The avalanche started inconspicuously. Last week, Uganda’s state-run UBC television aired footage of a dapper man sporting a small but brightly colored badge on his dark suit. A closer look revealed the insignia of the Kimov Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
The bright green and short-cut lawn on which the elegant man stood, at first glance resembled a golf course, even with a similar flag stuck in it as at the hole. But it was actually a professionally landscaped garden surrounding the State House in Entebbe. Residence of the President of Uganda.
Authoritarians among us
And it was the head of state who welcomed the reformed North Korean into her protection. The sets suggested a careful arrangement in the form of comfortable cushioned seats and conveniently placed microphones and cameramen, but at the same time a caution that resulted in a rather strange sight. The vast majority of the chairs being set up on the lawn were empty. And the handful of people present wore a mask over their face, or at least played with its rubber bands between their fingers when they got the chance.
The joint portrait already excluded the gaps, so they took a picture side by side with masks. North Korean elegant on the left. And on the right, in a white shirt and with a respirator, Yoweri Museveni, who has been at the head of Uganda for almost forty years (since 1986) and so far there is no indication that he is going to let go anytime soon.
Lifetime presidents have already rung in some African countries, but Uganda is not one of them. Maybe that’s why the strict anti-epidemic measures in the open air – the former soldier Museveni still rules the country with a heavy hand, but he was 79 years old this year.
The authoritarian government is not the only thing that connects Uganda with the DPRK. Both states
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