The political murmurs doing rounds that perennial presidential contender, Kizza Besigye Kifefe, and his sidekicks are collecting ‘evidence’ and two million signatures to drag President Yoweri Museveni, senior government and security officials to the much acclaimed International Criminal Court (ICC) is a bluff. Without pouring so much cold water, Ugandans need to be reminded that there have been three failed similar efforts previously by the same groups to drag President Museveni to the ICC and other similar bodies. 

It is becoming cool again to roundly condemn security agencies especially the police when handling protests by groups well-known to promote the political campaign dubbed civil disobedience to “make Uganda ungovernable”, by disrupting economic and commercial activities, in the hope their foreign backers will step in. The foreign backers are mainly some elements from the US, West Minister Foundation for Democracy, and Netherland Institute for Multiparty Democracy channeling various forms of support either directly or through CSOs and the media.

Makerere University is again in the news for one week running for no so good reasons. Notoriously famous for staging strikes, often violent, and most of them invariably triggered by funding, management and even mundane administrative issues like quarreling over food, furniture and toilets. Overall Uganda has 180,000 students in both public and private universities. The nine public universities combined have the lion’s share of one hundred ten thousand (110,000) students.

The renewed engagement with Africa in what appears to be a paradigm shift towards mutual, cordial and hopefully progressive benefit to the continent is a good sign that China, alongside Russia, Japan and India are seeking to reshape the world order. Of course we should expect that countries that defined the old world order, some of which are now museums, will try staging rearguard actions to undermine the new shifts.

For the last two years there have been ominous political signs bolstered by political grandstanding and finger-wagging directed against the NRM and President Yoweri Museveni, which make it appear that the revolution is riding under rain before a violent storm descends towards the much hyped 2021 general elections. 

The four month-long running public demonstrations by section of the people of Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous territory of the Peoples Republic of China, has gone beyond being an agitation for democratic reforms to hooliganism, vandalism, general disrespect for established law and order, and is an imperial attempt to break or contain China. The script is similar to the one that has been used to dismantle and disorganize the Middle East, Arab World, South America, and North Africa.

Next week Uganda commemorates 57th Independence anniversary to be held in Sironko district, Elgon region under the theme “Consolidating National Unity, Security, Freedom, and Prosperity.” As we begin this journey we should dedicate appreciation to all the heroes and hard working Ugandans. In particular, we honour the National Resistance Army/Movement (NRA/M) that took control of national leadership in 1986 to resurrect Uganda from the abyss where it had been dumped.

Three successive events this week is proving that Uganda’s mendacious opposition leaders Kizza Besigye, Patrick Amuriat, Salaamu Musumba, Norbert Mao, Mugisha Muntu, Erias Lukwago, and recent entrant Robert Kyagulanyi may be reaching their final sad destinations. 

Zimbabwean liberation icon Comrade Robert Gabriel Mugabe, 95 years, has finally gone to rest in eternity, but some of those he opposed for the right reasons like British imperialists and neo-liberals he chased out after letting him down continue to chew curd over his dead body. These groups are in the futile hope that they can erase Mugabe’s historical contribution to Africa. 

In the run up to the forthcoming 64th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Conference slated for September 22 to 29, 2019, in Kampala, Uganda, reflections are abound on the significance, influence and benefits of such large meetings in Uganda, especially when we look back at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) held here in 2007, and the controversies that surrounded it afterwards.