Commentary By Leo Odera Omolo

Five presidents whose countries have jointly established one of the most vibrant economic bloc in the African continent, namely the East African Community are scared stiff of making their stand known on the current political situation in the neighboring Uganda?

It is not a laughing matter when the military soldiers are deployed in streets to brutalize and violently dispersing peaceful and unarmed the citizens from demonstrating against the sky-rocketing prices of essential land basic commodities.

The way and the manner in which protesting in Ugandans are treated is totally a mockery to the tenets of democratic principles.

The opposition Leader Col.Dr Kiiza Basingye was on Wednesday stopped while driving into town by heavily armed men who looked like military police. They used their steel pistols but in smashing his car’s windscreens on both sides of the vehicle and lobbed tear gas canisters into the car. A this was not enough, they splashed his face with looked like acids.

On two previous arrests, Dr Basingye was shot in his right arm by a trigger-happy policeman who got away with the heinous act scot free. The third arrests were even more brutal because the liquid substance flashed in his face appeared to have affected his eyesight. Surely was this excessive force necessary in arresting an unarmed person?

Why are the AU and EAC leaders keeping quiet as Uganda is slowly drifting back to the rule of the gun? So far none of the four presidents of Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi has commented on what is gong in Uganda. Where are their usually vocals so called government spokesmen. Why are they burry8ng their heads in sands in the face of brutal militarist colleague in Uganda?

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has re-introduced the rule of the gun in Uganda. It is something which the citizens of that beautiful African country had long forgotten – – ever since the former despotic ruler in the name of Field Marshall Lt Gen Idi Amin Dada was sent packing by a combined forces of Tanzania regulars and Ugandan exile forces. That was the justified liberation war which Museveni himself was one of those brave Ugandans who had sacrificed their time and energy to accomplish.

The removal of Idi Amin from power in Uganda was not a joking game, but a very expensive exercise which counted for the loss of hundreds of young Tanzanian and Uganda soldiers. As admitted in later years by the late President Julius Nyerere it had a long term bearing on Tanzanian economy. All these sacrifices were not in vain but were meant for the search of freedom and liberty of Ugandans.

What Ugandans are protesting abut is the unaffordable prices of basic commodities. Similar protests have taken part in the neighboring Nairobi, but accounted for no human loss of life.

Museveni must be advised to respect the sanctity of human blood. He should his soldiers back to barracks and leave the job of dispersing the protesters to the police. But if has soldiers in excess who are idle, then he should consider the possibility of dispatching more troops to go the troubled Horn of Africa country {Somalia} to supplement the work of the UNMAR peacekeeping instead of deploying them where they are savagely brutalizing Ugandan citizens.

I happened to be in Kampala last Monday and Tuesday and I even witnessed three soldiers kicking a pregnant woman hard at the back and in her stomach as she pleaded with them to be left alone in vain. I am sure for certain that woman did not survive unscathed, but might have suffered abortion.

For more than two decades since he came to power after protracted time in the bush, forces of Gen Tito Okello who had seized power after overthrowing Obote Two administration, President Museveni has been in the forefront among the new generation of African leaders who are armed with university degree and who the ordinary citizens expect a lot to come from in their salvation. But what we are witnessing now is in the opposite.

The Presidents of four other African countries which are member of the East African Community must come out in the open and register their strongest objection to the rule of gun in Uganda.

There is no point in keeping silence and yet things are not all that is well in Uganda. Kenya in particular must speak out. Uganda is Kenya’s best f not leading economic partner, and both the two principals in the coalition government must com out in the open and tell Museveni that what he is doing in Uganda des not augur well for the larger Eastern African region and the EAC in particular and its development partners abroad.

Museveni recently conducted and concluded much flawed general elections in which member of the Uganda Peoples Defense force {UPDF} were the returning officer and polls clerks at the various polling booths, and despite of the protests by the combined opposition parties against this unbecoming practices nobody else registered his or her voice from within the EAC partner states. Both AU and EAC member states accepted the outcome of Ugandan elections on face value and totally ignore the dissenting views coming from the internal opposition groups.

The time is ripe for both the AU an the EAC to consider the possibility of establishing a blueprint for mechanism for conflicts control and resolution in member states in order to put belligerent African leaders to a constant check of their excesses.

It is arguably that Museveni has restored the sanity in Ugandan politics, but he has been there for too long and should now vacate the political scene in that country before it is too late.

The Ugandans need a break and a breathing space from his draconian rule. Level minded regional leaders like Presidents Mwai Kibaki of Kenya Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania must come to the rescue of brutalized Ugandans who are losing their precious lives at the hands of Ugandans soldiers and speak loudly against the primitive rule of the gun.

The African Union must not only be used as talking shop and toothless bulldog when things are gong from bad to worse in the member countries.

Otherwise the history will judge the current EAC and AU leaders harshly for standing a loaf while one of their colleague is committing atrocities against human race in the neighborhood.

Ends

leooderaomolo@yahoo,com