As was universally expected Yoweri Museveni won Uganda’s election handily. With 68% of the vote Museveni easily outpaced his nearest challenger, Kizza Besigye, who won 26% in polling that Besigye (and many others) maintain was corrupt to the core. The fact that Museveni’s support in recent elections had been waning but this time around that trend reversed despite no outward signs that Ugandans are happier with him only fuels concerns about election fraud.
Observers have long feared that the elections would be marred by corruption and possibly violence as Museveni, long a darling of the West, long ago succumbed to Big Man Syndrome, one of the characteristics of which is a belief that he and only he can lead the way forward. And the recent discovery of oil is likely only to reaffirm Museveni’s power. One can, I suppose, imagine that oil will prove to be a panacea in Uganda in ways that it has not been elsewhere in Africa. But the problem with that interpretation is that it assumes that Museveni, his government, and private oil interests (both domestic and foreign) will use the resources for the betterment of the people rather than for the betterment of themselves. That’s not a bet many informed observers would take.
