It is a common adage that choices have consequences. This, by extension means that you reap what you sow. Hon. Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine’s psyche deludes him to think that his eccentric actions will earn him accolades and bouquets.
It has been a long debate in the political realm, whether donning military stores and engaging in acts akin to military drills, wearing pips, military uniform and ranks, amount to a criminal act punishable at the court martial. For some time, the army has warned the National Unity Platform (NUP) against donning ware similar to military stores but in vain. NUP has blatantly defied this order and now it has upped its actions to military-like training. This act of defiance has now morphed into a paramilitary outfit calling itself the NUP foot soldiers.
The foot soldiers are primed along formal military structure, where ranks are awarded based on seniority and commitment to defying all government directives. Promotions are based on how best one can challenge the status quo through illegal actions which draw public sympathy. Provocations and open defiance to government directives on military stores is a decoy to lure the authorities in power to act, then cry foul while portraying the authorities as over-bearing and draconian. It is a deliberate move to taint the government image.
The genesis of gangster menace in areas like Haiti led by Jimmy Cherizier aka Barbeque, Colombian Pablo Escobar, Castiano Brothers, Griselda Blanco, Nigerian Black Axe, Mafia Gang and South African Hard living under Aziz Rasool, all started small, gained traction among street kids, now they are a formidable menace to surmount capable of killing a president like it was in Haiti and creating no go enclaves in the country.
NUP activities run a risk of taking this direction. Before, military fatigues were rare and limited to a core NUP inner circle, but recently, as an act of defiance, multitudes of the rank and file members have massively taken on donning military fatigues. This action has two objectives. First, it is a show of might against the establishment. It is intended to show the public that after all, the government is incapable of enforcing the order. This emboldens the foot soldiers to defy any lawful order, in the belief that nothing can happen to them. This temerity is what is slowly but surely leading to NUP members confronting armed security personnel violently, in the misguided belief that officers are weak to act. There are several instances, NUP members have tried to disarm police or army officers. This is a consequence of defiance being inculcated by NUP leadership.
The second objective is that of sympathy seeking. Whenever government moves in to deter these acts of criminality, they are quick to portray it as political persecution. The illegality involved is overshadowed by political cries. They start drawing parallels with the basic military trainings that take place at National Leadership Institute (NALI), Kyankwanzi. The standard dressing is a green military uniform and is not allowed outside the institute. The gullible public may fall for this chicanery and sympathise with the criminal behavior.
At the birthday celebrations of Bobi Wine, parades similar to military parades, with all military drills and full military uniform were mounted, simulating the army formations with a guard of honour. This act attracted the ire of the authorities leading to a raid on NUP headquarters. According to the police, the raid was intended to collect materials that are unlawfully being used by NUP. The altercation has been twisted to portray NUP as the victim not the villain. This was deliberate. The police requested the NUP officials to open the premises and they refused, the police took action and had forced entry. Now, NUP has come out crying foul and the police is the aggressor.
In the past, NUP has donned military pips with the sole aim of equating its members to the official military ranks. This runs the risk of assuming that both ranks are equal in stature. So police or army officers who may have a lower rank should not apprehend those with “higher” ranks in NUP. This is a travesty of the law. This conduct has been witnessed in the past during public order management.
The recent arrest of Nyanzi Fred Ssentamu aka Chairman, the Chief mobiliser of NUP stems from the fact that he was the parade commander, carrying out military drills to a large number of foot soldiers. The military drills that are purely intended to inculcate defiance, do not blend self defence and political economy for the horde of idle youths that are easy to radicalize. Public outbursts point to this trend of affairs. NUP foot soldiers are quick to challenge the status quo leading to violent confrontation.
By the sheer numbers of the foot soldiers who took part in the parade, it shows that there are clandestine training camps taking place somewhere. Military drills take time to perfect, the level of perfection that was exhibited means that for some time in a secluded place, this training has been taking place. Interest must be picked in who were the course instructors and what military training background do they have.
The genesis of gangsters is a creature of disagreements and splitting of members from the mother gang. NUP is creating gangsters with military training, but it lacks the ability to hold them together forever. That means splinter groups are bound to become rival groups leading to street violence. History has it that gangs start as peaceful groups with a plausible purpose, but later turn into terror squads if the original aim is not achieved.
If NUP is giving these foot soldiers hope of winning power in 2026 and all their energies are dispensed to this cause, what will happen to them when they lose the next election and the dream is shuttered? How will the disillusionment be managed? Are we not staring at disaster in the making? Most of NUP youths are from the ghetto with a history of violence, what will happen to a violent prone gang with newly acquired military training? Strict and delicate corrective steps must be taken to nip this disaster in the bud, otherwise NUP foot soldiers are a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at any prompt.
