Uganda got her independence from the British colonial masters on 9th October 1962. Tomorrow, the country will be celebrating its 64th independence anniversary. Sixty-four years ago, our grandparents danced at Kololo, lowered the Union Jack and hoisted the Black, Yellow and Red flag with a crested crane at its centre – a symbol of a new dawn, a new nation, a new promise.
What was that promise? It was the promise of self-determination. That a Ugandan would finally govern a Ugandan. That the wealth of Uganda would serve Ugandans. That we would be masters of our own destiny.
64 years later, we must ask the hard question: Have we lived that promise? And more importantly, what lies ahead?
The Journey We Have Walked
The first decade of independence was our golden era. Uganda was the pearl, not just in name but in fact. Makerere was the Harvard of Africa. Mulago was the best referral hospital on the continent. Our economy was vibrant, our shilling strong, our future bright. We had the best civil service in East Africa.
But we lost the plot. 1966, 1971, 1979, 1985 – our history became a history of guns. We turned Parliament into a battlefield and the barracks into Parliament. For 24 years, we bled. From the Amin regime to the Obote II era to the Okello junta, Uganda became a slaughterhouse. Over 800,000 Ugandans lost their lives. Our economy collapsed by 40%. We became a failed state – a case study of how a promising nation can self-destruct.
Then came 1986. The National Resistance Movement brought back the state. It restored security where there was none, rebuilt institutions where there were ruins, and restored hope where there was despair. For that, history will forever be kind to President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. He picked Uganda from a graveyard and gave it a second chance.
The NRM’s first 20 years were transformative. Roads were rebuilt, schools were expanded through UPE and USE, HIV prevalence dropped from 18% to 6%, inflation was tamed, and the economy grew at an average of 6.5% for two decades.
Where We Are at 64
At 64, Uganda is a country of contradictions. We are both succeeding and struggling.
We are the youngest nation in the world by demography – 78% of our population is under 30 years. That is not a curse; it is the biggest opportunity in the world if we harness it. Yet that same youth is unemployed, underemployed and angry. We have 700,000 young people entering the job market every year, but we create only 150,000 formal jobs.
We are rich. We have oil, we have gold, we have the best soils in Africa, we have water, we have the best climate on earth. But 39% of our people still live in multidimensional poverty. Kawempe, where I serve, is a mirror of this contradiction – full of talent, full of hustlers, but trapped by poor planning, flooding, unemployment and drug abuse.
We have built infrastructure – Entebbe Expressway, Kampala flyovers, Karuma dam – but our maintenance culture is poor. We have expanded education, but quality is declining. We have brought services closer through decentralization, but corruption has also been decentralized.
At 64, the biggest threat to our independence is no longer the British colonialist. It is three internal enemies: Corruption, unemployment, and ideological disorientation.
Corruption has become a cancer that eats the very fabric of our state. It steals medicines, it steals roads, it steals the future of the youth.
Ideological disorientation has made many young Ugandans hate their own country. They believe Uganda can only be built by abusing it. They think patriotism is old-fashioned. We have lost the national value system.
What Lies Ahead? The Next 10 Years Will Define the Next 100
Uganda @ 64 stands at a crossroads. What lies ahead depends on the choices we make today. Here is what must be done:
1. From Politics of Identity to Politics of Interest. For 64 years we have been mobilized as Baganda, Banyankole, Basoga, Acholi. We have been mobilized as Catholic, Protestant, Muslim. This must stop. In the next decade, Ugandans must be mobilized on interests – jobs, wealth, markets, infrastructure. That is the gospel of the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) and the MKM Movement. We must preach patriotism, pan-Africanism and socio-economic transformation.
2. The Economy Must Change Hands. The future is not in government jobs. The future is in the 4 sectors: Commercial Agriculture, Manufacturing, Services and ICT. Our PDM money must not be eaten. It must create parish-level millionaires. Our oil money must not be stolen like in Nigeria. It must build an industrial Uganda. We must add value to our coffee before exporting it. A kilogram of unprocessed coffee is $2, but a kilogram of processed coffee is $40. That is the difference between poverty and wealth.
3. Kawempe is Uganda. If we can transform Kawempe from a ghetto to a productive suburb, we can transform Uganda. The ghetto youth of Bwaise, Kalerwe, Mulago – they don’t need handouts, they need skills, capital, and mindset change. The next independence must be economic independence of the ghetto youth.
4. Accountability is Independence. True independence means the taxpayer’s money works for the taxpayer. We need to enforce the Citizens Compact – where leaders sign contracts with the people. Where the RDC, the Mayor, the DISO are held accountable not by Kampala, but by the people of Kawempe.
5. Pan-Africanism is Survival. At 64, Uganda cannot survive alone. We need the East African Federation. We need a bigger market. Our coffee needs the 300 million people of East Africa. Our youth need the jobs of East Africa.
Conclusion: The Pearl Must Shine Again
At 64, Uganda is not old. America is 250 years old. Britain is over 900 years old. We are just a teenager as a nation. We have made mistakes, yes. But we have also made tremendous progress.
The generation that got independence fought political independence. Our generation must fight economic independence. The generation of 1962 lowered the Union Jack. Our generation must lower the flag of unemployment, corruption and division.
What lies ahead? If we choose patriotism over sectarianism, production over consumption, and discipline over excitement – the next 64 years will be greater than the last 64. The pearl will shine again.
For God and My Country.
Kagenyi Lukka is the Deputy Resident City Commissioner, Kampala City – Kawempe Division.
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