OF PIGS, STRAY BULLETS AND TERRORISTS: THE MUSEVENI VOCABULARY
In George Orwell’s allegory of the Animal Farm, Napeleon, Snowball and Squealar in the character of pigs lead a revolution against the human owner of the farm, Mr. Jones whom they accuse of incompetence and unfairness. Napoleon, the figurehead of the Revolution who at the start rallies the rest of the farm animals into a revolution around justice and equity, fast degenerates in totalitarianism, sipping wine and sleeping on beds. Even with these, the rest of the animals labor hard on the false promise of heated stalls and electric light. They stay obedient to Napoleon and his kin even as their conditions continue deteriorating to that which is worse than that to which Mr. Jones had subjected them.
The Russian Revolution, for which Orwell symbolizes in Animal Farm, is akin to the 1980 Uganda liberation war for which, Napoleon (Museveni), and the his kin rally the majority ignorant and less educated masses (the other farm animals) against Mr. Jones (Obote) on the promise of Justice . These promises keep the masses loyal and obedient to him and his kin, ignorant of his grand plan to completely cripple the little left behind by previous governments: the cooperative unions, banks, transport systems and social amenities among others.
Following the assassination of top government officials, Museveni continuously refers to the assassins as pigs. In contrast, when opposition leaning citizens are shot dead by known security apparatus, they are either referred to as terrorists or if they are lucky dead, then their death is blamed on stray bullets. Considering word use, one would be mistaken to assume that Museveni and his henchmen are not careful with how they craft their statements to drive their point home.
Drawing from the Animal Farm Scenario, is it right to conclude that from within the pigs, greed, and incompetence is pitting them against each other, and Napoleon is putting up a case before the other farm animals that he is still in charge even when he is visibly not? Of the stray bullets, does it only target animals that are opposed to the ways of Napoleon?
When will Boxer come to his senses that however hard he attempts to please Napoleon, he is not a pig, and will be subjected to the stray bullet when the his usefulness ceases? Who is the terrorist in this instance? Its use is selective, depending on which side of the bed Napoleon wakes up: it could be a rebellious pig who has disagreed on the share of the loot, or a farm animal mobilizing for the next liberation.
When? may be the question, what’s for certain is that the pigs are not having it easy with the other farm animals continuously getting enlightened on the false promises of Napoleon and his men.