Is Haiti’s papa doc-baby doc phenomenon re-surfacing in Uganda?

By Oweyegha-Afunaduula

When President Tibuhaburwa Museveni captured the instruments of power in Uganda in 1986, backed by a rebel army called National Resistance (NRA) impregnated with many refugees from Rwanda and Mulenge in present-day Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), he said his was a fundamental change, not a mere change of guards. Ugandans, who never critically analyse anything before accepting the truism, welcomed the rebel leader and his army with jubilation and hilurations. They collectively understood him and his army as the saviours they had been waiting for.

They did not mind that behind the capture of power in Kampala were 500,000 dead bodies in the Luwero Triangle, many ransacked and collapsed cooperative societies and unions, robbed banks, a collapsed railway system, road transport system and factories. All they wanted was a change of government, of whatever type. They had seen numerous governments from Obote I through the Amin dictatorial regime, to Lule, to Binaisa to Obote II and to Tito Okello. The common denominator was haemorrhage of life and flow of blood. They had lost children, grandchildren, husbands, relatives, animals and futures. They thought that would be no more. Indeed, their liberators assured them that all that would be assigned to the past.

Except perhaps in Northern Uganda, the collective mood everywhere was the same: Uganda had been liberated. It did not matter whether it was in the rural areas or in the urban or peri urban areas. It did not matter whether the people were educated or uneducated, literate or non-illiterate, professors or students, the feeling was the same: Yoweri Museveni as he was then called, was the messiah to liberate all from a past of gun hood and cheapened life, which could be extinguished at the smallest instigation. They did not even want to be reminded that their liberators were part of the chain of extinguishing and cheapening life all along. All they wanted was change from the past and a future of hope.

Indeed, their messiah told them that he was for change and de-mystification of the gun. However, as time passed by, he got more and more committed to “No Change”, which meant it was him or no one else in power in Uganda. The Constitution of Uganda 1995, which he and his functionaries said would stand the test of time, was more or less about him and no change. It raised him above the law, prescribing that even if he committed a crime he could not be tried in any court in Uganda. All power and authority, and all resources of the country, were more or less placed in his hands. Constitutionally-speaking he was the god of Uganda: The Alpha and Omega. Everything could only start and end with him: education, health, transport, policy, law and even judgement. He is the one who could criminalise and de-criminalise anyone.

Soon the President showed that the Presidency of Uganda was for no one else. He did not only say that he could not hand over power to criminals (Opposition). He also said that a mere piece of paper (the ballot paper) could not remove him from power. By extension, he meant that even a collection of paper bound together, which the Uganda Constitution 1995 is, could not constrain him from sticking to power. Indeed, he prescribed the only way he could be removed from power when he said, during a Presidential campaign in Seeta, Mukono in 1996 that “I am like a quarter pin of a bicycle, which goes in by knocking and comes out by knocking”.

Accordingly, if the President’s regime organised elections, it was not so much to give the opportunity to change the leadership and governance of Uganda as to legitimise his rule as democratic. Meanwhile he presided over, through his NRM Caucus in the Parliament of Uganda, the removal of term limits and age limits to allow himself to rule uninterrupted until death. This was a subtle way of saying “I am President for Life”, which President Idi Amin said during his early days in charge of Uganda.

Almost 40 years later President Tibuhaburwa Museveni shows no sign of letting go of the power that he believes is only his. We have seen some of the things that he said took him to the bush come back: killings, kidnappings, vote theft, beating and maiming of Ugandans, et.cetera despite the fact that his army is far more disciplined, with more educated soldiers.

There is evidence that unlike Amin and Obote who never manoeuvred to have their children take over the reigns of power after them, President Tibuhaburwa Museveni would like to leave power, the leadership and governance of Uganda, in the hands of his only publicly known son -General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the Chief of Defense Forces, whose rise in the army he fast-tracked.

Simultaneously, the President has  institutionalised hereditary politics whereby big political families are being succeeded politically by their children. One school of thought argues that the President wants Ugandans to accept that being succeeded by his son is normal because other political leaders have been succeeded by their children. “Why not me?”, the President seems to be thinking. There is evidence that the President has already ceded some of his powers to his son. He operates like a President outside the Presidential seat, but the President does not think it is abnormal. Any Ugandan who would emulate General Muhoozi Kainerugaba would find a new home in Luzira Maximum Prison.

The question being debated in Uganda today, at least in the social media is: Is Haiti’s Papa Doc-Baby Doc Phenomenon Resurfacing in Uganda in the 21st Century”.

Some say yes, others say no and still others, especially the young ones who hate reading, say they don’t know.

Who was Papa Doc?

François Duvalier (14 April 1907 – 21 April 1971), also known as Papa Doc, was a Haitian politician and voodooist who served as the President of Haiti from 1957 until his death in 1971. He started off as a very democratic leader. After thwarting a military coup d’état in 1958, his regime rapidly became more autocratic and despotic. He built a personality cult and boasted that he was like Vladmir Lenin, the Russian revolutionary of the early 20th Century. Apparently, he was an elite that graduated in public health at the University of Michigan. He was nicknamed Papa Doc. He was re-elected President in 1961 in an election that featured him as the sole candidate.

