Hailed as "First Rate" and "Inspiring!" by the New York Times, Children of Uganda is an internationally touring dance and music troupe, composed of 22 young Ugandans aged 6 to 20. All the members of the company have lost one or both parents to AIDS. They live in homes and boarding schools supported by the Texas-based Uganda Children's Charity Foundation (UCCF). Children of Uganda was originally founded to teach orphaned children the songs, dances and stories that were in danger of being lost, as AIDS continues to shred the social and cultural fabric of Ugandan communities.

On opening the program for the Children of Uganda performance at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center, I was confronted by these stark facts:

- There are 2.4 million orphans living in Uganda today.

- They make up 10% of Uganda's total population, 20% of Uganda's population under 14.

- 1.1 million of them have lost one or both parents to AIDS.

- AIDS kills over 200 people a day in Uganda.

Yerba Buena's marketing materials say: "But what if the response to this heartbreak was dance and drumming, light and joy? Can art heal wounds this deep? Sometimes it's riskier to respond with joy than sorrow; the Children of Uganda invite you to take that courageous leap."

Does this make you feel a little queasy? Should anyone be required to respond to tragedy on this scale with "dance and drumming, light and joy?"

"People may think they're going to feel bad, but what they see is the antithesis of that," says Alexis Hefley, Texan American founder of UCCF. "It's an amazing production about hope and ethnic dance. It's happy and inspiring." Hefley was a banker until 10 years ago, when she visited Uganda in search of "meaning and community". She is a staunch advocate of the abstinence programs promoted by the Bush administration and Uganda's first lady, Janet Museveni. "Abstaining until you're married, then staying faithful to one partner is the most effective way to prevent HIV transmission."

The program states that Children of Uganda serve as "goodwill ambassadors for the 2.4 million orphans living in Uganda today" and "increase awareness of the HIV/AIDS crisis in their homeland."

Perhaps I'm cynical, but haven't Bono, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt already cornered that market? Will greater "awareness" and "goodwill" give Africa ownership and control of its own resources, from oil to diamonds to soil to water? Create just, equitable terms of trade? Supply cheap antiretroviral drugs and accessible healthcare?

The financial goal of the tour is to raise $1.5 million for UCCF's orphan support programs, in donations and gifts from individuals and institutions. The foundation does not receive money from tickets sales of the tour, nor do any of the performers get paid. Financial statements and performance ratings for UCCF can be found on the site of independent charity evaluator:

To meet this goal, the young performers are on a 5-month, coast-to-coast tour of the US, during which they will play 31 cities in 20 states.

"If someone is tired, they don't have to dance," says Hefley. "We make sure to build in 2 days off for each 5 days of performance." The exception to this is a New York run of 7 shows in 6 days, but according to Hefley, "There are rest days going into that run, and afterwards."

A teacher travels with the troupe to monitor the education of the primary level children. The students are also given academic assignments by their teachers in Uganda. But the tour itself "is educational," according to Hefley. She cites trips to Disneyland and Universal Studios as examples of activities arranged for the children in their time off stage. And what are they like on stage?

The show is breathtaking. The New York Times is right to call it "first rate". Striking set and costumes, lighting design that enhances without dominating. The program offers the audience a spectrum of music and dance, drawing from all regions of Uganda, as well as material from Kenya, Rwanda, and the Congo. It showcases an impressive range of East African instruments, vocal styles, and complex, compelling movement.

The performers combine technical excellence with controlled exuberance to infuse the intricacy and grace of the dances with youthful power. Director Peter Kasule creates a show that allows individual personalities to emerge, from the showmanship of crowd-pleasing 6-year-old soloist, Miriam Namala to the dignity, superb athleticism, and reflective depth of the older dancers. Kasule's own charisma and stage presence are central to the show. At 24, he is a veteran performer of several Children of Uganda tours, and is currently on leave from his studies in music technology in Santa Fe. As narrator and master of ceremonies, he commands the auditorium, and the audience. He charms, beguiles and teases them into a sequence of arm movements, clapping out a harmonic rhythm, chanting in Luganda.

There are moments of delightful, subversive departure from the "traditional." As when we are told, gravely, that women were never allowed to touch African drums, as a drum touched by a woman would "lose its sound." In the very next piece, the boys abdicate the stage, the girls come on, and take over - on the drums.

So is Children of Uganda an uplifting and joyful experience? Without question.

