By Melanie Nathan, January 04, 2025
Global focus has shifted sharply toward Venezuela, driven by the United States and framed through President Donald Trump’s openly stated ambition for dominance in the Americas. That ambition was made explicit yesterday when Trump publicly clarified the purpose of the U.S. invasion of Venezuela. The statement stunned international observers by stripping away any remaining pretense of humanitarian or legal justification.
Across the Atlantic, Ugandans are flooding social media, asking a stark question: why does Trump not come to “rescue” Uganda from Yoweri Museveni’s forty-year grip on power? The answer lies in Trump’s own words. His objective is his hunger for dominance, not the accountability of any bad ‘dudes’. Trump’s focus is power, not the removal of authoritarian rulers.
The consequence is direct. This shocking revelation centers global attention on the Americas by recasting foreign intervention as an exercise in dominance, Trump has delivered Museveni a political gift.
While international media, diplomats, and policymakers fixate on the Americas and the implications of Trump’s declaration, Uganda recedes from view.
That absence has dire consequences as Ugandan civilians are being shot at during this campaign period. Opposition communities are being terrorized. These events are not reaching international headlines. They are not driving urgent statements. They are not shaping foreign policy conversations. The Media is silent.
And this silence is the greatest gift to Yoweri Museveni.
Museveni has ruled Uganda for nearly forty years. Throughout his tenure, every national election has relied on repression to secure his continued control. State security forces have been used to restrict political activity, suppress dissent, and intimidate voters. Powerful State systems have been deployed to weaken opposition campaigns. Media access has been constrained. Lethal force continues, as in the past, to be applied against civilians at campaign rallies.
The January 15 election is days away and Ugandan People Power is under attack, as usual.
Past and present opposition leaders demonstrate the pattern clearly. Kizza Besigye experienced repeated arrests, physical assaults, prolonged house arrest, and criminal prosecution. His campaigns were disrupted through police roadblocks, bans on assembly, and the routine detention of supporters. Courts functioned as instruments of delay and exhaustion. Security forces ensured sustained pressure on anyone associated with his political movement. As of now, Kizza Besigye is not actively leading national politics in Uganda. After decades as the principal challenger to Yoweri Museveni, Besigye stepped back from frontline electoral competition.
Bobi Wine, (Hon. Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu) the current leading challenger, has faced an expanded version of the same strategy. Campaign events have been blocked or violently dispersed. Security forces have tear-gassed and fired live ammunition at unarmed supporters, with allegations of deaths. Campaign staff and volunteers have been detained. Journalists covering his movement have been attacked. Military units and police have been integrated into electoral enforcement. These actions operate as campaign control mechanisms.
Bobi Wine’s own videos now circulate online as a real time cry for help and as urgent evidence. He appears wearing a bulletproof vest, stating plainly that his life is in danger. His many statements document the conditions under which Uganda’s opposition is attempting to function. Who is paying attention?
With global attention absorbed by Venezuela and U.S. quest for regional dominance, Museveni’s own dominance ‘strikes oil’ – Uganda’s election violence unfolds as if inconsequential. The lack of coverage removes external pressure. The absence of diplomatic urgency reinforces impunity. Trump-induced deflection has widened the space for repression, rendering the international community complicit through silence. Yoweri Museveni does not require endorsement. He requires inattention. The world’s fixation elsewhere provides exactly that.
A Side Note: Strikingly – is the silence from Mayor Zohran Mamdani – who has entered the global stage not only through his recently acquired Mayoral seat of the iconic global city, New York, but through his dual citizenship to Uganda, the place of his birth. Ironically New York also comes into focus as Madura, Venezuela’s exiled President is held in a detention center located in NYC., invoking the vocal displeasure of Mamdani. This stands in stark contrast to Mamdani’s silence on Uganda – he has not uttered a word – ever – about Museveni’s oppressive regime. Now would be the time. But Mamdani turns a blind eye – to a situation where no excuse such as “not knowing” or “obscurity” or “deflection” could justify the complicity of his silence.
See Video: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Hm5k9rDNp/
Melanie Nathan
Human Rights Advocate
Country Conditions Expert
African Countries including uganda
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