Uganda's Bobi Wine leaving the court; right, Rwanda's Diane Rwigara
being taken to court. The region is seeing a shift. Young, bold and
vibrant leadership is coming to the fore. PHOTOS | NMG
A few weeks ago Bobi Wine was famous among mostly Ugandans; fast
forward to today and you would not believe the international attention
his name has received.
But the torture he went through as a serving Member of Parliament, is not unique to Uganda, so why did it ignite so much anger?
Bobi
Wine definitely has a following and his popularity continues to grow
exponentially, considering that he won a by-election only last year.
Perhaps
what we are seeing is that people are just plain tired of President
Yoweri Museveni’s interminable rule. President Museveni has been there
so long that people my age have known only him as president of Uganda.
Let
us think about that for a minute; they do not know what it feels like
to see another picture hanging on the walls of government offices. They
do not know what it sounds like to hear a national address during a
public holiday from another individual: Questioning how the speech was
read, or laughing about peculiar mannerisms.
We can
tell when our president is upset or being brutally honest. When he is
just chilled, we have learned that. We even have memories of president
Mwai Kibaki calling one of his drivers mjinga during an address.
Presidents
are the underlying flavour of our everyday lives – some we are glad to
see come in and others we cannot wait to see the back of. I know people
who have stopped watching news in the United States because of President
Donald Trump, even they used to be avid consumers of political news.
Now they mute the news channels and skim through newspapers.
There
is definitely a wave of change that is occurring in the region, the
once young firebrands are ageing and succession plans were never part of
their life goals.
The acronym YOLO to our our
founding leaders meant You Only Lead Once; grabbing the presidential
seat, they literally hang on for their life. Not too far off we have
President Paul Kagame – the debate around him is conflicted; ask people
in Rwanda whether it is better to have some form of development but feel
trapped, or rampant corruption but some sense of democracy, and the
courageous ones will whisper the answer.
The region is seeing a shift. Young, bold and vibrant leadership is coming to the fore.
We
have to recognise that these mantles of leadership were grabbed through
bloodshed. So much so, that old-time politicians when speaking about
young people, tell them “If you want leadership, grab it, it will never
be given to you,” that it must be fought for with blood.
Does
that really mean transition? We are a generation that can meet online
and marry. We are a generation that sees so much of the world instantly
that diversity intrigues us rather than scaring us. The same with
leadership – must bloodshed be part of the process?
Diane
Rwigara, the only woman who wanted to vie for president in Rwanda was
thrown in jail, in a country that prides itself on putting women in
positions of leadership. The irony!
However, questions are being asked why there was not much international attention for Diane as compared with Bobi?
The
overriding difference is that the people must want the change for
themselves. Those observing from outside cannot speak for those within.
In
the case of Uganda, the people spoke loud and clear and it was easier
to jump on the bandwagon and support them. How do you “save” someone who
is not even sure if they want to be saved? The battle within is the
fiercest battle that you will ever face.
Nerima Wako-Ojiwa is executive director of Siasa Place Twitter: @NerimaW
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