Is it a good thing for American audiences to see these gifted and energetic performers, and to be educated about the context in which they make art? Absolutely.

Will the $1.5 million that the tour aims to raise, improve the lives of a small number of Ugandan children orphaned by AIDS? Yes.

Is it a valuable experience for young performers in any field to tour internationally, to perform on world class stages to packed houses, with state of the art production technology to showcase their talent? Of course.

Then why does Children of Uganda leave me with more questions than answers?

Consider, if you will, a parallel scenario for the US. Hurricane Katrina left 1.5 million Americans displaced, homeless, destitute. Devastated the rich cultures and communities of the African-American South. Thousands of children were orphaned. Suppose some benevolent well-meaning Nigerian banker, in search of meaning and life-purpose, decided to organize a global performing tour of orphans from Louisiana. The Children of New Orleans would tour the US, coast to coast, doing traditional dances of Creole and black Southern heritage. The tour would raise money for their own clothing, shelter, education, and the support of their "brothers and sisters" in orphanages.

Would America be able to confront itself in the shape of the Children of New Orleans? To accept that the tragedy of a natural disaster, combined with a criminal abandonment of black citizens by their own government, could become a "happy inspiring production about hope and ethnic dance?" Would the middle-class, theater-going audiences of America sit through "dance and drumming, light and joy", and emerge uplifted rather than unbearably disturbed? Or would they tremble with the exposure to their own indifference and complicity?

Dance does not destroy death or erase grief. Drums do not dissolve genocidal tragedies created from criminal indifference, corporate greed, centuries of exploitation. That the children of Uganda can still find a language of joy in their bodies, articulate it with grace and power, share it with such incredible generosity, should be a source of deepest shame and discomfort to audiences of the developed world. It should not leave them feeling good.

* Visit www.childrenofuganda.org for more information. Shailja Patel is a Kenyan Indian poet and spoken word artist. Visit www.shailja.com

* Send comments to [email protected]

Take action to end torture of internally displaced persons in Northern Uganda. Send an email or fax to the Ugandan government, your U.S. Congressional or European Union representative, or urge the United Nations Security Council, through Secretary General Kofi Annan, to immediately be seized of the issue of civilian protection in Northern Uganda.

Uganda is highly credited for fighting HIV/Aids, however, a new report now says that infected pregnant mothers face the highest form of stigmatisation, discrimination and abuse. The rights report launched last Thursday by the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative documented several testimonies from Mama Club at Mulago Hospital in Kampala. Mama Club is a psychosocial support group formed by The Aids Support Organisation (Taso) to bring the HIV positive mothers together to fight stigmatisation and to complement the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) treatment offered to them.

A new report by the Refugee Law Project has urged the Ugandan government to demonstrate a strong commitment to ending the 20-year conflict in northern Uganda. The report has urged the rebels of the Lords Resistance Army, the perpetrators of the war "to stop their cowardly acts of attacking and killing innocent civilians and demonstrate a sincere commitment to a peace process." The insurgency by the rebels has left several people dead and abducted while 1.6 million are internally displaced.

This program is a unique gathering of journalists, photographers, marketing and public relations students who will gather in Uganda to address the misconceptions about Africa in the media. The Immersion will facilitate discussion; promote the exchange of ideas and solutions; and interact with key decision makers in Uganda about the challenges and creative solutions facing Uganda.

Samite is a Ugandan singer and instrumentalist who uses his music to reach former child soldiers in the country and encourage them to be tested for HIV. National Public Radio reports that Samite is using his music to reach child soldiers and refugees - many of whom are HIV-positive - by gaining their trust and encouraging them to talk with him.

More Congolese are still crossing into the western Uganda border districts following the fighting in DR Congo. Congolese have since last year fled to Kisoro, Kanungu, Kasese, Bundibugyo and Hoima districts. The latest spill over has been in Hoima through Lake Albert, which is shared between Uganda and DR Congo.

A commission of inquiry has grilled Uganda's health ministers over a corruption scandal that NGOs say prevented donor money from reaching the severely sick. The commission investigating the suspension of funding worth hundreds of millions of dollars by the Global Fund for AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis has quizzed 130 Ugandan government officials and members of civil society over allegations of financial mismanagement and nepotism.

