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By Oweyegha-Afunaduula
It is true. Royalty of Buganda and Busoga is besieged by President Tibuhaburwa Museveni and his son General Muhoozi Kainerugaba. They cannot manifest freely. In this case President Tibuhaburwa Museveni can say with confidence that without him they would not be, although he knows fully well that he re-erected them in a de-politicized form and, therefore, ineffectual form in terms of decision-making.
They depict deceptively of course that President Tibuhaburwa Museveni is tolerant to different peoples ways of life. But land grabbing is destroying the foundations of the so-called cultural institutions. Deceptively, or not, President Tibuhaburwa Museveni tolerates land grabbing.
By the time they wake up, the cultural institutions will have no land. But what is a cultural institution without land. Obote abolished Kingdoms but left all indigenous groups with their land. May be this was one reason he lost power twice. I am theorizing!
One school of thought has suggested that the so-called cultural institutions are integral to President Tibuhaburwa Museveni’s patronage chain. They give the impression that President Tibuhaburwa Museveni is tolerant of and promotes the cultures of the various indigenous groups of Uganda.
By the time Ugandans wake up from their slumber, they will find that in fact cultural institutions were erected not to serve the interests of those that have them but the interests of power. Pursuits of interests of power do not spare identities.
Indeed President Museveni has pronounced that it is a politics of Interests, not identities that matters, although in practice he has been pursuing both the identity and ethnicity of his own group, which is in power.
It is the ethnic group of the President, which is dominating everything today as the cultural institutions mire themselves in a de-politicized cultural environment, unlike before.
It dominates politics, business and administration to name but a few. Virtually all institutions of government are headed by members of his ethnic group. If not, the deputy heads of the institutions belong to his ethnic group and may yield more power and influence and earn more than the heads of the institutions belonging to other ethnic groups.
Interestingly in administration of the numerous districts that the President has created in place and out of the original 14 or so districts, including: Acholi, Bugisu, Sebei, Busoga, Bunyoro, Toro, Lango, Moyo, Karamoja, Kigezi, Bukedi, Masaka, Mubende and Ankole. The Bantustanisation of Uganda for political ends has meant that the former Kingdom areas and the semi- Kingdom area of Busoga have cultural heads that are almost ineffective in decision-making compared to the LC Chairmen at all levels of district administration who are politically empowered.
Without political power to make decisions cultural leaders cannot significantly influence anything within their areas of cultural jurisdiction. The are cast by the State as just consumers that add nothing to the development of their areas unlike before when as Kings and semi-King they made political decisions that benefited their people.
I am informed but have not confirmed that Cultural institutions are not really maintain by their people, but by President Museveni’s Government to the tune of 60million Shillings per month. That cannot be without strings attached. Does it surprise you that as their people struggle for their rights the cultural institutions have agreed to maintain a conspiracy of silence?
For God and My Country
The Writer Is a Ugandan Scientist And Environmentalist
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