A look at the region’s political scene reveals the grim struggle between
those in power and those who oppose them, in a way that augurs ill for
the political pluralism they have all subscribed to. TEA GRAPHIC | FILE
PHOTOS |
NATION MEDIA GROUP
By JENERALI ULIMWENGU
In Summary
- A look at the region’s political scene reveals the grim struggle between those in power and those who oppose them, in a way that augurs ill for the political pluralism they have all subscribed to, at least on paper.
- The East African tableau suggests that whatever gains made in the recent past in terms of democratisation via plural politics have proved to be reversible, and that the forces of reaction, firmly rooted in the old colonial order are still in control.
- That leaves the imperative to fight for better governance systems and processes firmly in the hand of Africans themselves, to fulfill or to betray.
A look at the region’s political scene reveals the grim
struggle between those in power and those who oppose them, in a way that
augurs ill for the political pluralism they have all subscribed to, at
least on paper.
The gap between the written constitutional provisions, which set
up multi-party dispensations, and what happens on the ground grows
wider every year.
In Kenya, the opposition, led by lynchpin Raila Odinga of the
Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD), has locked horns with
President Uhuru Kenyatta of the Jubilee coalition on the former’s
insistence on the reform of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries
Commission (IEBC), which the opposition claims is biased in favour of
the ruling coalition.
So far, some deaths have occurred from police shooting during
demonstrations called by Mr Odinga and his supporters to force President
Kenyatta to agree to a negotiated settlement of the matter.
Apart from the wrangle over the electoral body, Mr Odinga has
appended other issues for discussion, including what he terms rampant
corruption and ethnically biased appointments to government positions.
On its part, the presidential coalition, which includes Deputy
President William Ruto, has vacillated between a hard stance and
conciliation, stating that the opposition is free to continue with its
demonstrations, but that police would take stern action against
offenders, a grim warning when people have already been shot.
In Uganda, the epic struggle between President Yoweri Museveni
and his erstwhile comrade Kizza Besigye of the opposition Forum for
Democratic Change (FDC) shows no sign of letting up.
President Museveni, who has ruled Uganda since 1986, has
consistently roughed up any opposition to his tenacious hold on power.
Dr Besigye, who was with President Museveni in the bush and served as
his personal physician, has been the latter’s nemesis, refusing to
buckle under incessant police beatings, incarceration and house arrest.
After the last election in February, which was officially won by
President Museveni, Dr Besigye was once again subjected to harassment
as he sought the nullification of the results. In a farcical gesture,
the “Colonel Daktari” as he is nicknamed, Dr Besigye organised his own
swearing-in ceremony proclaiming him “president” and is now facing
treason charges.
In Rwanda, President Paul Kagame remains the unchallenged chief
of the political pecking order, and his Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF)
controls most of the power.
The opposition has generally been pushed into exile, with some
of the president’s closest former allies, who came into power with him
after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, in self-exile abroad from
where they mount propaganda campaigns against him.
The opposition that remains in the country is weak and
inconsequential; some of its leaders have been co-opted into government
in accordance with a formula agreed in the Arusha Accord of 1993.
READ: With little opposition, Kagame to win in 2017
As for neighbouring Burundi, chaos has reigned since the
decision by President Pierre Nkurunziza to seek a controversial third
term. The country, no stranger to mayhem for long periods, has been
plunged into free-for-all violence that has witnessed numerous and
ubiquitous political assassinations in parts of Bujumbura.
And, always flying under the radar, Tanzania has often
demonstrated a knack for undergoing worrisome developments without the
outside world being any the wiser for it.
It may be that the Kiswahili language, in which most of the
political discourse is carried out, insulates Tanzania from scrutiny
abroad. Yet all is not well, and the trend has been for those in power,
essentially the CCM party and the state machinery, to tighten their grip
on power and to allow as little space as possible to the opposition.
Currently, there is a prohibition on political rallies, and
recent attempts by the opposition party Chadema to hold public meetings
have been thwarted with force: In some places, the leaders have not been
allowed to access their own offices.
In parliament, there is a standoff between the opposition and
deputy speaker Tulia Ackson, who is standing in for titular speaker Job
Ndugai, who is undergoing medical treatment.
Under her watch, seven opposition members stand suspended for
long periods of time, leading to the depletion of the numbers in their
ranks and giving free rein to ruling party legislators for a good part
of the remainder of this year.
Parliament has also adopted budgetary measures, which means that
the municipal councils that are controlled by the opposition in most
major towns are deprived of funding, with crucial tax collection
functions transferred to the central government.
This East African tableau suggests that whatever gains made in
the recent past in terms of democratisation via plural politics have
proved to be reversible, and that the forces of reaction, firmly rooted
in the old colonial order are still in control.
Calls for a new constitutional order, negotiated and enacted by
popular will, have been rife in Tanzania, for instance, but it is
instructive to note that even Kenya, which has a brand-new constitution,
does not seem to be moving at the pace of the aspirations initially
engendered by that document.
But, at least in Kenya, campaigners do have a standard they can
carry and refer to in their struggle to translate the letter of the law
into the spirit of their politics.
Former Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete went through the
motions of writing a constitution, spent huge amounts of money on the
project and then dumped it midstream, having squandered not only a
fortune, but also the democratic aspirations of a whole nation.
Meanwhile, in Zanzibar, a mockery of the electoral process has
ended in the installation of a government that seriously lacks
legitimacy because the opposition boycotted the repeat election in
March, after the October 2015 election was declared null and void.
Still, Ali Mohammed Shein of CCM goes about as president of the Isles
despite mumblings from foreign donors.
READ: US cancels $472m Tanzania aid deal over Zanzibar election
Across the African continent, the story is not very different.
The multiparty dispensation wrought for African countries after the
collapse of the Soviet empire and the end of the cold war in the early
1990s posited plural politics as the gold standard to be aimed for by
countries that aspired to respectability in the eyes of the donor
community and wanted to enhance their chances of qualifying for
continued economic aid.
New players have entered the scramble for African resources, and
in this new race, few questions are asked of our rulers. China, India,
Turkey, Brazil, Iran, Israel, Japan, among others, are doing roaring
business with Africa without too much sensitivity to issues of
governance that informed an earlier generation of scramblers.
In a twisted logic, the playing field is being levelled in the
new competition, and African rulers, ever weary of “meddling”
foreigners, are none too sorry for it. That leaves the imperative to
fight for better governance systems and processes firmly in the hand of
Africans themselves, to fulfill or to betray.
Only the African patriots, committed to the betterment of their
continent no matter what the cost may be, are left with the task of
moving this agenda forward. And it will not be easy.
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