A Thousand
Words
They say a picture says a thousand words. This is
quite true. The picture of President Museveni giving a hug to Madame Cecilia
Ogwal raises a lot of questions in my head. The president has been and
continues to be a powerful if not the most powerful man in the nation. Since
1986, he has ruled the nation and under his leadership a lot of changes have
happened in the nation. Madam Cecilia Ogwal has been one of the leading
opposition members to the government of President Museveni. An astute politician
and Christian, she has consistently walked the path of resistance, forsaking
the easy perks that would have come from joining the ruling government.
The type of politics in Uganda is the kind that
can be quite nasty at times. Sometimes it is violent and other times, there is
a lot on intrigue. Yes, there is often a limitation on the freedom of association,
expression and assembly. Madam Cecilia Ogwal belonged, for a long time, to the
Uganda People’s Congress. This was the party, (which, together with the Kabaka Yekka),
ushered Uganda into independence in 1962. This party has, together with other
opposition parties, been victim to the limitations imposed by the current
government.
Nonetheless, the picture of President Museveni, hugging
Madam Ogwal is a powerful picture. The smile on their faces and the gesture
itself brought warmth into my heart. It is my hope that this picture signifies
that Uganda has turned another page in the way we deal with those people who do
not think in the same way that we do. While I am aware that this might be a naïve
way to look at the current political scene, a man has got to have hope. Not so?
