ARTISTS IN POLITICS
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| Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine MP/Pop star |
In Uganda it is inconceivable for most
minds to deem music, drama, dance, painting and other arts as a profession. So
much so that at Makerere University, one of the highest institution of learning
in the country, the former Music Dance and Drama department (MDD) was disdainfully
referred to as Musiru Dala Dala meaning
“exceptionally dense”. It didn’t help that anyone who failed in other fields
was forcibly injected into the MDD faculty hence undermining it further. It is
this derogatory perception that brings many to ignorantly assume that artists
are incapable of intellectual contribution to an area such as politics.
Many forget that artists are continually
contributing to important discourses in society using mediums that are
accessible to the masses. It is also forgotten that many of us in the arts are actually fully qualified in other fields too. In recent political events in Kampala commentators such
as the mutable Tamale Mirundi have said that parliament should be moved to the
National Theatre. This is meant as a derogatory remark to decry the dilution of
political discourse due to artists having joined politics. In particular in
relation to the recent entry of local pop star Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine.
Ecweru said: “Bobi Wine should lose.
This business of musicians and other comedians jumping into serious issues like
politics should not be entertained.” The very well read Lokodo joined the chorus: “He (Bobi Wine)
will lose. Parliament needs serious people, not such unkempt fellows priding
themselves in being ghetto linchpins.”
THETRUTH
These critics are forgetting that frequently
the arts are employed to disseminate information to the masses; they are
forgetting also that politics with its theatrics and facades is itself a kind
of theatre actually. Politicians are often trying to hog the limelight to sale
their ideas/ideology. Perhaps the National Theatre should be moved to parliament
since there are already enough dramatists in the house even before the arrival
of the real artists. Intellectual thought is not limited to political
scientists and lawyers. It is in every walk of life. Former US president Jimmy
Carter was a peanut farmer should he have been excluded on that basis?
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| Singer songwriter Rachel Magoola |
Singer-songwriter Rachel Magoola who has also
attempted contention for political office before put it well thus:
"The one track myopic view Ugandans have
of musicians. Most cannot write or sing a tune except when they mumble with
abandon to what we write and produce. We work hard build a following to reckon
with, but because we do what most only dream about, we are labelled as stupid.
Yet our ideas and influence are celebrated by generations. All manner of
professions seek political office, among those there are a range from brilliant
to mediocre to witness in action. When we seek to lead we are labelled thugs. To our music you celebrate everything and mourn
your loss. But are too ignorant to recognise what moves you so permeates every
facet of your lives including politics. Bobi Wine's win in Kyadondo has bared
naked the level of ignorance our society has about the power of music. Nakawuki
labelled Bobi"s win as that of thugs. Hon Matembe similarly ridiculed the
victory in Kyadondo East. My own people like Janet Mauba did the same. They hug
us and sing our praises and take pictures with us when they hope for validation
when we turn our backs we are a source of amusement.
When you demean an artist it is an affront to all of us who have invested years to entertain, educate through our music. How sad to see the claws rearing their ugly stance! Change is coming, change is here! Ugandans wake up and smell the coffee! We are a lot more to this society than your limited exposure can allow. Do your research and learn a few lessons from Estonia, from the civil rights movement in the USA to the war on apartheid in South Africa. If you cannot see the power of music there you are a lost intellectual cause."
When you demean an artist it is an affront to all of us who have invested years to entertain, educate through our music. How sad to see the claws rearing their ugly stance! Change is coming, change is here! Ugandans wake up and smell the coffee! We are a lot more to this society than your limited exposure can allow. Do your research and learn a few lessons from Estonia, from the civil rights movement in the USA to the war on apartheid in South Africa. If you cannot see the power of music there you are a lost intellectual cause."
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| Ronald Reagan as an actor. |
It is sad when such bright minds like Dr. Miriam
Matembe add to the chorus of ridicule on Kyagulanyi’s win. Especially for
someone like Matembe who as a Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow is a benefactor of the National Endowment for
Democracy an initiative set up by a former actor Ronald Reagan in
his early years in office as US president.
CAN THE ARTIST EVER BE TAKEN SERIOUS
In Uganda, episodes such as Charles
Senkubuge’s aka “Siasa” stint on the political scene may not have inspired
confidence in the public understanding that an artist too can serve their
country beyond the stage. He entered the 2001 presidential boxing ring clearly
as a non-contender against heavy weights such as Museveni and Besigye. No
sooner had he started than he unceremoniously threw in the towel citing death
threats. His campaign included mild embarrassments such as getting “stranded on
Kampala road for the lack of fuel.” New Vision 2001. It remains unclear whether
this was a serious attempt for presidency or a mild eccentric artist diversion
for him or a grand publicity stunt, only he knows. One thing is certain, he
exploited the publicity in his artistic career for the following couple of
years.
