NAIROBI, Kenya – A bloody and contentious election season in Uganda, in which dozens of people were killed and the main opposition candidate was actually placed under house arrest, recently gave President Yoweri Museveni, a staunch military, a sixth five-year term. US ally.
But now the US State Department says it is considering a series of actions against Museveni, who, since taking office in 1986, has been among the main beneficiaries of American aid in Africa, receiving billions of dollars, even as he shook his fist. iron the nation.
Museveni, 76, suppressed opposing voices for years, often by force, and the campaign that led to this month’s election was marked by the intimidation of opposition candidates and their teams, especially Bobi Wine, a pop star who became a rising lawmaker to become the president’s toughest challenger. Violence convulsed the country during the campaign, and election observers and opposition figures say the electoral fraud contributed to Museveni’s re-election.
“We have great concerns about the recent Ugandan elections,” said a State Department representative in an emailed statement to The New York Times. “The United States made it clear that we would consider a number of targeted options, including the imposition of visa restrictions, for individuals in Uganda found responsible for the election-related violence or for undermining the democratic process.”
The “conduct of the Ugandan authorities during these elections,” says the statement, “is a factor that will be considered when we make our determinations about future US assistance”.
Other nations they also expressed concern about how the post-election period in Uganda unfolded. A European Union spokesman said the bloc was “gravely concerned about the continued harassment of political actors and parts of civil society” and continued to “remain attentive to the situation on the ground”.
Mr. Museveni has supposedly has met with foreign diplomats in recent days, as concerns over the conduct of the vote have increased, many Western and African partners have yet to formally congratulate him. The Kenyan presidency deleted a Facebook post congratulating him after being widely criticized and Facebook mistakenly flagged it as containing “false” information.
Before, during and after the vote, journalists and independent observers were prevented from following the proceedings closely, and the government refused to accredit the majority of observers that the United States mission in Uganda intended to send. An Internet shutdown across the country has restricted the flow of information.
As election results began to emerge, authorities surrounded Wine’s home, refused to let him out, and even prevented the US ambassador from visiting him. Security officials withdrew from their home this week following a court decision, but continue to maintain roadblocks nearby and surround the party headquarters. Wine, 38, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, says the election was rigged in favor of Museveni and plans to present evidence in court on Monday challenging the results.
For decades, Museveni has received financial and diplomatic support from the United States and other Western nations. And he promoted his regime as a guarantor of stability not only in Uganda – which was torn apart by coups and violence before he took over – but also in neighboring Central and East Africa.
Still, under his command, Uganda has repeatedly sent troops across its borders to take sides in conflicts in neighboring countries. And while Museveni has welcomed many refugees from South Sudan, independent researchers have reported that his government has clandestinely supplied weapons used to stoke the war that has cost the lives of nearly 400,000 people.
“He has been the region’s pyromaniac since he came to power, whether we’re talking about Sudan, South Sudan or Rwanda or the Democratic Republic of Congo,” said Helen Epstein, author of “Another mess: America, Uganda and war against Terror. “” His army has intervened everywhere, at the expense of peace. “
Each year, the United States alone provides more than $ 970 million to Uganda, supporting the military, the education and agriculture sectors, and antiretroviral treatment for nearly one million HIV-positive Ugandans.
Uganda, for its part, has partnered with the United States in the work to quell terrorism, deploying more than 6,200 soldiers for the African Union mission in Somalia that is fighting the al-Shabab group, linked to Qaeda. Thousands of Ugandans served as guards at American bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. And Uganda has been praised as one of the best places to take refuge, as asylum seekers are given land and can work and get around.
But as Museveni continued to obtain favors from the West and to receive support from financial institutions like the World Bank, his government “took advantage of these resources and positive images to undermine its own interests which it is praised for safeguarding and pursuing its own. instead, ”said Michael Mutyaba, an independent Uganda policy researcher.
At home, Museveni was criticized for cracking down on opposition, introducing anti-gay legislation and releasing security forces against civilians. Waves of scandals have also shown how authorities have diverted millions of dollars in government funds, along with reports of development aid being diverted to the military.
If so, it would undermine Museveni’s position as an elderly statesman in East Africa, said Angelo Izama, a Ugandan political analyst.
“If he continues to bring these body blows to his reputation at home,” said Izama, “I think he will lose his position not only in the region, but also gradually lose the Western powers that are increasingly determined to align and change their approach. how they deal with Uganda. “
But Ken O. Opalo, an assistant professor at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, said that while donor relations with Uganda may change, it remains to be seen whether these changes will be substantial.
Western countries, he said, have almost always been wrong to maintain their relations with Museveni’s government, rather than pressuring him to introduce much-needed reforms.
“Museveni knows this inconsistency and has mastered it over the years,” said Opalo.
And although the “Biden government will say the right things”, Opalo said he was “less optimistic about what he will be able to do and whether such action would necessarily lead to a change for the better in Uganda”.