Pure Good Governance

With over 280 articles and more than five schedules, the 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda remains one of the longest not just in Africa but world over. It is said to be ten times longer than the American constitution and a couple of times lengthier than many Constitutions on the European and other continents. Since its promulgation, Uganda’s constitution has been subjected to various review processes.   Notably, in 2005, about 119 amendments were made to the constitution; some stemming from the recommendations made by the Ssempebwa Constitutional Review Commission.   A critical analysis reveals that the 2005 constitutional overhaul may have reversed rather than propelled constitutionalism. Such sentiments are inevitable because it was then that article 105(2) was amended to provide for unlimited terms for a president.   Some sections didn’t take this alteration lying down.   Since 2006, there have been voices that have consistently called for a revis...

Casting a ballot on Election Day strikes many of us as a kind of civic obligation; neglecting to do so is not so serious as neglecting to hustle to get bread on the table if you are the breadwinner. After a month long of campaigning, people of Kibaale, Kakumiro, Kagadi, Rubanda and Omoro will go to polls on August 29 to elect their leaders for the next five years. This is their right, and not anything offered by any politician on a platter. After the campaigns assorted with promises - practical as well as impractical, unimaginable lies, veiled intimidations and fear psychosis, it will be the voters’ turn to cast the die. When the voters make their decision on polling day, it will be alike a vow that would decisively affect their lives for the next few years, if not a lifetime seal. This is how serious an election is.   Albeit the reality, many people don’t appreciate that an election begins a social contract between the electorate and its elected leaders.   Many times, p...

The objective norm of civil society organizations not being “partisan” seems to have been taken to a bewildering level.  Today, most civil society groups spend a lot of time trying to dispel allegations of being “partisan” or “political”. They shy away from the fact that they operate in a political environment.  This is a waste of time especially if you are working in a highly political milieu like present day Uganda.  In fact, theoretical underpinnings by Greek philosopher Aristotle put it clearly, ‘all human beings are political in nature’.  Politics is broader than political parties or the leaders we elect to hold public offices or even the day-to-day operations of the state.  Politics incorporates people’s dealings right from the smallest unit – whether at home, school, garden, office or any other part of the eco-system.  In one way or another, an individual interacts with politics and he or she is affected by politics on a daily basis. From t...

Between 2011 and 2016, we had over 20 by-elections; many of these were to fill parliamentary and LCV elective positions.   A number of these by-elections were as a result of court nullifying elections due to electoral malpractices. A few of them were as a result of deaths, absenteeism, and resignation of the office holders. A conservative estimate would put the amount of money spent to hold those by-elections at about 10 billion Uganda shillings.   A possibility of many by-elections looms over the political horizon today.   As I write this, 26 members of the tenth parliament have already been spewed out of the house, courtesy of election petitions. This is even before Courts resolve half of the 157 election petitions before them.   While many of the initial decisions of Courts are definitely going to be appealed, the prospective number of by-elections that we are likely to have between now and 2021 is scary from the on-set. The amount of money we will s...