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| Singer/politician Judith Babirye. |
Lately we have had gospel singer Judith
Babirye becoming MP in the East, even singer Eddie Yawe, Kyagulanyi’s elder
brother made two attempts at political office. Perhaps another character that
has brought controversy to the idea of an artist in politics has been comedian Kato
Lubwama now also an MP. He went into politics with rhetoric such as “mumpe
nange ndyeko” loosely translating as “vote for me so that I also get a chance
to eat”. There was no manifesto or deep assessment of intent once in public
office but voters still chose him. This kind of win is indicative of the voting
public’s apathy and distrust of the system. They don’t believe politicians
today can do anything for them so they are ready to cast the vote anywhere else
if it is possible to upset the status quo. Perhaps Lubwama can also surprise
them but for the voter at least it won’t be the usual animals; another cow will
be grazing.
It is these kind of frustrations that
ushered in characters like Donald Trump in US politics. A frustrated public fed
up of the usual condescending, self entitled and over privileged know it all characters
who feel they have a birthright and natural seat in politics. In the absence of
any sane alternatives the voter throws a curve ball. We are experiencing the
same in our little banana republic. This new trend in Ugandan politics with Babirye, Lubwama and now Kyagulanyi it is the voter stirring the broth. With highly independent wins
like Kyagulanyi’s however it has brought more focus on the matter than before.
He was facing heavy party machinery, a biased police and more versed opponents
but still won. This has unsettled some MPs who were otherwise sitting on their
laurels waiting for the next election to get active again. This could explain
why Kyagulanyi beating them has left a bruise that seasoned politicians can only
nurse by trying to undermine his character; his achievement; and his capacity
to undertake the role of his new office.
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| Kyagulanyi addressing his supporters at a rally. |
Political commentators like Ofwono Opondo
and seasoned careerist politicians have spoken condescendingly of Kyagulanyi’s
win presumably because they see it as an intrusion on their rightful turf. He
has been referred to as “a pin in a bucket of water”, with the implication that
nothing he does will be of any effect. It is arguable that any member of
parliament is a small instrument inside a big machine just like Kyagulanyi will
be so if he is ineffective by virtue of his being new perhaps there is
something fundamentally wrong with the system. So far the implied gist is that
he shouldn’t be there; he isn’t worthy; he isn’t qualified especially due to
his background in the arts. Ronald Reagan was often ridiculed for his back
ground as an actor but it was this underestimation that always saw him beating
his opponents as he climbed the ranks in US politics until he took the highest
office in the land. I am not equating Kyagulanyi’s ascent to Reagan but the
underestimation certainly smells the same. One would have expected political
thinkers to dissect Kyagulanyi’s manifesto but perhaps they couldn’t find
content for derision in it. Rather than see a young man done good they preferred
to label him a thug, a muyaye, an imposter in their territory. The Baganda say " Musajja muno bwakusinga entumbwe togiyita njovu" basically imploring a loser to have humility to accept defeat when the beating has been administered fairly. And a beating it truly was and Kyagulanyi served it fairly and was gracious in triumph.
WHY NOW?
It can’t be denied that the ruling class
has still achieved some things but it should also be noted that some things
simply must and do improve systematically with the course of time. Times are
changing. For the young generation it is now pointless to deliver bush war and
pre-1980s revolution rhetoric because it is irrelevant to them. It doesn’t
resonate with them. The kind of young person that a figure like Bobi Wine
appeals to is a person living in the now and looking to the future not the
past. It is a person feeling disenfranchised and forgotten. It is a person
struggling for five years after their degree without any gainful employment. It
is a street vendor whose meager attempts at self-employment are at logger-heads
with wider development policy. Whether he will be able to fulfill the promise
that people see in him is another matter. What can’t be denied is that his
presence on the Ugandan political scene has ignited the youth vote and brought
young people to think about politics as possibly relevant again. There is less political
apathy in the youth this month than two months ago even for those who weren’t
eligible to vote in Kyadondo.
Contrary to what most political
commentators are thinking, Bobi’s appeal is not just attributable to his
popularity as a musician although this is a factor. I for one have never been
to a Bobi Wine concert and the one time I saw him perform was by default as I
was involved with the Bayimba International Festival of the Arts at which he
performed a set. I could see he was a charming entertainer although it wasn’t
my scene. Had I been an eligible voter in Kyadondo East though, I would have gone out
to vote for Kyagulanyi yet I am not fanatic about his position in
entertainment. In politics, he represents a breath of fresh air in a house that
has long had its vents blocked by selfish mafuta
mingis bereft of ideas and individual thought; to the voter he is a glimpse
of a well in a desert. Time will tell if it is just a mirage or real. It is
very apt that he used a clock as a symbol; let us give him time and see what he
can do. After all, many have been sent to the house so far and delivered very
little, others nothing at all.
For now I congratulate Robert Sentamu Kyagulanyi MP
elect Kyadondo East and wish him the best in this new chapter. Well done HE
Bobi Wine Ghetto President. Good luck, you need it because the vultures are
already circling.
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