Uganda has lost 26% of its forest cover in the last two decades, according to a report released last month by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). In the Global Forest Resources Assessment Report, FAO said the forest cover had reduced from 4,924 million hectares in 1990 to 3,627 million in 2005. Uganda's forest cover is estimated at 24% of the land cover and is likely to decline with increasing population that relies on agriculture for survival.

Two million civilians have been driven from their homes by 20 years of armed conflict between the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and the Ugandan government in Northern Uganda. Human Rights Focus (HURIFO) and WITNESS have co-produced "Between Two Fires: Torture and Displacement in Northern Uganda" to address the issue of torture committed against the IDP communities of Northern Uganda. The video advocates for official acknowledgement of these abuses, redress for torture victims, and strengthened national mechanisms against the use of torture. In this interview with Pambazuka News, James Otto, director of Human Rights Focus (HURIFO) and Hakima Abbas, Program Coordinator for Africa and Middle East, answer questions about the video and the situation in Northern Uganda. The video is part of a wider advocacy project. Anyone interested in participating can sign a Witness Rights Alert by visiting

Pambazuka News: What is the goal of HURIFO and WITNESS in producing "Between Two Fires: Torture and Displacement in Northern Uganda"? How can the film contribute to strengthening human rights mechanisms?

Human Rights Focus (HURIFO) and WITNESS produced "Between Two Fires" to tell the, as yet untold, story of torture survivors in Northern Uganda. The goals of the film are to engage the government of Uganda and the international community to create change for the displaced communities of the North. The video advocates for official acknowledgement of these abuses, redress for victims of torture and the strengthening of national mechanisms to end the use of torture. The film can contribute to ending these abuses by telling the personal stories of survivors and bringing their voices to the attention of decision makers globally.

All the footage was filmed by human rights defenders from HURIFO who were trained in the use of video advocacy and technical aspects of filmmaking by WITNESS. The video was launched at an event on March 8th – International Women's Day – at United Nations headquarters. The event was attended by civil society organizations and international decision makers, including representation by the Ugandan mission to the United Nations. In addition, to reaching such audiences, it is hoped that the video will also create change by galvanizing debate and mobilizing global communities to take concrete action on the issue. Notably, citizens from around the world can take action through the on-line call to action, Rights Alert, featured at www.witness.org We urge all Pambazuka News readers to Act Now to end these abuses.

Pambazuka News: What are the voices featured in the film - the survivors of these rights abuses - saying?

The survivors of torture are sharing their experiences of torture and other ill treatment. They share their sense of being trapped between the abuses committed by the rebels, their "children in the bush", and the army that has been deployed ostensibly for their protection. A common thread of abuse throughout "Between Two Fires" is the use of sexual violence perpetrated upon men and women alike. The survivors themselves appeal to the national government to create mechanisms for accountability for victims so as to end the impunity which reigns in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps. These survivors have found the fortitude to empower themselves; seeking redress within the system and calling on other victims to also speak out about abuses.

Pambazuka News: The film seeks to address national mechanisms against human rights abuses. Which mechanisms are not in place that should be?

Within Ugandan national statutes, torture is not defined or criminalized. This must be a priority moving forward. In addition, access to justice and redress is practically non-existent for IDPs in Northern Uganda. There is currently no presiding high court judge in the region. While the National Human Rights Commission has the potential of being a powerful entity for the promotion and protection of human rights in Uganda, it does not have the human or financial resources to deal with the number of cases in the North. Currently the Commission faces a backlog of some 2-3 years of cases. So, what we are seeking is that the government and the international community prioritize the rebuilding of national justice mechanisms in Northern Uganda and strengthen national legislation to end the use of torture throughout the country.

Pambazuka News: What are the survivors of this conflict calling for in terms of redress?

The survivors are calling for some form of reparation, in the form of compensation but also in the form of official acknowledgment of these abuses. After twenty years of conflict, having been removed from their land and being the victims of human rights violations, the displaced communities find themselves longing for peace and to return to their homes. Immediately after the recent presidential elections that re-instated President Museveni to power, the Ugandan government announced that the IDP community will be resettled within the current year. This brings a sense of relief to the community. But obviously, this is not where the story will end. Once the communities are resettled and given the socio-economic tools to rebuild their lives, they will also have to deal with the psychological trauma of their experiences. Compensation and acknowledgement leading to prosecution of perpetrators will restore some of the trust between the community and the government.

Pambazuka News: What are the implications of the official acknowledgement of this abuse?

