Elections cannot change government in Uganda 

By Ishaa Otto Amiza

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Lira |As the saying goes, “No Legacy is as Rich as Honesty,” and in politics, telling the truth is considered a sign of weakness. If this is the case, so be it.

My conscience was torn between speaking my mind and playing the politics they wanted to hear while I was writing this opinion. The latter took precedence, as I considered it necessary to be honest first with myself, then with Ugandans and the rest of the world.

Last week, the NRM-Military machinery, acting for and on behalf of Gen. Yoweri Museveni, the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, abducted Col. Dr. Kiiza Besigye from Nairobi only to produce him before the military court at Makindye barracks. Museveni is enjoying his payback from his toy-boy, Samoe William Ruto.

Besigye was charged with illegal possession of firearms before being dumped in Luzira.

I saw the entire episode as a siren sounding to warn Ugandans and the international community that elections in 2026 are just around the corner.

Aware that the ritual general elections are just around the corner, the NRA-Military cum dictatorship is ready to bite and subdue anything they see as a potential threat or interference that could undermine or challenge the status quo under the guise of an election.

Obviously, Kiiza Besigye, who played a prominent role in the Luwero bush war and consolidated the NRA’s dirty mission against Ugandans for 20 years, remains the most significant threat to the NRA military establishment. He is familiar with the original conspiracy of the Luwero bush war architects.

Whereas the NRA military regime’s 38-year reign attempted to exonerate them from known dangerous missions as a result of systematic indoctrination of the majority population born within five (50) decades, the marginalization of the majority population to believe in handouts and financial bribes due to poverty, and the imposition of fear and patronage to fool the public into believing in the State’s cosmetic manipulation of the people.

Unfortunately, individuals who are aware of the reality of the NRA bush war syndicate and conspiracies have either died or have withdrawn from active politics after satisfying their ego or becoming victims of their own service to the regime.

Nonetheless, the majority of Ugandans have come to realize that the NRA military regime is unwilling to hand over power to citizens through democratic elections, preferring to use institutions such as the Electoral Commission, the military (UPDF), and the judiciary to manipulate election results in favour of Yoweri Museveni and his cronies in the NRA/M organization.

This can be traced back to the elections of 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016, and 2021, and it will undoubtedly happen again in 2026. After all, nothing justifies a free and fair election for all citizens and parties. Instead, the electoral environment remains the same or worsens over time.

It is known that in the previous elections, three characteristics continued to manifest prominently:

1 The so-called Electoral Commission’s bias in favor of the NRM.

2 Partisan conduct and activities by the national army (UPDF) and other security forces in support of Museveni’s NRA group.

3 The mindset of citizens/voters to exchange handouts/money; bribes for voting rights.

In such circumstances, what else can citizens and voters do to change the government through elections?

To my dismay, despite being aware of all of these manipulations and difficulties in pursuing elections as a means of changing government in Uganda, the leaders of the so-called opposition parties have purposefully misled the public about the dilemma of using elections to change government.

This move further legitimizes Yoweri Museveni’s NRA/NRM, as ordinary voters and the rest of the world can see.

Everyone is already aware of the outcome of the upcoming general elections, but as usual, so-called opposition party leaders will continue to falsely and knowingly console their members that they can win the elections, despite the fact that the electoral environment makes this impossible.

As elections approach, some political actors begin to make clandestine bargains with President Museveni and his NRM regime as “political lords,” mortgaging their loyal and innocent supporters and regions in exchange for direct political and economic rewards.

This was seen in previous elections, when traditional party leaders (DP and UPC) formed loose coalitions to secure Cabinet positions in the NRM government.

Their benefits include significant financial rewards and protection from state machinery and institutions at the expense of individual party members.

As a result, knowing that they can scoop some positions and rewards from the government, they persuade their loyal victims (party members) to participate in elections as a tool for their political survival and to legitimize the undemocratic, military, and hostile elections, despite knowing that they cannot mobilize Ugandans to vote for them under the current electoral environment.

It is therefore time for genuine opposition members to re-assemble, assess the current political environment, and begin engaging the population in order to regain their consciousness and authority over democratic power.

The author is a former UPC MP in Uganda’s 8th Parliament and a current political activist based in Lira City.