ANALYSIS | ANDREW PI BESI | The year 1974 marked a pivotal moment in Central African politics when Congo’s formidable dictator completed his sweeping “Africanisation” campaign by rebranding the nation as Zaire. In a dramatic gesture, he shed his birth name entirely, adopting the grandiose title Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga—”the invincible warrior cock who leaves no chick intact.”
To justify his absolute authority, Mobutu declared, “In our African tradition, there are never two chiefs. Has anyone ever known a village that has two chiefs? That is why we Congolese, in the desire to conform to our traditions, have resolved to group all the energies of our citizens under the banner of a single national party.”
During this period, Zaire appeared economically robust. Soaring mineral and commodity prices filled state coffers, creating balanced budgets, favorable trade conditions, and international confidence that the nation was poised to realize its enormous potential.
Then, as if poisoned by its own arrogance, Zaire began suffocating beneath the weight of systemic corruption. The dreams of ordinary citizens were systematically marginalized and crushed underfoot by the ruling class. By 1978, Mobutu’s Zaire, much like its northern neighbor under Bokassa’s rule, faced inevitable collapse.
Meanwhile, Mozambique presented a stark contrast. In 1975, FRELIMO’s protracted struggle against Portuguese colonial rule finally concluded. The movement, established in 1962 by Eduardo Mondlane, benefited profoundly from his unique combination of academic rigor and revolutionary vision. Mondlane skillfully adapted global political theories to African realities, building his liberation movement on both philosophical foundations and practical experience. From 1962 until his death in 1969, he constructed an ideological framework for Mozambique’s independence—informed by his education across three continents and his nuanced understanding of local dynamics.
That same year, Uganda and its notorious President Idi Amin Dada hosted the 12th Summit of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). On the summit’s final day, Amin treated his distinguished guests to an extravagant celebration—his marriage to Sarah Kyolaba—before assuming the OAU chairmanship from Nigeria’s Yakubu Gowon.
Today, the OAU’s successor, the African Union (AU), confronts a more subtle form of colonization—the neo-colonialism perpetuated by aging autocrats and corrupt political structures.
Across the continent, instability persists. In the Sudans, internal conflicts have escalated into full-scale war. In Mobutu’s former domain, now the Democratic Republic of Congo, eastern regions remain engulfed in chaos and rebellion. Mozambique’s 2024 elections produced a tense tranquility after energetic opposition candidate Venâncio António Mondlane nearly disrupted FRELIMO’s longstanding governance in a contest widely criticized for its lack of transparency.
Here in Uganda, our own electoral season unfolds—peaceful, at least for the moment.
President Yoweri Museveni, leader of the National Resistance Movement Organisation (NRM-O), appears poised to extend his four-decade rule. He has effectively neutralized Uganda’s oldest political party, the Democratic Party (DP), by appointing its leader, Norbert Mao, to a ministerial position. Once considered the moral conscience of Ugandan politics, the DP now murmurs quietly from the sidelines, seemingly content to partake in the privileges of power.
Despite Uganda’s accomplishments under President Museveni’s leadership, none stand out more prominently than the ostentatious display of wealth by our political elite.
Last year, Agora Discourse uncovered corruption amounting to billions within the Speaker’s office. In 2023, Parliament reeled from the iron sheets scandal that implicated numerous ministers and members of parliament.
Corruption within the civil service continues to fester while parliamentary committees, which should provide oversight, have largely abandoned their watchdog responsibilities.
This systemic corruption represents Uganda’s most significant threat—the corrosive element capable of transforming every achievement into dust.
Mobutu’s billions, like the fortunes accumulated by Gaddafi, Bashir, Dos Santos, Bokassa, Abacha, Compaoré, and Bongo, now lie buried with their former owners—useless monuments to borrowed glory. Each believed himself permanently secured in the saddle of power, yet history has repeatedly demonstrated its capacity to unseat even the most confident riders.
The true progress of a nation cannot be measured from the elevated perch of an ornamented saddle. We discovered this painful truth in April 1979, forgot it by December 1980, and were forced to relearn it in January 1986.
Whether we must learn this lesson yet again—and at what cost to our nation—depends entirely on how long we continue confusing mere endurance with destiny, and political power with genuine purpose.
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By Andrew “Pi” Besi | On X: @BesiAndrew
Full credit to the original publisher: The Independent Uganda – https://www.independent.co.ug/of-chiefs-and-caparisoned-saddles/