
“39. Principles are a good thing but they are no substitute for hard work. The success of the Charter demands full commitment of leaders to its realisation, acceptance by the mass of the population, and hard work by all” (Common Man’s Charter, 1969).
We can state the obvious first… I know this Common’s Man Charter isn’t relevant or directly important in the state of affairs. Nevertheless, the ideals and some paragraphs of it could be reasonable today. The vision of the document is worthy, even if the Republican ideas and the lack of respect for cultural monarchies is clear. That is something that will linger on and be a stain on the legacy of Dr. Milton Obote.
However, there is still a lot of gems and things that could be used in our time. Even if it is a long time since June 1968 and the implementation of the Charter on the 24th of October 1969. Some might say it got lost in the era of Idi Amin or the 10 Point Programme of Museveni. Even if so… it is still worth revisiting and acknowledging the parts that can be substantial for our time. The knowledge and the wisdom of the past shouldn’t be lost or forgotten. Instead, we should question it and see if it can be useful today.
There are 40 points in the Charter, but I will only dwell on a few chosen ones.
The first one is this: “4. We reject, both in theory and in practice, that Uganda as a whole or any part of it should be the domain of any person, of feudalism, of Capitalism, of vested interests of one kind or another, of foreign influence or of foreigners. We further reject exploitation of material and human resources for the benefit of a few” (Common Man’s Charter, 1969).
Why did I take this one first? Well, it is easy. It is accurately stating the facts and mirroring our time, as one family and one man has the Republic as his domain. This here could have been written with the National Resistance Movement and Museveni in mind. Because who doesn’t recognize the wordings here and see how it fits the current state of affairs?
The second one: “9. The Republican status, therefore, has taken Uganda further towards the goal of full Uhuru. It must not be accepted, however, that our new status by itself is sufficient, or that it has removed exploitation and has brought full Uhuru. We realise that it is, by itself, an advance towards the goal of full Uhuru, but because we are also convinced that more has yet to be done, this Charter has been adopted, and its strategy is in our view a logical development from the fact that we have been moving away from the hold of feudal power since 1966. For so long as that feudal power was a factor in the politics and economy of Uganda it could not be disregarded. Thus the reason for this Charter. It must also be noted that in a society in which feudalism is an important and major political and economic factor, that society cannot escape being Rightist in its internal and external policies. With the removal of the feudal factor from our political and economic life, we need to do two things. First we must not allow the previous position of the feudalists to be filled by neo-feudalists. Secondly, we must move away from circumstances which may give birth to neo-feudalism or generate feudalistic mentality” (Common Man’s Charter, 1969).
The ideals here are good and the UPC had thought it through. Though in the perspective of locking in the Republican status with feudalism is trying to kill two birds with one stone. That is the reason why NRM could rectify the kingdoms and still be a Republic. Because the Kingdoms wasn’t the unpopular ones, but the oppressive regimes were. Therefore, Obote and UPC did itself a disservice by fighting for a Republican Status and not just trying to fight for the rights of lands and against fiefdoms in general. The lords, the chiefs and the ones owning the lands was the issue and not the Kingdoms itself. That’s why the ideals are understandable, but a reason why no one else has tried to push it through since. Everyone has seen that it only spirals and creates more insurgency by taking away the rights of cultural and historical leaders of the nation.
The charter continues: “17. We reiterate the fact that the struggle for Independence was not a struggle confined to people professing one religion. The colonial power heard voices from all corners of Uganda. The struggle, however, was not that different parts of Uganda should return to the days of tribal quarrels, disunity and wars but to move to the new era wherein all people of Uganda are one and the country is one, and to regain our dignity as human beings” (Common Man’s Charter, 1969).
This here is a warning, which wasn’t adhered too. Since the words of 1969 easily got forgotten and the wars resided for a long time. The struggle for power and control resided for years. The “North vs. South” and the “West vs. the Rest” has been a vital staple and is a reason for why Museveni and the NRM came to power. They used the sentiments and they have persisted with it. That’s why these words from the UPC should still be vocally addressed in 2023.
The charter continues: “20. The emergence and growth of a privileged group in our society, together with the open possibilities of the group assuming the powers of the feudal elements, are not matters of theory and cannot be disregarded with a waive of the hand. Nor should the same be looked at from a doctrinaire approach. It is for this reason that in this Charter we do not intend to play with words, even if those words have meanings, such as “Capitalism” or “Communism”. We are convinced that from the standpoint of our history, not only our educational system inherited from pre-Independence days, but also the attitudes to modern commerce and industry and the position of a person in authority, in or outside Government are creating a gap between the well-to-do on the one hand and the mass of people on the other. As the years go by, this gap will become wider and wider. The move to the Left Strategy of this Charter aims at bridging the gap and arresting this development” (Common Man’s Charter, 1969).
Here we are seeing the warning and the pragmatic approach, which the UPC had in regarding to governing. These words are also fitting for today, as the NRM have created a privileged group and masses who isn’t well off. It is so evident and there is just a little minority who is prosperous in the Republic. The supposed plan to arresting this development was destroyed and depleted, because the rulers of the day don’t pay it no mind.
I just find these pieces of the Common Man’s Charter very interesting and insightful. It is rare that a document like this could issue such words and be relevant in our time. That’s just telling how forward thinking and ahead of its times this document was. Because it could have been lost in the wind and we could have paid it no mind. The UPC and the Government of Uganda had a vision and they wanted to achieve something. If it was achievable or even possible. Well, that’s another story.
The story we can dwell on today is how Obote and the UPC did drop a visionary charter and how it could foresee trouble ahead. They knew and could read the signs. While also sharing knowledge that is useful to this day. Peace.