Afterwards, he consolidated his power step by step, culminating in 1964 when he declared himself president for life after another sham election, and as a result, he remained in power until his death due to heart disease and diabetes aged only 64. He was succeeded by his 19 year old son, Jean Claude, Duvalier who was nicknamed “Baby Doc” as if it was hereditary leadership. . However, his regime collapsed on 8th February 1986 when he was 34 years old. There was no doubt the change from Papa Doc to Baby Doc was the work of the selfish elites associated with the ruling “family rule” since 1957 when Papa Doc was first elected President. Like his father Baby Doc was President for life.  Like does happen when family rule collapses many books have been written about the ruling Duvalier family (e.g., Marquis, 2007).

In the end, Baby Doc proved so inept at resolving Haiti’s deep-seated problems of extreme poverty, lack of investment and employment opportunities that there were constant outbreaks of popular unrest. When his regime collapsed, he fled to exile in South France. He lost most of his wealth following a bitter divorce in 1993, and some $6m he held in Swiss bank accounts was frozen in 1986. In the later years of his exile, Mr Duvalier depended on financial support from his followers, living in a small Paris apartment. When life became unbearable, he made a surprise return to Haiti in 2011, was met with tears and cheers (Armstrong, 2011), arrested by Haitian police, but said he had “come to help” after the earthquake, but instead many hoped to see him brought to justice for the alleged torture and murder of thousands of people during his rule in the ’70s and ’80s (Armstrong, 2011).  He and his father were accused of siphoning off up to $300m (£187m) during their time in power, although there is no accurate record of this.

Papa Doc demonstrated why we should never trust the selfish elite. The phrase “the selfish elite” refers to the perception that those in positions of power and wealth prioritise their own interests over the well-being of society, potentially leading to negative societal consequences.

Papa Doc employed intimidation, repression, and patronage to supplant the old mulatto elites with a new elite of his own making. Corruption – in the form of government rake-offs of industries, bribery, extortion of domestic businesses, and stolen government funds – enriched the dictator’s closest supporters. Most of them held sufficient power to intimidate the members of the old elite, who were gradually co-opted through political buying or eliminated.

Exact details are difficult to prove, but it has been estimated that between 20,000 and 30,000 Haitians were killed by the security forces during the reign of the two Duvaliers. Besides, Haiti has remained ungovernable.

The aftermath of the end of the Duvalier family rule in Haiti are Inadequate Shelter and Diseases, Starvation and Mental Health Issues, unbearable poverty and crime, including drugs. Haiti’s criminal markets are well known throughout the world.

It will be interesting to draw a parallel between Musevenism and Duvalierism on the one hand and between Tibuhaburwa Museveni and Muhoozi Kainerugaba phenomenon and Papa Doc and Baby Doc phenomenon if Muhoozi Kainerugaba succeeds his father as some NRM enthusiasts would like to see happen. However, we are already seeing inadequate shelter, diseases, starvation, mental health issues, poverty, crime, violence, human trafficking, killings, kidnappings, maiming, corruption and misgovernance rising supersonically – all associated with the Museveni family rule and determination to keep power within the family. even before Muhoozi ascends the throne.

As I stated in my article “How Militarised and Personalist Parties Undermine Democratisation; Uganda’s National Resistance Movement in Perspective” increasing personalisation of politics is accompanied by democratic backsliding. Therefore, it does not matter how many elections are held and how many offer themselves for elective office, there will be no democratic meaningfulness.

“Democratic meaningfulness” suggests a democracy that goes beyond mere participation and focuses on ensuring that citizens’ lives are enriched and that their experiences are meaningful, encompassing social, economic, and cultural aspects.  Under Musevenism, this is becoming a rare phenomenon with rising investment in militarism, politics and administration. This is what is required to prepare a country for collapse, the Haitian way.

Papa Doc-Baby Doc Phenomenon was a vice in Haiti. Tibuhaburwa Museveni-Muhoozi Kainerugaba Phenomenon promises to be another vice in Uganda’s leadership and governance if it ever takes root. Only God can predict it precisely. We cannot ignore those who want it to take root. They probably cannot see beyond their noses.

For God and My Country

Further Reading

Davis Nicholls (1986). The Rise and Fall of Duvalierism Third World Quarterly Vol, pp. 1239-1252 (14 pages) Published By: Taylor & Francis, Ltd.

France 24 (2021). 50 Years After Baby Doc Haiti Work Still Work in Progress. France 24 , 20.4.2021. https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210420-50-years-after-papa-doc-haiti-democracy-still-work-in-progress Visited on 19 March 2025 at 11:44 am EAT

Lisa Armstrong (2011). Baby Doc met with Tears and Cheers in Haiti. Daily Beast, January 18 2011. https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/baby-doc-met-tears-and-cheers-haiti Visited on 19 March 2025 at 11:56 am EAT.

Marquis, John (2007). Papa Doc: Portrait of a Haitian Tyrant. Kingston, Jamaica: LMH Publishing. ISBN 978-976-8202-49-9. OCLC 692302388.

Scott Kaplan (2018). The Core of Community Service: Selfless or Selfish? Global Elite, December 15 2018. https://web.colby.edu/global-elites/2018/12/15/the-core-of-community-service-selfless-or-selfish/ Visited on 19 March 2025 at 11:21 am EAT.

UNODC (2023). Haiti’s Criminal Markets: Mapping Trends in Firearms and Drugs. UNODC Research, 2023. https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/toc/Haiti_assessment_UNODC.pdf Visited on 19 March 2025 at 12:12 pm EAT.