How Meal Card Politics is Threatening Our Multi Party Democracy

As we head for the general election, one would have hoped that after close to 24 years of multi-party politics in Uganda, we would be having strong political parties offering alternative policy platforms in line with essential elements of democracy that we envisaged when the country decided to embrace multi-party democracy.

However, we have continued to witness spineless political players, whose only interest is to retain their parliamentary positions and not to cause serious regime change, so they keep shifting bases and alliances every other election period and as a result, confusing their followers along the way.

Democratic Party President General Nobert Mao rightly refers to these politicians in Uganda as ‘meal card politicians’. And from what we are witnessing today, he is right, these are indeed meal card politicians, simply scavenging for a political carcass for personal survival. Unfortunately, many of these are from the region, that one would have expected to provide for much needed political solutions, from a pre-independent political party that would have been trusted with a country’s leadership given its historical factors and an elite group that came from Makerere University about 20 years ago when they joined national politics.

Chairman Mao, as he is commonly referred to also calls this crop of politicians creeping plants or creepers (ebibowabowa), one that cannot survive on their own but requires a tree to creep on for sunshine and survival. We can also call them parasites, which must attach themselves to a host for them to survive.

This group was seen by many as a new breed of opposition class that would cause a political storm, given their articulation of issues on bimeza ( radio talk shows) in the early 2000s. Little did we know that theirs was personal survival and not a national agenda. These can be traced back to the time of referendum and Buganda agitation for the federal (feudal) system of leadership.

A number of them were even Buganda kingdom officials or staff in their establishments. They started by clinging on the Buganda question of Federo (federal) system, land, etc pitting the central government against Mengo establishment, and blackmailing anyone who wasn’t on their side as a regime sell out, many made it to parliament at the back of this blackmail of opponents who were considered anti-Buganda, we all remember slogans like “milo akenda,  Kampala edde mu Buganda and ebyaffe.” They promised to fight and deliver Buganda Kingdom’s demands in parliament, and people myopically trusted them with their votes in vain and it’s now 20 plus years and still counting and no federal, no milo akenda, no Kampala in Buganda agenda again, these were just means to justify the end.

Next enters Col. Dr. Kizza Besigye and the same politicians jumped ship and joined him, this enabled them win seats in parliament, local and city councils because of clinging on to him like creeping plants on to a pole prior to the elections. Because their interest is to win parliamentary and other elective seats, after the election they easily forget their host and many times didn’t join Besigye in his post-election struggles, after all, they had secured what they wanted, they would remember to creep on him again during another election with a different slogan/name (subi, TJ, Solida etc). This group of politicians would comfort themselves in the positions of power and leave Besigye to protest alone or with a few committed strugglers on the streets.

They are like scavengers looking for carcasses, they keep on the lookout for anyone who comes out to oppose the regime and then analyze his strength and how he may eat into their voters and also the size of his wallet. If you are a follower of politics in Uganda, then you know this group without us mentioning names here. If these politicians who have been creeping on Besigye like passion fruit plants onto a pole in every election period, joined him on the streets to protest against the alleges injustices maybe they would have caused a regime change the way Besigye wanted it by all means possible.

When Rt. Hon Mbabazi left NRM and contested under Go Forward, this very group was everywhere behind him and sometimes one leg with Col. Besigye, they were in TDA, SUBI, and FDC.

Now the same group presently snuggling closer into Robert Kyagulanyi Sentamu’s ribs ahead of the 2021 elections. Unknown to Bobi Wine is that this group, after them winning the scrambled positions because of his popularity in areas of Buganda, and him losing election and being nowhere, they will comfortably swear in as parliamentarians, district chairpersons and councilors as they wait for another round of the election in 2026.

The opportunistic meal card politicians have been the major enemies of the process to nurture multi-party democracy in the country, they have intentionally weakened their political parties at every election by crossing to different new formations and leaving their old political parties as shells, with no membership and representation. By doing so, they curtail the young democracy that we had hoped would grow to maturity when we accepted multi-party democracy in the country.

All they care about is snuggling into the ribs of the opposition leaders, taking pictures, forcing arrests as a way of gaining popularity. After winning constituent contested positions, they enjoy their positions and titles plus salary and allowances that accrue with it as they look for the next popular opposition figure on whose ship to jump with their stinking opportunism.

Ugandans should look out for these “Meal Card Politicians” whose interest in politics is to get a meal card to enable them to have their next political meal. They treasure the meal card and will shamelessly do anything to safeguard it. They have lost all sense of shame and value, now they are gatekeepers of their political bases and are wary of anyone who may emerge, the reason they keep running to new formations to prevent such formation having new entrants campaigning for the same position in those constituencies, they are cowards who fear political competition. They strive on political scavenging and speak big especially whenever media is nearby, in order to appear bright and on the struggle for change.

For God and the Pearl of Africa