“Unfortunately, no dictator ever learns from the fate of those before him. Each one of them always assumes they are very wise until it is too late. Unfortunately, it is the nations which often become victims of their indecency, decadence and intransigence.” — David Lewis Rubongoya, NUP Secretary General
Hours after Guinea President Alpha Conde, a great friend of Uganda’s longest serving leader Yoweri Kaguta Tibuhaburwa Museveni, was toppled by the military, opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya has argued that dictators do not learn from history.
On September 05, gunfire rocked the capital Conakry as Col Mamady Doumbouya seized power from Conde.
Ascending to power in December 2010, Conde should have served tow elective five-year terms and left.
But as Rubongoya notes, in March 2020, Conde pushed through constitutional amendments that would enable him run for a controversial third term.
“He brought in an amendment to provide for six-year two terms and claimed that this was a new constitutional order and therefore he was eligible to run for another term. The people of Guinea took to the streets to protest against the illegal amendments. Dozens of Guineans were killed by security forces in the violent protests,” narrated Rubongoya.
“Later, two opposition leaders were sentenced each to one year in jail for leading the protests. The third one died in pre-trial detention. The election which followed was extremely fraudulent and highly contested. Social media was switched off. Opposition activists were detained. There was massive ballot stuffing. Election observers were obstructed.”
The NUP SG continued: “Alpha Conde declared (himself) duly elected with 59.5% of the vote. Opposition leaders went to the country’s Constitutional Court challenging Alpha Conde’s alleged victory, citing very many irregularities. On 7th November 2020, the Constitutional Court dismissed the case and held that Alpha Conde was rightfully elected. He was sworn in on 15th December 2020 amidst heavy security presence across the country. Today, Mr. Conde is under military detention probably wondering how he lost the plot. There is a lot of uncertainty across the country. It is still unclear how the situation will end.”
Compared to Conde, Museveni has ruled Uganda since 1986 when he took power after a five-year bush war that left hundreds of thousands dead.
His party NRM would also use its majority in parliament to knock term and age limits from the Constitution.
In January, Museveni won an election against youthful singer-turned-politician Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine to bag another five-year term at the helm.
By the end of Museveni’s current term in 2026, he will have ruled Uganda for four consecutive decades.
Rubongoya thinks dictators should learn from the fall of Museveni’s friend Conde and stop thinking they are omniscient.
“Unfortunately, no dictator ever learns from the fate of those before him. Each one of them always assumes they are very wise until it is too late,” he said.
“Unfortunately, it is the nations which often become victims of their indecency, decadence and intransigence.”
