Waiting for Museveni

Disclaimer: I’m no expert on Ugandan politics, so my impressions could be totally misinformed, but they are exactly that--impressions. Also, cameras weren’t permitted at the event, so no pictures. :(

Yesterday, the president of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, happened to be in Kashongi to give a speech on farming. Coincidentally, Kashongi is where our interventions take place, so we were able to go see him... which was cool and an amazing opportunity, to be sure, but also had its own frustrations and downsides as well.

We were told that the event started at 2 PM, so we walked over to the field with Jordan B. around 1:45 PM. Dr. Mugerwa--who is friends with the president (Museveni attended the opening ceremony for MMH a few years ago)--joined us later. Since nothing actually starts on time in Uganda, we figured we would have to wait around. We just didn’t know how long.

Jordan B. led us down the middle aisle that separated the standing crowd down the middle, leading us up to the "VIP" area in front where chairs were lined up under white tents. It was definitely an interesting dynamic since we were the ONLY bazungu there, but we were told that Dr. Mugerwa had said we were coming and that sub-county officials wanted to acknowledge our efforts in the area. Indeed, we were asked to stand during the introductory remarks given to President Museveni by a sub-country official.

Ultimately, despite the excitement of seeing the president speak (albeit in Runyankole, so we mostly had no idea what he was saying), I’m left with some less than favorable sentiments towards him.

First of all, he didn’t even show up until 5:30 PM, 3.5 hours after the scheduled time. (Does this happen in the States as well? How long do people wait to see Obama speak? I don't mean waiting in line but actually waiting for him to take the podium.) Some people had been waiting since 1 PM to see him; shouldn’t he be concerned about the productivity of his people? Something tells me that if he leaves them waiting for hours, they aren’t getting anything done. Also, the time you make people wait should be directly inverse to the time you yourself are allowed to speak.

Moreover, he seemed extremely apathetic and indifferent, not to mention slightly out of touch with the needs of the people (although who am I to judge?). He hardly acknowledged anyone, and in his speech--which was on modern farming (using better seeds, practicing crop diversification, etc.)--he promised the community certain improvements, like paved roads... but only if the government had money. Are paved roads really the top priority? What about healthcare? Providing safe water? Education?

I don’t want to sound like I’m not grateful for the opportunity to hear President Museveni because I certainly am. Let’s just say I was glad the ordeal was over at the end.