The government and military have pursued a policy of denial of abuses. This denial has eroded the trust between the community and the government, as was apparent in the 'protest vote' results of February 23. Yet, official acknowledgement is a form of redress, a small step toward restoring dignity and a sense of empowerment for survivors of abuses. We witnessed in Rwanda the power of this acknowledgment, and of apology, in the post-genocide reconciliation effort. In Uganda, with acknowledgement we hope action will also come. As the government ends the silence around these abuses, they will be compelled to act to strengthen national mechanisms to end these abuses, thus preventing future violations.

Pambazuka News: The International Criminal Court has recently set out a warrant for the arrest of top leaders of the LRA . What are the implications of this?

In the wake of issuance of arrest warrants for top LRA leaders, the violence against civilians increased. Notably, the LRA targeted foreigners present in the North which resulted in the withdrawal of certain humanitarian agencies from the region. Obviously this has devastating effects on a population that is reliant on aid. Many thus implore the timing of the ICC arrest warrants, while acknowledging the importance of the Court in the global context. What we are seeking in the advocacy around "Between Two Fires" is in conformity with the complementarity principle of the ICC. So that, while the ICC will investigate and prosecute perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity at the highest level, we are seeking the strengthening of national mechanisms to tackle the abuses in Northern Uganda. Indeed, we believe that the ICC will not be successful in restoring a sense of justice and reconciliation in Northern Uganda unless there is also a parallel strengthening of national mechanisms to end the abuses committed against IDPs.

Pambazuka News: The rights abuses in Northern Uganda are atrocious. Over a million and a half people are displaced and living in camps where the UPDF are in fact raping and killing these IDPs. Over thirty thousand children are at risk of being kidnapped by the LRA for recruitment as soldiers, and are thus commuting nightly to safe haven, where they face less risk of being kidnapped. What is being done to protect the citizens of Northern Uganda, and who is responsible for their safety?

As in any State, the government is and should be, responsible for ensuring the safety of civilians. In this instance, the government has pursued a military tactic to end the rebellion by the Lord's Resistance Army, yet has not succeeded in ensuring the safety of the nearly two million Internally Displaced Persons in the North. The Acholi population was moved into camps ostensibly to ensure their protection from LRA attack. Yet, the camps themselves became easy target for attack by the LRA – attacks that include widespread rape, murder, maiming and the abduction of some forty thousand children forcibly recruited into LRA ranks. In addition to the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the LRA, the civilian population has been subjected to violations of human rights committed by the UPDF themselves. Protection remains an important issue that needs to be addressed in the North.

Pambazuka News: Uganda recently saw the re-election of President Yoweri Museveni after he changed the constitution to allow a third presidential term. What do these elections mean for the conflict in Northern Uganda? Is the government of Museveni part and parcel of the problem? What needs to happen in order for this situation to change, at a governmental level?

The outcome of the recently concluded Presidential and Parliamentary elections sent a strong message to which the President must respond positively. North and North East of the River Nile, nearly all opposition politicians were voted in as members of parliament to the 8th Parliament and President Museveni was given only 13% of the votes in his seemingly limitless term as the country's President. The protest vote, which was premised on the plight of the IDP's quest for peace and a return to their homes, has had a politically devastating effect. To provide hope and perhaps the first step in the march towards nation building, President Museveni needs to abandon the winner takes all practice characteristic of these elections.

Beyond the elections, the situation in the North persists and must be addressed by both the Ugandan government and the international community. In our advocacy around "Between Two Fires" we urge specific changes in policy and practice at the national level and in the international arena where we feel there is some leverage on the human rights landscape of Uganda. The personal stories of survivors of torture will be disseminated widely and heard for the first time directly from the source through this film. We hope that this voice will catalyze the international community and the government to make the necessary changes, which are small steps foward to the peace and respect for human rights so yearned for in the North.

* HURIFO's website is www.humanrightsuganda.org Copies of "Between Two Fires" can be ordered from [email][email protected]

* Please send comments to [email protected]

A community revolving fund in Kitale, Kenya, that has assisted hundreds of poor families with money to put up better sanitation, is among unique initiatives in East Africa hailed in a new United Nations global report. Established by an NGO called Practical Action (formerly ITDG) and managed by the Catholic Diocese of Kitale, the fund operates in the Tuwani and Shimo la Tewa slums of the town. It offers loans of between Ksh27,000 ($342) and Ksh60,000 ($759) to plot owners, who repay at an annual rate of 12 per cent. This has benefited more than 230 families.

