The Man or The System?
On the other hand, Museveni has major problems along his borders with various secessionist movements: including (Human Rights Watch, 2004):
· Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), which has been engaged in a long war in the Acholi north of Uganda (1986-present). The conflict has four main characteristics, 1) Struggle between government and LRA, 2) Between the predominantly Acholi LRA and the wider Acholi population, including indiscriminate killings and the abduction of children to become fighters, auxiliaries and sex slaves aimed at cowing the Acholi and discrediting the government, 3) Fuelled by animosity between Uganda and Sudan supporting rebellions in each other's territory and 4) Continues the North-South conflict that has marked Ugandan politics and society since independence with the southerners monopolizing power (ICG, 2004) (see Chapter 13, Section 13.10.3.2, U.S. military aid). In 2007/8, what appear to be never ending peace talks with Uganda are taking place in Juba, Sudan;
- The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in the west, a diverse coalition of fighters formed in 1995, Sudanese backed Ugandan Islamic fundamentalist and a virulent anti-Christian group based in the Rwenzori Mountains, with bases also in Eastern Congo;
- The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), last heard from in 1995, but recently alleged to have renewed activities in 2002, based in the east of the country.
- The Uganda National Rescue (Resistance) Front (UNRF) II in the northwest, operating out of Sudanese bases and partly formed by former fighters in former President Idi Amin's army.
- The West Nile Bank Front (WNBF) headed by a former Idi Amin minister and based in the northwest since 1996.
- The Kizza Besigye campaigners and a loose coalition of opposition parties and persons, who together took the name of Reform Agenda, have been targeted by the Ugandan government and accused of starting another rebel group, the People's Redemption Army (PRA), linked to Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Besigye was arrested in November 2005, on his return to Uganda from exile, accused of treason.
Time will tell if Museveni is able to bring these diverse groups into the decision making process of his country or if he tries to solve these problems purely by force, and if his system of governance will allow for a smooth transition of the Presidency and/or will he end up exiting like so many other leaders in Africa. The International Crisis Group (ICG) (2004) accuses him of using military force to address the situation to date. Human Rights Watch (2004) claims that, as practiced, the one-party democracy "has significantly curtailed civil and political rights of those who are in political opposition to Museveni's government". In early 2004, Museveni was accused of reverting to the classical tactics of the "African Strong Man". Politicians challenging the one-party state and the 18-year rule of Museveni, are often detained, severely beaten and threatened with death by the uncontrolled security apparatus, originally established to contend with armed rebel groups and crime waves. In 2001, the government established a system of covert "safe houses"—with no oversight by the Ugandan judiciary and no access given to Ugandan government human rights officials. These places of detention facilitate torture and other abuses by shielding abusers from scrutiny. Individuals have been held incommunicado in such places with no contact with family members or lawyers—sometimes for months, being denied medical care despite severe injuries. The constitutional requirement that criminal charges be brought within 48 hours of detention or the suspect is released, is rarely honored in these cases (Human Rights Watch, 2004).
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has agreed to launch a formal investigation into allegations of human rights abuses in Uganda. The information about war crimes was provided by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni against the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). Although President Museveni's complaints mentioned only the alleged crimes of the Lord's Resistance Army, human rights groups demanded that the government side be investigated as well. The ICC has agreed to investigate both sides (Butty, 2004). Some say that the war with the LRA will drag on for a number of reasons, 1) Little is known of the LRA, how it functions and how many rebels there are and 2) Adams Oloo, lecturer in the University of Nairobi's political science department, believes that the north is not a priority for Museveni since it is a difficult place to control and he has determined that the country can be lead without necessarily controlling the north (Majtenyi, 2005).
Concern also exists that Museveni is pushing to change the Constitution that allows him to run for a third term (Geyer, 2005). In July 2005, Museveni used Parliament to erase presidential term limits, the majority of lawmakers receiving US$ 2,800 each to ensure the measure's passage. Museveni announced that he would run for re-election in February 2005 (Lambert, 2005).
If the above allegations are true, it may be the man and not the Africanized democratic system that has failed. At the end of July 2005, a national referendum was held and 93% of the voters backed reform to multi-party elections. Many people feel like this was a ploy to appease the people and donors since parliament, earlier in July, scrapped a constitutional amendment that limited a president to only two terms. Voter apathy was high, with only 47% of eligible voters turning out, as provisions in the constitution already allow for multi-partyism and this is perceived as part of a plan to become a president for life (Thibodeaux, 2005; Voice of America, 2005). Others say Museveni is under pressure form the Western donors to allow multi-parties, the donors footing a large part of his annual budget (see Section 11.6.7, Foreign Aid and Puppet Governments – "Donor Democracy").
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