the Uganda Women’s Effort to Save Orphans (UWESO) in response to the number of orphans in the region, we agreed it was a noble thing to do. We still remember the story of Robert Mugabi, the boy rescued from monkeys in Luweero. He returned to human life after years of abandonment. It took a while for him to adjust to human behavior and talk. It was as if we had discovered our own version of Tarzan.

Years later, the government is still trying to push the message that only it can protect the people from the old days of insecurity. To drive home the point, it tries to surround the 26 January celebrations with exaggerated fanfare and a sense of euphoria. (The photo above shows President Yoweri Museveni inspecting troops on the day of the anniversary.) I remember being in primary school and looking forward to the day when we would march proudly in our school uniforms. That pride is long gone.

The day has lost its luster. It is just another day off work. It is another opportunity to think of more creative ways of survival. Each year offers fresh reminders of the things that have gone astray. Each year is a reminder that we need something new. A leading TV channel posted a question on its Facebook page: "What are the greatest achievements that have been made under NRM leadership over the last 26 years and what remains to be done?" The comments people made in response highlighted corruption, power outages, restrictions of the freedom of expression, the removal of term limits, tribalism, the growing gap between rich and poor, and the impunity of the powerful from the law.