On January 26th 1986, the National Resistance Army led by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni ushered Ugandans into a new revolutionary leadership.
They were welcomed together with their new leadership ideas because people were extremely tired of the previous governments.
But the main question often asked by the youth of Uganda is, why is it called a liberation day and what were Ugandans rescued from? To answer this question, we need to go back to past articles and quotes that were said about the governments before NRM.
According to an article posted by the World Peace Foundation on August 7, 1995, the author acknowledges that there were mass atrocities during the Obote and Amin Dada regimes. It was mainly caused by the arbitrary violence used to keep their positions. A lot of people suffered through the two government regimes.
Secondly, there was a total breakdown of the economy. Most people in the countryside were able to survive the total breakdown that followed in the mid- and late 1970s because the fertility of Uganda’s soil allowed them to continue growing food. In the towns, an all-pervasive black market developed, and dishonesty became the only means of survival. This economic and moral collapse stirred up criticism of the government, and during this period, the country experienced several serious coup attempts.
Why most Ugandans feel they were rescued from the former regimes is because, when the NRM took power, for the first time post-independence, Uganda felt some level of stability and security.
There was also a remarkable economic recovery. The GDP kept increasing with time. This is because the political environment became stable, there were no more military coups because of the well-trained army,and Immense social service sector revival. The health infrastructure network improved; a number of hospitals were built in every district in the country, and there was also access to medical treatment, which wasn’t the case under the former regimes.
There were a lot of political reforms that were implemented when the NRM government took power. promulgating a new constitution in 1995, building a disciplined army, decentralising power to local governments, and a lot more.
In conclusion, although there are a lot of complaints of corruption and some human rights abuse in the NRM government now, the NRA liberated Ugandans from the harsh political environment and gave them a better livelihood. We should appreciate and celebrate January 26th, which is Liberation Day.
The author is a good governance activist in Kampala.