Wilson Akera hates living in Padibe camp for internally displaced persons because life is generally unbearable but he is even more scared of the prospect of returning home soon as he believes insecurity is still rife in the villages. "We are willing to go home and end this cycle of despair, but we are uncertain of our security," Akera said. "The area a few kilometres out of here is a den of the unknown. Groups of rebels still loiter there." Akera is one of the 1.6 million-plus people who have been displaced by two decades of war between the Ugandan government and the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in northern Uganda.

In August 2003, the Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (RSG) on internally displaced persons (IDPs) undertook an official visit to Uganda in order to "gain a better understanding of the situation of internal displacement in Uganda, with a particular focus on persons displaced by the conflict with the LRA and to explore ways of enhancing the response of the Government of Uganda, UN agencies, NGOs and other actors." The RSG made 26 individual recommendations. This report seeks to follow up on these recommendations and discern the extent to which changes have taken place, whether positively or negatively.

The FDC in Uganda has pleaded with the government to stop its functionaries from harassing witnesses who have sworn affidavits supporting Dr Kizza Besigye's petition against President Museveni's re-election. "Our witnesses particularly the soldiers, are being terrorised and hunted. Those who have sworn affidavits are being harassed yet they are also Ugandans and voters," FDC spokesperson Mr Wafula Oguttu told journalists yesterday at the party's head office in Najjanankumbi, Kampala. "We have chosen legal ways of fighting our political wars and government should not deny us that chance," Oguttu pleaded. "Let witnesses present their side and let government challenge them."

Police in Uganda raided Open Gate FM Radio, arrested two presenters and picked up computers, two days after two ministers nearly fought outside the radio studios. The minister for the presidency, and the state minister for energy confronted Budadiri West MP Mafabi at the radio station on Saturday accusing him of defaming them. Mafabi had been on a talk show on the radio. Non-uniformed policemen arrived at the radio station at 1pm and attempted to take the on-air computer too.

"A heap of garbage," was Justice James Ogoola's description of the accountability rendered for the millions spent by the three ministers of health in purported supervision of Global Fund activities in Uganda. "Utter rubbish," Bank of Uganda Governor Tumusiime Mutebile summed up state minister for general duties Mike Mukula's attempts to exonerate himself from responsibility of accounting for the money. This was a session of Justice Ogoola's commission of inquiry into the alleged mismanagement of the Global Fund against Aids, Malaria and Tuberculosis, which was thrown into shock by Mukula when he said the money was never misused.

Uganda's HIV prevalence has decreased from 6.5% to 6.4%, according to a national AIDS indicator survey, Uganda's New Vision reports. The survey - which was presented on Monday by Wilford Lordson Kirungi, medical epidemiologist for the country's AIDS Control Program - was conducted between 2004 and 2005 and involved 10,437 households chosen at random. The survey finds that HIV prevalence fell in the country, and awareness of modes of transmission increased.

Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE) is a non-partisan organization whose mission is to promote gender equality in all decision-making through advocacy, training, research and publishing. A resource center has been in existence at FOWODE since 1998 to facilitate women leaders at Parliamentary and lower levels. Young leaders and students now can access the library. We are looking for a committed librarian to participate in the on going reorganization of this Library.

Ugandans voted last month for 69 special female members of parliament as part of the country's lauded gender affirmative-action program. But one prominent female politician says the 10-year-old system has failed to deliver legal gains for women. "Politics is generally seen as a game of the leaders, the affluent and the brave. And so it has never been the women's domain," said Zziwa, who belongs to the government party, the National Resistance Movement. Zziwa was first elected to the Ugandan parliament in 1996, along with 38 other women on a special gender ticket, after the government enshrined a system for boosting female representation as part of an ambitious program of affirmative action for women in all spheres of national affairs.

Democracy in Uganda is not set up for fair participation, or even for equality, argues Dickson Ogolla. He says political statistics are not the only confusing things in Uganda; it is a place where most numbers don’t always make sense to everyone.

Ugandans went to the polls three weeks ago, the country’s first multiparty election since President Yoweri Museveni came to power at the head of a guerrilla army in January 1986. They were, however, the country’s third general elections, the previous two having been held under a “no party” system, in which political parties were severely restricted, and not allowed to field candidates or run on a partisan platform.

