By Miria Matembe
6 May 2025. Renowned academic and former Director of the Makerere Institute of Social Research (MISR), Professor Mahmood Mamdani, is set to publish a controversial new book titled Slow Poison on October 14, 2025. In the 320-page work, Mamdani draws sharp and provocative comparisons between President Yoweri Museveni and former dictator Idi Amin—a juxtaposition that has stirred outrage and disbelief among many Ugandans.
In Slow Poison, Mamdani argues that while Amin’s regime was violent and overtly brutal, President Museveni’s leadership is allegedly marked by covert manipulation, ethnic fragmentation, and unchecked privatization for personal gain. He even goes as far as to claim that Amin, despite his notorious rule, retained public support—while Museveni has supposedly lost his.
But a closer look reveals that the professor’s assertions are riddled with ideological disappointment, academic frustration, and personal disillusionment.
A Misguided Narrative
Mamdani’s central claim that President Museveni’s rule is comparable to “slow poison” not only trivializes the lived horror of Amin’s regime but also disrespects the progress Uganda has made since 1986. Under Amin, Uganda endured unprecedented state-sponsored terror—torture chambers, mass killings, abductions, and the collapse of national institutions. Names like Chief Justice Benedicto Kiwanuka, Bishop Janani Luwum, and Vice Chancellor Frank Kalimuzo evoke deep wounds for a nation that still bears scars from that dark era.
To liken such a reign of terror to Museveni’s leadership—a government that restored security, stability, and institutional reforms—is historically and morally misleading.
Misrepresenting the People’s Mandate
Mamdani’s claim that Museveni has lost public support contradicts the democratic process Uganda has consistently followed. From the Resistance Councils (RCs) of the late 1980s to multiple national elections, Museveni has received consistent popular mandates. To deny the voice of millions of voters who have repeatedly elected him is not only dismissive but also undemocratic.
Ironically, Mamdani acknowledges Amin’s brutality but then glorifies his supposed popularity. This contradiction exposes a deeper ideological bias rather than a genuine analysis of Uganda’s political evolution.
Twisting the Legacy of Privatisation
In Slow Poison, Mamdani claims that economic reforms under Museveni served to enrich the President’s family while leaving the country impoverished. Yet evidence shows otherwise. Privatisation and liberalisation were necessary measures adopted in the 1990s to revive Uganda’s devastated economy after the collapse under Amin and Obote regimes.
These reforms, supported by international development partners, opened up economic space for private enterprise, stimulated foreign investment, and catalyzed growth in key sectors like education, telecommunications, and infrastructure.
From a GDP of $5 billion in 1986, Uganda’s economy now stands at over $40 billion in 2024. Roads, hospitals, and universities have been constructed; mobile connectivity and digital banking have transformed livelihoods. These gains cannot simply be brushed aside by an academic narrative seeking to delegitimise a decades-long recovery process.
If Mamdani criticises Uganda’s privatisation, why does he ignore similar reforms in countries like the United Kingdom under Margaret Thatcher? The UK’s privatisation programme turned around an ailing economy by increasing efficiency and reducing public burden. Uganda’s adoption of similar reforms was not unique—it was necessary.
Selective Criticism, Questionable Motives
Critics argue that Mamdani’s book reflects not scholarly impartiality but a personal vendetta. His exit from Makerere University was marked by administrative clashes, internal resistance, and a sense of betrayal when state support did not shield him from institutional accountability. What may have begun as a noble pursuit of academic reform appears to have soured into intellectual bitterness.
Rather than provide constructive insight, Slow Poison now reads as a one-sided attack dressed in scholarly language. Mamdani overlooks key democratic reforms, regional diplomacy, international peacekeeping roles (such as Uganda’s leadership in AMISOM), and the government’s ongoing fight against poverty and disease.
Conclusion
Mamdani’s Slow Poison may attract international attention, but for Ugandans who lived through Amin’s terror and witnessed Museveni’s leadership transform the nation, the book is not just inaccurate—it’s offensive. Historical revisionism does no justice to national memory or democratic progress.
Ugandans must remain vigilant against misleading narratives cloaked in intellectual credibility. Museveni’s government is not above criticism—but fair and evidence-based critique should not be replaced by ideological score-settling or personal discontent.
Miria Matembe is Ugandan lawyer, politician, gender equality advocate and a senior citizen.
