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Business English: Power struggle in Uganda
The tribal leader King Ronnie is an irritant in Museveni's bid to extend his presidencyHe is the Lion. He is also the Big Drum, or the man with Legs of Iron. King Ronald Mutebi II, leader of Uganda's ancient Buganda kingdom, is known to his adoring subjects by more than 50 praise names.
Another is "cucu", a grass that smells sweet but irritates the ankles. To Yoweri Museveni, Uganda's president, the irritation caused by the Cambridge-educated monarch is evolving from a tickle into something more severe.
Mr Museveni, a wily strongman who has held power for 24 years, will try to extend his rule at next year's election. The president needs the support of King Ronnie - as he is most commonly known - and of the Baganda tribe, the country's largest. Now, however, Mr Museveni is in danger of losing their favour.
King Ronnie and many of his followers are agitating for greater independence for the Buganda kingdom. This institution is steeped in tradition dating back to the 13th century, complete with entombed ancestors and sacred trees, spears and leopardskin robes. Loyal subjects tend to throw themselves at King Ronnie's feet, as if ready to perform devotional press-ups.
The clash between the president and the monarch illustrates the tension between tradition and modernity found across Africa. It is also found within the Buganda kingdom itself, which includes the vibrant capital Kampala.
The Baganda people dominate Uganda's economy and thousands were born and raised in the US or Europe. Their families had fled Uganda after the Buganda kingdom was abolished in 1966 by Milton Obote, the country's first leader. Mr Museveni restored the institution in 1993, allowing King Ronnie to return from exile in Britain and reclaim his throne.
But the kingdom was only reborn as a ceremonial institution. To right that perceived wrong, Baganda leaders are now campaigning for federalism, which they say would give the kingdom its rightful autonomy and also dilute the concentration of power in the presidency. And therein lies the rub: Mr Museveni does not welcome suggestions that would reduce his own authority.
"Some people think all of this corruption and nepotism we witness is because there is so much power in the central government," says Charles Peter Mayiga, the Buganda kingdom's information minister.
For now, however, the monarchy has more pomp and circumstance than real power. When King Ronnie closed a recent conference on federalism, the crowd of loyal subjects turned into a convulsion of waving arms and wiggling hips.
The King himself cut a sober figure, wearing a blue blazer over a white robe. He speaks with an impeccable English accent, the product of Bradfield School and Magdalene College, Cambridge. He did a string of odd jobs during his years of exile in Britain, including a stint as a double-glazing salesman. Mr Museveni's decision to allow him back to Uganda to ascend his father's throne was undoubtedly a step up in the world.
But last September, King Ronnie became the trigger for violence. Police had blocked his visit to a district of Kampala where some Baganda reject his authority. That incensed the King's loyalists, who began protests that descended into two days of stone-throwing and shop-burning. The security forces responded with live rounds.
Disputed death toll
The death toll is disputed: the government says 27 people were killed; independent observers believe the figure was higher. The authorities also say the Buganda kingdom masterminded the violence; the kingdom says it was spontaneous.
But no one doubts that the riots exposed the rift between the kingdom and the presidency. Mr Museveni's supporters say King Ronnie owes his throne to the president's generosity. The kingdom says that because the Baganda fought alongside Mr Museveni during the guerrilla war that brought him to power, he owes the presidency to them.
Last November, parliament angered the Baganda by passing a law giving new rights to people from other tribes living on their ancestral land. In December, the government tabled a bill that would preclude the federalism wanted by King Ronnie.
Mr Mayiga, the Buganda minister, said: "The kingdom has remained stubborn and it irritates Museveni so he wants to cut the King down to size." But King Ronnie is not bowed. The sweet-smelling "cucu" grass can always grow back.
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The Financial Times, 31.03.2010
© 2010 The Financial Times,
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