The Myth of Control: What the Fable of Wampologoma Teaches Us About Today’s Political Anxiety

By MukubiraJM_Jr

There is an old fable told in the heart of Buganda about Wampologoma, the Mighty Lion. For years, he was the undisputed king of the forest. He had the sharpest claws and the loudest roar, and all the animals respected his strength. But as time went on, being king was no longer enough for him. He did not just want to be the strongest; he wanted to be the only voice in the forest.

One day, Wampologoma passed a strict decree: no bird could sing, no monkey could chatter, and no frog could croak. Any animal that made a sound without his permission would be hunted down and eaten.

Fear quickly swept through the trees. The birds stopped singing, the monkeys hid in the high branches, and the frogs sank to the bottom of the swamps. The forest became completely, unnervingly silent. Wampologoma walked through the quiet woods, his chest puffed out with pride. He thought to himself, “Look at my power. Look at how my mere presence commands absolute silence. I have truly mastered my kingdom.”

But a few weeks later, a group of human hunters entered the forest. In the past, the sudden flight of birds or the alarm calls of the monkeys would have warned Wampologoma that danger was approaching. But this time, no one dared to make a sound. The animals watched the hunters approach in absolute silence. Because the forest was so quiet, the hunters could easily hear the snapping of twigs under the lion’s own heavy paws. They tracked him effortlessly, surrounded him, and captured him.

The silence Wampologoma had built to protect his ego became the very trap that destroyed him. What would the other animals have done? In the face of eminent danger, what else would they have done, given the explicit orders of total silence that Wampologoma had decreed?

When we look at this story, we see a tragic comedy. Wampologoma thought that silence meant respect, but silence only meant fear. And in his quest to make everyone fear him, he destroyed the very community that kept him safe. It created a façade of obedience, which eventually destroyed the decree-enforcer.

For centuries, philosophers have warned us about this exact trap. The ancient Greek ruler Pittacus once said, “The measure of a man is what he does with power.” Centuries later, Lord Acton famously added, “Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Power is a difficult thing to define. It can be the ability to inspire a nation to build roads, schools, and hospitals. But when it turns negative, power becomes the desperate urge to control, to dominate, and to silence. When a leader’s measure of success is how much fear he can instill in his own people, the corruption Lord Acton spoke of is complete. It is not just the corruption of stolen money; it is the corruption of the mind.

This brings us to the heavy political atmosphere we are breathing today. Since the deeply concerning reports of former Lord Mayor Elias Lukwago being abducted (whichever word might be used in the manner set forth) by the CDF, a thick cloud of anxiety that is settling over our country.

When a state uses its military apparatus to snatch political figures off the streets, it might feel like it is projecting strength. The people in charge might look at the quiet streets (as some of us have witnessed this morning in Kampala as shops and business took longer to open-up today) and the whispered conversations of terrified citizens and think, “We are in control.” But they are only repeating the mistake of Wampologoma.

If a government that governs by silencing its political opponents and terrorizing its citizens is destroying its own alarm system that keeps some unforeseen forces at bay. It destroys the feedback loop it needs to understand the real problems of the people, how to countermeasure, and how process grievances. Fear does not erase anger; it only forces it underground. A kidnapped opposition leader does not make the any democratic government more legitimate; it only proves to the citizens that the government has run out of ideas and is now willing to rely on pure force.

When citizens are afraid to speak, they stop contributing to the nation. They stop trusting the law (creating the rampancy of ‘mob-justice‘), they stop trusting institutions, and eventually, they stop trusting each other (and our brotherly nation, Rwanda is a testament to this). A country cannot develop when its people are paralyzed by the fear of a drone, a military van, or an arbitrary arrest, and a discriminatory and arbitrary recourse to violence.

So, how do we find our way out of this silent, dangerous forest?

First, our leadership must understand that true power is not the ability to silence opposition, but the ability to persuade them. The military must bring themselves to step back from civilian politics and law enforcement as the constitution mandates. The rule of law (or as we now term it, “Role of Law“) must replace the rule of the gun (the “Role of the Gun“). Political leaders must be debated at the ballot and in parliament, not abducted into safe houses.

Second, it is prudent and a gesture of good spirit if the government releases those held for their political beliefs- as it goes a long way into instilling trust and a change of heart in an already polarized and fragile society. A confident government does not need to hide its critics in the dark. It defeats them in the light with better ideas, better policies, and better service delivery and other alternative avenues that are constitutional and democratic.

Finally, as senior citizens (and us, as a collective), must refuse to become the silent animals in the forest. We must look out for one another. We must continue to demand accountability, using peaceful, lawful, and persistent voices. We must rebuild trust in our communities, because a united people cannot be easily frightened.

We must remember that a forest where only Wampologoma is allowed to breathe is a forest that suffocates, stagnates and soon die out. A thriving, prosperous and a young democratic nation, such as this Pearl, requires the songs of the birds, the chatter of the monkeys, and the roar of the lion, all living together.

For the love of our country, let us choose wisdom over fear.

For God and My Country.

This article first appeared on my X (MukubiraJM_Jr) on 5:39 PM · Jun 16, 2026

 

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