Self-described Africa scholar Gerald Caplan’s recent praise of Canada’s relations with Uganda is superficial and misleading. He ignores Canada’s support for imperialism in East Africa that goes back to the days of the slave trade.

Although the armed forces and police are firmly in Museveni`s control and have always served him loyally, he seems unsatisfied. The police have been massively recruiting and training unemployed youth called ‘crime preventers.’ But opposition parties have repeatedly complained that this militia is meant to harass them and bolster the ruling party ahead of the February 2016 elections.

The blacklisting of Ugandan musicians by their erstwhile fans is a pointer that Ugandans are utterly disgusted and disillusioned with President Museveni.

Political turmoil is already evident in Uganda ahead of general elections in February 2016, raising some concern about the East African nation that has a history of disputed elections and military takeovers. Various economic and political transitions have left Uganda without a national political and economic model that is people-centered or a political culture of peaceful transition.

On October 10, 2015, women, men and children watched with horror and disgust as various media outlets aired the degrading treatment of a woman from the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) during her arrest by Uganda Police.