UGANDA: Opposition against Museveni hit by Kisangani syndrome

OPPOSITION AGAINST MUSEVENI HIT BY THE KISANGANI SYNDROME

CHANGE OF GUARDS - Kisangani syndrome refers to a situation where supposed allies abandon pursuance of the common objective and instead resort to undermining and fighting each other.  It originates from the 2nd Congo War in the late 1990s when the Rwanda and Uganda troops fought three rounds of bloody battles in the city of Kisangani.  Four years earlier, their two armies had invaded Congo claiming to pursue their respective armed dissidents.  Their joint efforts succeeded in overthrowing Mobutu but when they attempted to overthrow his successors,  they got stuck after they turned their guns on each other.  Museveni's Army was overwhelmed by Kagame's army but the former has never accepted the defeat thus the ongoing diplomatic row. Eventually, they both withdrew from Congo without achieving their common objective.

Similarly, the opposition in Uganda has for decades been struggling against Museveni's 33 yeas old military dictatorship.  They have failed to come to terms with the plain fact that being an entrenched  military dictator, Museveni cannot be dislodged from power through the ballot.  In desperation, they have always been bickering over presentation of a single presidential candidate. In the run-up to the February 2016 polls, they came close to agreeing on a joint opposition candidate under TDA before the FDC made a last minute pull out.  The poll results gave a totally different picture; that the alliance would still be meaningless.

Now the new kid in the block is the youthful legislator, Kyagulanyi a.k.a Bobi Wine who has expressed interest in contesting for the presidency come 2021.  He has no political party affiliation but is appealing to the youth. There is also the four time presidential contender, Dr. Besigye of the FDC.  He is actively continuing with his agenda of calling upon Ugandans to get rid of the "Museveni Junta".  There are other political players in their respective groupings.  Within the DP, there are factions bickering against each other.  Within the biggest political party, the FDC there is a dissenting faction led by former Party President, Gen. Muntu.  Currently, the epicentre of the bickering is between the Bobi Wine and the Dr. Besigye camps. The former has been joined on the list of petitioners/plaintiffs/complainants that have for a long time accused the latter of overstaying in the position of 'Opposition Candidate'.  They argue that being a four time looser, he should give way to a new face preferably Bobi Wine.

True, Dr. Besigye has contested against Museveni four times without success.  His nomination is a matter of internal FDC arrangements. Those within FDC who felt dissatisfied left the party a few months ago and are in the process of registering and launching a new political party.  What is a bit puzzling is the call by those outside the FDC for Dr. Besigye to leave the stage. The danger here is the high possibility of portraying Dr. Besigye as having the capacity to overshadow any other opposition contender for the presidency.

Like had been the case during the 2nd Congo War, when the allied forces lost focus on  targeting the fall of Kinshasha but instead fought each other for the control of Kisangani, the opposition in Uganda is fighting each other over who is to be the main opposition face instead of focusing on how to dislodge Museveni from power.

INFORMATION IS POWER AND THE PROBLEM  OF UGANDA IS MUSEVENIS