Yoweri Museveni became president of Uganda 24 years ago today. The past 24 years have been peaceful for the country by comparison with the preceding presidencies of Idi Amin, Milton Obote and others during which hundreds of thousands of Ugandans were slaughtered, but Northern Uganda has faced continuing insecurity at the hands of the Lord’s Resistance Army throughout that period.
Uganda is a desperately poor country. It has never recovered from the destructive policies of Idi Amin in the 1970s. When Uganda’s economy is compared to those of its neighbours, it is a little bit weaker than Kenya and Tanzania, perhaps a little stronger than Rwanda (although Rwanda is gaining fast) and definitely stronger than Central African Republic and Democratic Republic of Congo (which is the poorest country in the world).
Uganda is not located in a good neighbourhood, economically speaking, and Museveni’s government over the past 24 years has not delivered prosperity. However, there are no strongly-placed challengers at the forthcoming elections, and it looks as if Museveni will be voted in again for a fourth term. In view of Uganda’s troubled history, the citizens probably prefer to vote for the relative security of the government they know, rather than to take a chance on something different.