Some people are still failing to understand whether Ugandans really understand what politics is. Ugandans have even seen ugly scenes when Christians are choosing Bishops but they don’t expect a political race like the ongoing FDC campaigns to replace the party president Col. Kiiza Besigye to have attacks on candidates.
Just like Maj. Gen. Mugisha Muntu’s camp in FDC party president race is being attacked over his softness and links to president Museveni (which by the way is his strength), Nandala Mafabi’s camp is also feeling the heat from attacks on his uncompromising persona and his said lack of leadership traits. Indeed what both camps are doing is turning upside the other candidate’s strengths and projecting them as the weaknesses forUganda.
Nandala has been projected by his critics as emotional and sentimental. But Muntu’s supporters say he could do better since he has a military background and has closer links to the army. But one wonders when Ugandawill ever get out of the military’s armpits which aren’t wrong considering Uganda’s history but that is exactly where the Nandala’s are faulting him.
Anyone who has seen a Jet Li movie titled Tai Chi and the concept of using an opponent’s very strength to beat him or her is what is transpiring. The Muntu camp should accept this is Politics where you not only display your own goods but also de-campaign your competitor’s products. They should stop projecting themselves as victims for playing victim is not one strategy that will help them when they come up against a Museveni who has no shame openly behaving like a wolf.
Maybe we could fault the candidates if they personally made direct attacks on their fellow opponents though it usually still happens as can be realised in the American Presidential race but thinking a candidate’s agents wont engage in mudslinging is day dreaming, yes the ideal would be clean campaigning but get out there into the field, feel the pressures and reality will don on you that you have to pull out every strategy….clean or dirty.