In the end, Museveni won with 59 per cent of the vote. His main challenger, Dr Kizza Besigye, got 37 per cent, while Ssebaana Kizito managed 1.5 percent. Independent candidate Abed Bwanika got 0.9 per cent and Miria Obote, former President Milton Obote’s widow, who became the country’s first female presidential candidate, scraped 0.8 per cent.

For an external observer interested in more than just who the winner would be, the bigger story about the latest election in Uganda is elsewhere. First, for a country that has a population growth rate of 3.4 per cent per year, the least one would expect is a similar growth in the population of those who want to participate in electing her government. Instead, the Uganda voter register has shrunk by 350,000 voters since the 2001 general election, to 10.4 million.

The shrinking can be explained, but not the lack of growth. In 2001 there were allegations of ghost voters. Indeed, the electoral register was cleaned, so the number of voters on the roll came down. So while this gives us an explanation of the shrinkage of the register, it does not shed any light on why it has remained stagnant. Statistically, the voter roll should have grown by at least 17 per cent, meaning there should have been 12.5 million registered voters. The point is that even before the February 23 election, 2 million people had been disenfranchised, and the burden of representation multiplied. The turn-out of 7 million, or 68.6 per cent, of the registered voters further implies that another 3 million people did not participate.

The problem, however, seems to run much deeper. Democracy in Uganda is not set up for fair participation, or even for equality; it’s heavily weighted. One in every five voters comes from four districts - Kampala, Wakiso, Masaka and Mukono, all in the central region. But the average vote per polling station in these four districts is way below the national average, thus a measure of central tendency does not even begin to describe the lack of even spread of the vote. The skew is obvious and worrying. Ideally, each polling station should reflect the national average.

The total votes of all the four districts is much higher than all the votes from the northern region. With this kind of situation, who needs the north? It is instructive that that’s where Besigye beat Museveni with a wide margin.

An even more interesting statistic is that the number of registered voters in Uganda is not much different from that of Kenya, yet Kenya has on the minimum 6 million more people than Uganda - Kenya’s population is about 33 million compared to Uganda’s 27 million (UN, 2005). The age distribution is the same in both countries, with 55 per cent falling below 18 years, the voting age.

Is it that that there are underage or ghost voters in Uganda’s register? Is it that Kenyans are less interested in registering to vote, and Ugandans are far more zealous? Such is the internal contradiction of Uganda’s statistical politics, and it partly explains why the Electoral Commission could, when it was announcing results, confidently state at one point that with 80 per cent of the constituencies counted only 55 per cent of the votes were in, and Museveni had 63 per cent of these votes. At that point, an independent tally centre at The Monitor, which was subsequently banned, was showing a close race: 52 per cent for Museveni and 45 per cent for Besigye.

All this begs the question of whether the elections were rigged. It depends on who you ask. All the independent media were in agreement that they would be rigged even if the only evidence they adduced was that of alleged previous rigging in 2001.

In the end, the Daily Monitor independent tally centre had Museveni winning with a smaller margin - 51.6 per cent, versus Besigye’s 45.6 per cent. These were interim and inconclusive results since the government security forces closed down the centre and intimidated everybody else into not announcing anything other than the results being given by the Electoral Commission. Of course there was the usual vote buying, voter intimidation and outright vote theft in some polling stations. All these under the glare of international press and election observers.

It is amazing how a strong force of 40,000 election monitors - one for every 25 voters, and two per presiding officer - could not do much, with the sole exception of DemGroup, a consortium of local Ugandan NGOs. Otherwise, the Commonwealth and European Union were quick to make their call. Their verdict? The elections were generally peaceful.

Political statistics are not the only confusing things in Uganda. It is a place where most numbers don’t always make sense to everyone. One of Museveni’s “success” stories is his government’s success in reversing the march of HIV/Aids. The Aids infection rates are allegedly down from nearly 30 per cent (in the early nineties) to 6 per cent. However, the only scientific measure of safe sex - fertility rates - has gone up from 4.7 to 6.1 per cent. This means people are having more unprotected sex yet infection rates are coming down! Either the numbers are lying or there is a secret somewhere.

