“Amaadhi amasabe tigamala ndigho” A proverb of the Basoga of Uganda which translated into English reads: “When one begs for water it does not quench the thirst.” The proverb explained means that “often, something that one begs for is not exactly what one requires. It may be insufficient or not to one’s liking. This proverb encourages one to work, to satisfy one’s own needs rather than ask favors of other people.” Source: “Wisdom from Africa – A collection of proverbs” compiled by Dianne Stewart.

The Basoga are among the largest first nations of Uganda and are known for their wisdom and pride. Which begs the question: In which Busoga was presidential candidate Maureen Kyalya socialised? Candidate Kyalya musoga mwene? (Is candidate Kyalya really a pure musoga)? Her performance in the recent presidential debate early this month makes it tough to believe how unwise she is and yet she is a musoga.

Candidate Kyalya’s entire presidential campaign can only be best described as a whinge-fest, and her wining reached astronomical proportions during the presidential debate. Who did she not have a complaint against? She blamed the colonialists, the people of Buganda and the peoples of the first nations of Uganda that now predominantly occupy Western Uganda.

Crazy and lunatic like assertions characterize candidate Kyalya’s campaign. Assertions only rivaled by similar sectarian and xenophobic assertions made by candidate Donald Trump in the United States of America.

Candidate Kyala, in essence, is asking right thinking Ugandans to elect her so that she can dismantle Uganda and rebuild it? According to her, the current Uganda was forced on Ugandan’s by a section of Ugandans, the Banganda?

Oblivious of her tribalism against the Baganda, candidate Kyalya’s rhetoric spews on and she proceeds to insight sectarianism against the peoples of the Western Region of Uganda – categorically stating that she will not waste her time campaigning in Western Uganda?

The reason she says she will not be campaigning in the Western Uganda is because candidate Kyalya is sure they will not vote for her? So how then is she to fulfill her claim that if elected she wants to unite Ugandans?

As one who has served as an ‘adviser’ to President Museveni on matters of poverty alleviation, one would have expected candidate Kyalya to articulate exactly how she advised the president and exactly how he did not heed her advice.

One would have expected her to articulate exactly how she practiced the advice she gave the president, albeit ignored. One would have expected her to articulate how her practice of her advice that she gave to the president achieved positive results, however minimal. One is still waiting.

Yes, a significant chunk of taxes that are paid by Ugandans to the State is being utilized to fund candidate Kyalya’s campaign. This is in addition to all the millions of shillings from tax payers money that were paid to her as a presidential adviser. How depressing it is for one who is a tax payer.

Judging from the frequent jigger pandemics that have lately afflict Busoga, candidate Kyalya’s home region for which she was Presidential Adviser for Poverty Alleviation, candidate Kyalya is not providing good leadership anywhere. Prompting a question for one’s rant on another day: How is President Museveni choosing his advisers?

Candidate Kyalya exemplifies what is wrong with multiparty democracy in Uganda. The large number of candidates running as independents, such as candidate Kyalya, defeats the purpose of multiparty democracy. For before these candidates presented themselves to the general electorate of Uganda they were not vetted by an organised section of the electorate in the same way as those running on a party ticket were. Independent candidates thus beg for votes from the general electorate as individuals and not necessarily on the premise of a well thought out ideology.

In the spirit of the Basoga proverb, one is happy that candidate Kyalya’s vote begging spree shall result in insufficient votes. One hopes that this will clearly indicate to her the insignificance of her participation in the presidential race. That her thirst to attain the presidency of Uganda on sectarian xenophobia will not be quenched.

One hopes that the insignificant votes that she will get on election day will awaken candidate Kyalya to the importance of achieving success through hard work.

Most importantly, one hopes that the next electoral reforms, if ever, will tighten the guidelines for a person to qualify as a Uganda presidential candidate.

Otherwise, candidate Kyalya’s only wise assertion, that the elections are already rigged in favor of candidate Museveni, will continue to hold true. When candidate Museveni has such competitors as candidate Kyalya, what can one expect?