Justifying Uganda's intervention in South Sudan

By Simon Mulongo 

As the tides of global politics shift, Uganda is at a crossroads where it must choose between adaptation and oblivion. 

The aid withdrawal under US President Donald Trump and former leader Joe Biden’s punitive austerity reveal a hard reality — foreign aid is sometimes a gilded shackle, shackling African nations into a global pecking order. 

This era of coerced emancipation calls upon Uganda to cast aside the illusions of liberalism and embrace the pragmatism of classical realism. 

With Washington retreating into isolationism, Uganda must fiercely pursue its destiny; liberation is not a gift but a struggle. 

The time for true autonomy is now. Will Uganda step forth and claim its destiny, or will it remain a pawn upon the global chessboard? Uganda’s fallout with Washington began not with Trump but with Biden, who cut aid by over $100m in 2023 following the signing into law of the Anti-Homosexuality Act. 

The consequences were swift — visa restrictions, World Bank suspensions and foreign investment withdrawals, with economic sanctions framed as human rights issues. 

Biden’s strategic cuts are a far cry from Trump’s blanket eliminations, marking the end of the dependence of Uganda on American aid.

As USAID funding disintegrates, vital health programmes and infrastructure projects hang by a thread, including a 30% funding cut for President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, jeopardising decades of progress against HIV and AIDS. 

With African nations excluded from the US Visa Waiver Programme, the illusion of American magnanimity is exposed — what does sovereignty mean when foreign powers foot the bill for your hospitals? Western aid, hitherto seen as charity, has also functioned as a Trojan horse for new imperialism. 

The late Kwame Nkrumah warned that neo-colonialism is the last stage of imperialism — a hidden empire where African nations are politically independent but economically shackled, hostage to the very aid claimed to be lifting them up. 

Simon Mulongo

By subsidising the Ugandans’ medical care, education and protection, the US exercised control without direct domination. It replaced colonial rule with a far more insidious mechanism — one where the hand that feeds may withdraw whenever it chooses and make policy without resorting to violence. 

Now, with the hand withdrawn, Uganda is faced with a reckoning time: lament the loss of Western aid or wade into the untested waters of true economic independence. 

As America withdraws, a fertile vacuum is left behind and new players like the Middle East, China and Russia are drawn into increasing their interaction with Uganda through a web of loans, arms sales and trade. 

The Belt and Road Initiative, as it promises to elevate the level of infrastructure in Uganda, casts a shadow of ballooning debt, with China accounting for over 60% of its foreign debt. 

Russia is fast-establishing military alliances, a great shift in the balance of power, even as American aid withers. But Uganda must handle this delicate ground with care not to exchange one dependence for the other. 

Uganda’s path towards true sovereignty now begins — no longer will it kowtow to foreign powers or depend upon aid shrouded with ominous chains. 

The future requires a strong assertion of self-reliance fuelled by industrialisation, regional trade and economic nationalism. Under the leadership of President Yoweri Museveni, the Ugandan economy must be transformed from raw material exports into a vibrant centre of domestic production. 

Through the establishment of local drug manufacture, the enhancement of agro-processing and the establishment of tech hubs, Uganda can follow in the footsteps of South Korea and Malaysia. 

The American exit marks a pivotal moment for Uganda, freeing it from the illusion of protection that masked economic dependence. This represents a second independence, not from colonial rule, but from reliance on foreign aid that undermines sovereignty. 

As global paradigms shift, Uganda must adapt or risk being left behind. It is time to unlock its potential and break free from neo-colonial economic structures to pursue true autonomy. 

Heeding Nkrumah’s call for unity, Uganda must act with purpose, prioritising deeds over words. The time for self-reliance is now — now is the time to take it.

The writer is a governance and security consultant at EMANS Frontiers, Ltd.