By Barrister Peter Magomu Mashate
In a two-months period, Uganda is set to celebrate the 69th independence since the 09/10/1962.
Its a somber year but at the same time a moment of tangible hope.
TRACING UGANDA’S FOOT STEPS & CHARACTERISTICS OF CORRUPTION.
In 1966 the mustard seed of corruption was sawn in Uganda when Dr Apollo Milton Obote raped the independence Constitution and threw it into the street dustbins of ‘Kampala City Council (KCC) now Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA)’. Very sad indeed!
The constitution was not over thrown as to categorise it as such is to give the unconstitutional process and act a veneer of respectability. The Independence Constitution was unbelievably vulgarised and in the process sowed the mustard seed of corruption that has troubled the country to-date. The cadres of the ruling party-UPC went into high drive gear and rewarded nationwide those who cared to cement this dreadful revolution ushered in by Apollo Milton Obote.
For a perspective, you only have to compare and contrast the 1995 constitutional amendments and even those of the American constitution 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th 5th amendments and etc. In Uganda you look at the Term limits amendments, Age limit amendments etc. In the case of Uganda these changes were vigorously lobbied for and achieved by a simple parliamentary majority elected by the people unlike the approach adopted under Obote in 1966. It was total Treason, rape, defilement and murder giving birth to the subsequent leadership immorality in Uganda.
Uganda has just come out of a general election on 15/01/2026 but it would seem as if the 2031general election is already underway as almost every MP Performance in Parliament is virtually directly addressing constituents, albeit at a tangent because the interests of the villagers who have for a long time been cheated out on medicine in hospitals, mothers dying in labour because they cannot afford labour gloves, when LC1 chairmen extort money in order to avail signatures to wanainchi to access PDM revolutionary funds among other injustices. The PDM and other revolutionary programmes like Emyooga are purely meant for mass empowerment or Bonnabagaggawale. Surely, for any Member of Parliament to raise up on the floor in defence of the most appalling unpatriotic acts against the wanainchi is a betrayal of the voters and the NRM revolution. I have seen this happen in parliament where some legislators spoke against the actions of Justine Nameere and Balaam Barugahare in the countryside.
Whoever embezzles public funds meant to deliver social services to an ordinary Ugandan, is no different from what Obote did in 1966. That’s an act of Treason, and murder. Therefore, the blood of those mothers who die in labour because of lack of maternity supplies etcetera cannot go unavenged. Balaam and Nameere are the avengers in this case, the reason they should be supported by everyone.
In 1979 Ugandans under the umbrella of UNLF descended on the country and ousted Idi Amin, a man they fully welcomed and embraced for ousting Obote in 1971. For any government to sustain it’s authority, it should be loved, and supported by the wanainchi. This support comes through service delivery and security of the people and their property. President Museveni has excelled in this and it explains why his electoral victory is always guaranteed and goes unchallenged. The public is satisfied. However, this support for NRM has gradually been declining courtesy of corrupt tendencies by those supposed to take services to the people. It is therefore, not surprising that Balaam is now becoming a household name because he and his junior minister have touched on the right nerve. The enemy must not be allowed to escape. He/she must be harassed at least if not captured.
THE WRITER IS; FORMERLY LONDON BASED BARRISTER PETER MAGOMU MASHATE AN ADMINISTRATIVE, CONSTITUTIONAL AND HUMAN RIGHTS BARRISTER-AT-LAW OF THE HONOURABLE SOCIETY OF LINCOLN’S INN OF COURT LONDON UNITED KINGDOM.
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