The other statistical puzzle is the economy. With GDP growth rates averaging 6 per cent per year for the past 20 years, Uganda is nowhere near achieving any meaningful development. This is little wonder, because a closer look reveals a big economic lie. In the past 20 years, the economy has failed to generate any real production either in agriculture or in manufacturing. Investment in infrastructure has not been sustained and the road network has almost collapsed. Now the country is plagued by load shedding (power rationing). Power generation at Jinja is down from 350mw to 140mw, a 60 per cent reduction. Because industrial demand wasn’t at significantly high levels, the country never felt the need to diversify from over-reliance on hydropower as its single source for energy. With Lake Victoria water levels plunging dramatically, it now faces a crisis for which it doesn’t have a quick solution.

Until about four years ago, Uganda was billed as one of Africa’s “economic success” stories by Western donors. A closer look reveals a more mixed picture. The economy is composed of 31.1 per cent agriculture, 22.2 per cent industry and 46.9 per cent services. Agriculture also employs 82 per cent of the country’s labour. What the numbers don’t tell you is that agriculture is largely subsistence and for food security.

Industry is mostly food processing (sugar and brewing), and a large proportion of those in what is described as “service” are either selling beer or riding boda boda (moped taxis). Those involved in real production are few and the service sector is merely a vehicle of transfer earnings. The large size of the service sector also means that income inequities are extremely high.

Today, just over 38 per cent of Ugandans live below the poverty line, up from 35 per cent in the ‘90s. The lowest 10 per cent of the population have only 4 per cent share of the household income, and the highest 10 per cent have almost a quarter of the household income share. No official figures are available on unemployment; just as well. Urban unemployment is estimated at over 60 per cent while underemployment or disguised unemployment stalks the rural folk.

So don’t swoon by high-sounding statistics. The GDP growth rate (9 per cent), the inflation rate (9.7 per cent) and so forth. You are better of remembering that the public debt stands at two thirds of the GDP!

The one success story most people seem to agree on is Universal Primary Education (UPE). This has worked, increasing the number of children enrolled in schools by millions. Those enrolled by end of 2004 stood at 7.3 million, up from 6.8 million in 2001. The number of primary school teachers has also increased to 10,876 from 9,187 in the same period. What does this mean for the quality of primary education? The pupil-teacher ratio is down to 50 from 54, the pupil-classroom ratio is also down to 79 from 90, but has quality improved? The gross and net primary school intake ratios (initial enrolment vs retention) have plummeted (down 24 per cent and 21 per cent respectively). Perhaps household poverty is causing huge drop-out rates, thus making the teacher and classroom ratios look good.

The UPE success, however, has created a new headache. What happens post UPE? Only 9.5 per cent of those who enroll for primary education get to secondary education. Post-primary education has become naturally too expensive, what with very high demand and no expansion on physical facilities. The result is a very expansive and privatised post-primary education.

In the meantime, with that problem unresolved, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) is proposing Universal Secondary Education from 2008. Besigye’s Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) and others have no proposal. In terms of broad education reform, there is no policy debate in Uganda although everyone acknowledges the difficulties.

So with shrinking democracy and an economy that flatters to deceive, what choices did Ugandans have in the just-concluded elections? Statistically, five: NRM’s President Yoweri Museneveni, FDC’s Dr Kizza Besigye, Democratic Party’s Mr Sebaana Kizito, Uganda People’s Congress’ Mrs Miria Obote and an independent, Mr Abed Bwanika. However, the contest was for all intents and purposes down to two candidates - the present NRM leader Museveni, and a former NRM ideologue and minister Besigye.

The once strong historical parties DP and UPC had no chance, precisely because of their controversial history, and because parties were largely banned in Uganda from 1986, until last year. The important thing is that there was no debate on these major issues. The campaign got stuck on nasty personal attacks.

There being no philosophical or ideological differences presented to voters, the people were forced to choose between change and continuity. While they were sure that Museveni stood for what he stated - continuity, it was not very clear whether Besigye could deliver what he was promising - change. It became easier to trust in continuity than to hope for change. The live broadcast presidential debates (ignored by both of the front runners) exposed the contest as that of reformers in a situation where radical change was required. Perhaps that is why Museveni won; Ugandans are biding their time instead of gambling.

If there were any lessons, perhaps the biggest was that a political party must never confuse its objectives. One should not romance with democracy when in pursuit for power, even within the law. This was the difference between the Movement and FDC (with a coterie of democracy activists) — Museveni saw democracy as a means, everybody else thought it was an end.

* Dickson Ogolla is Nation Media Group’s research manager. He witnessed the election. Email: [email][email protected] This article first appeared in Africa Insight, an initiative of the Nation Media Group’s Africa Media Network

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