Uganda................Africa's bully

You know the old saying that you can take the man out of the bush but not the bush out of the man. In the case of Museveni, I conclude that it is literal. He is a military leader, he fought in the bush, he helped oust Idi Amin and subsequently saw Milton Obote’s regime fade away. He’s helped stabilize Uganda and bring it relative prosperity, but now it seems Mr. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is itching to bully someone.

For months now Kenya has been in a dispute with Uganda over one Island in Lake Victoria; The Migingo Island.

Until recently, the Ugandan military had been deployed on the Kenyan inhabited Island and the Ugandan flag hoisted. This caused clamor in Kenya. A parliamentary team had been sent to negotiate on the island for the withdrawal of Ugandan military and the lowering of the Ugandan flag. That ‘diplomatic’ exercise ended up in a heated verbal exchange that almost led to a fist fight.

Both heads of state eventually met and agreed on joint surveyors from both nations to determine within whose boundary the Island belongs.

The joint surveyors had barely been on the job when on Monday this week, Mr. Museveni gladly announced that the Island is Kenya’s, but the water was Uganda’s. In an interview with BBC he further added "But the wajaluos (a Kenyan ethnic group) are mad, they want to fish here but this is Uganda." That crude and undiplomatic statemnet caused huge uproar in Kenya.

There has been chatter on the internet and various blog sites. Some have gone to the extent of starting a group on Facebook; ‘Bring me the head of Museveni for a prize’. On Wednesday, one Kenyan MP accused the Ugandan president of "exporting his dictatorial tendencies".

In a recent meeting between the heads of the two states, it was clear that Mr. Museveni lacked any form of diplomatic demeanor, offering his Kenyan counterpart his left hand for a hand shake and dusting his seat before he sat. It is evident by his demeanor that he has no respect for his Kenyan counterpart and with his remarks; Kenyans as a whole.

The Ugandan president invited Kenyan journalists yesterday, to clarify his remarks; the result as expected was as undiplomatic as the last remark. He stated that he didn’t owe Kenyans an apology; instead he demanded an apology from Kenyans, and an individual apology from Kenyans Lands Minister, Mr. James Orengo. This is in reference to Kenyan’s uprooting the Kenya-Uganda railway that is used to supply the landlocked country with its much needed food and fuel supplies, and the Land minister’s remark referring to Ugandans as ‘Hyenas’.

The Kenya- Uganda relation has been a bit rocky with the alleged presence of the Ugandan military in parts of Western Kenya during the post election mayhem in Kenya in late 2007 and early 2008. There were also concerns raised by Kenyan media on the Ugandan military presence in the Pokot and Turkana districts located near the Kenya- Uganda border. Museveni’s response, "Our soldiers are there to deal with cattle rustlers and their Kenyan counterparts are aware of their activities." A Kenyan parliamentarian has been quoted saying that Uganda should be treated as a hostile Nation.

Territorial disputes tend to be very dangerous, look at Israel and Palestinian perennial war. This may sound petty, but it should be dealt with cautiously. President Museveni’s callousness and President Kibaki’s indifference is concerning and may yield into more chaos.

It isn’t the first time though that Uganda and Kenya have had territorial disputes. In the 70’s Idi Amin claimed that Uganda covered almost half of Kenya, up to the Riftvalley town of Naivasha. It took a Kenyan’s military deployment for the dictator to back down.

In the early 90’s President Museveni also claimed Kenyan land but the then Kenyan President; Moi didn’t stomach that, and deployed the Kenyan Military to the borders and Museveni backed down. So this may be interpreted as another attempt by the Ugandan’s to expand their territory.

How long will this bullying continue? The current weak leadership and power wrestling politicians in Kenya seems to almost assure the Ugandans that this time Kenya might just have become a soft target. Only time will tell.