Last week I went to see His Excellency, President Museveni himself. He came campaigning in Apac and Kole districts, including one sub-county. I was quite a ride from where I do fieldwork, but a chance not to be missed. Off we went, my team and I. His rally was hosted by one of the bigger schools in the area. We wanted to be early to chat with some of the people there. By the time we arrived at the site a big crowd had already gathered on the play ground. The entourage is entertaining in itself. Security checks at the entrance, where I need to hand in my camera. Too bad, my hopes to have a picture with Me and Mr President... vanished. Under the trees women sell fried snacks and maize, men walk around selling shirts and hats. I see many yellow NRM t-shirts with ‘Fourth Term!’ and ‘No Change!’ Groups of pupils from various regions of the country performs their dances. It is 12 noon and burning hot. Two boxes with bottles of mineral water are handed out for free (where did those come from?). The boy that carried the box has to run for his life, youth is nearly fighting to grab bottles. The President’s military escort driving on and off the grounds. Soldiers in combat, up in arms as if they are about to enter Somalia. Then at 4PM... there he comes. The crowd is moving, yelling, clapping. President Museveni standing in his car, raising his thumbs and waving. Finally the part of the programme I have been waiting for; Museveni’s speech. I must say he is a talented and well-practiced performer. His speech is in English, but he carefully chooses some words in the local language to demonstrate his connection with the Lango region and its population. Listening to his speech, one question keeps buzzing in my mind: is the President someone who perfectly knows how to adjust his language to a local, understandable level? Or does he deny people bits of information by leaving aside the bigger picture of the state of leadership in this country? E.g. he addressed the issue that parents still pay contributions to schools, despite the Universal Primary Education (UPE) that promised free primary education for all. He blamed the teachers for stealing parents’ money (...guts, when his campaign is hosted by a school). My problem is that he is blaming the teachers only for failure of free education. In my view he’d better address the flaws in UPE policy and how he is going to tackle those when he is voted into power. Like the funds that are released late and never meet the school’s needs, the delays in teachers’ salaries, the lack of staff houses and class rooms, the teacher-pupil ratio and poor performance. Another issue he raised was that the billions of funds coming to these districts do not reach the village level. He now blamed the people and that they elected the wrong leaders – e.g. the opposition, since this region is traditionally a UPC stronghold. Indeed, this government has successfully enforced the idea that you are not entitled to services when your area voted opposition. When we talk to people in the village they say ‘it is our own fault, we voted wrongly’. The fact that a government should cater for all groups in society including the ones that didn’t vote for you; it is slipping away from people’s minds. After the rally I tried to explain this to a friend. He didn’t entirely agree with me. In our home countries we would applaud a president who would point out government’s weaknesses and how these will be addressed. We don’t know if such talk is welcomed in the same way here. Then, people that went to listen to his speech are farmers who lack education and probably want to hear that the teachers and UPC leaders are to blame. That is there world, their experience and views being oriented at a very local level. I objected, saying it is a one-sided story, actually meant to keep people ignorant. But I had to give in. A campaign setting is indeed not the place where you expect to hear a genuine explanation of the state of affairs.