Several hours ago the Electoral Commission announced that Uganda’s incumbent president Museveni has been re-elected for his fifth term – that’s 30 years as president.
Not long after hearing the results I find myself listening to the song ‘We Didn’t Start The Fire’ by Billy Joel:
‘….We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world’s been turning
We didn’t start the fire
No we didn’t light it
But we tried to fight it…’
The song comprises a series of headline events which Joel believes his generation was not responsible for. Similarly, the results of the current presidential election is possibly not a true reflection of the people of Uganda: an outcome which they are not responsible for. The opposition leader was arrested for trying to reveal what he thought was a house for ‘vote rigging’. A friend of mine just said: since Museveni held 60% of the votes, why is everyone complaining and not celebrating? A shopkeeper said to me today something along the lines of: ‘This business of democracy does not work here. You have voters who are uneducated and ill-informed, it’s easy to manipulate them. We need a positive dictatorship, but that’s not here either. But we shouldn’t be worried about this election. What is more important is getting our children into school and getting food on the table.’
On the positive, we should have peace. When you have one person controlling the military and police, and they are re-elected, then life should be the same (even though corruption is at the forefront).
We didn’t start the fire, it was always burning… some tried to fight it… but that fire is still burning…
Let us continue to pray for Uganda and serve this nation. Despite its leadership and governance, let us serve the people of Uganda, those who are trying to get their children into school and get food on the table.
Dan and Jodes... in Gulu, Uganda 