The Economist December 1st 2007 - Online Public Access Catalog

Uganda and the CommonwealthMuseveni, munificent with monarchNov 29th 2007 | KAMPALAFrom The Economist print editionBurying the ghost of Idi AminReutersTHE best line at last week's Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Uganda was the unwittingstatement of local religious leaders against gay rights. “We are telling the queen,” a bishop earnestly toldreporters, “that by embracing homosexuality we shall not have kings and queens.”But the prize moment for Uganda's president, Yoweri Museveni, came when addressing the country'sParliament in the presence of Her Majesty. He received hearty applause for his assertion that Ugandawas among the most democratic countries in the world, a democracy built on respect for the constitution.That was rich indeed, considering that Mr Museveni changed the constitution to allow himself a thirdterm. The foot-stamping came entirely from his own National Resistance Movement, which won 205 of289 parliamentary seats in last year's disputed election. The queen, cannily, remained expressionless.Still, the Commonwealth meeting put Mr Museveni back in respectable circles after years of thuggishbehaviour and accusations of corruption. Britain, the former colonial power, which had cut aid, has nowpromised a whopping $1.4 billion in regular instalments over the next decade. That will help free MrMuseveni to try and realise his dream of becoming the first president of some kind of east Africanfederation, also including Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi.The more immediate question for locals was whether so much money spent on a three-day meeting ofCommonwealth all-sorts was worth it. Ugandan businessmen, and not just those in government circles,certainly thought so. New hotels, an improved airport and a favourable tax regime may attract investors.More importantly, it was a chance to bury the ghost of Uganda's most infamous son: Idi Amin, cannibal,soldier, dictator and buffoon.Copyright © 2007 The Economist Newspaper and The Economist Group. All rights reserved.