Africa is changing! It will never be like the West and to impose Western models upon Africa would be a big mistake. Democracy is a good case in point. The West often ties its aid money to how democratic the nation is. In a place like Uganda, citizens enjoy many freedoms but still have a type of leader who is a lot more in charge than even the President of the United States. Then one has to look at a presidency a bit different than through the glasses of a Western Democratic Blueprint as to what we might think is best for an African Country.

President Museveni of Uganda  is nationalist, he is very concerned about the wellbeing of Uganda. Is everything perfect here?  No, not at all, but Uganda is headed in the right direction, there are more things in place to make this country more democratic in nature.  The opposition speaks out, there is even an outspoken press here in Uganda, at times certain limitations may be implemented but at the end of the day, you would be surprised how frank and outspoken the press is here.

The reality is that President Museveni has been the best and most stable thing that has happened to Uganda since Independence in 1962 and there has been stability in the majority of the country and that is now slowly coming to the north of Uganda.  The biggest problem is greed and corruption at every level. Everyone wants to get rich quickly and method at times is not hard work but questionable and often illegal ways and that includes private business.  Uganda is now producing oil and soon will benefit from the large find of oil here. The question on everyone's mind is, "what will happen to the money?"  The pearl of Africa shines brightly but its luster is in danger due the hunger for instant wealth and corruption.  Hopefully the President will give his leadership to the cause of "prosperity for all" and lead the way in anti-corruption measures that will spill over to the private sector and the Ugandan slogan "For God and Country" would be made real.

Kenya, had a miracle take place on December 27th, 2002.  Mwai Kibaki was elected the new President of Kenya.  After almost 40 years of rule by the KANU party and 29 years of President Moi, Kenya's people are breathing a sigh of relief and hoping for a brighter future.  However that brighter future was soon wiped out by the corruption that went on by the people around him.  The result that in December of 2007 he and his people had to rig the election to find victory.  The streets erupted in violence, many died, thousands were burned out of their home and the relative stable country of Kenya joined the ranks of the many other African nations that have just known violence, power struggles, the desire to keep or take over power in order to gain material wealth at any cost.

With International intervention, a power broker system was put into place and today there is some kind of peace, but underneath the surface, there is ethnic hatred just awaiting for the moment to bubble to the surface.  Vice President Odinga who most say actually won the actual won the election shares powers with Kibaki.  There is a bevy of ministers and at the end of the day not much has changed, it is simply a continuance of posturing to gain more power and wealth at the expense of the average Kenyan.  Ethnicity and tribalism is used in order to inflame the poor, the real problem however is that those in power are not interested in the poor, but only in using them in order to further their own agenda.

Rwanda, is still going through the rebuilding phase from the genocide of 1994 and President Kagame is attempting to prevent a repeat of past slaughters.  He is actually one of my personal favorites, he is attempting to put together a new Rwanda where harmony reign. 

The roads have no potholes and are clean unlike other East African countries.  The street lights work and the police are above corruption.  Ministers are arrested, not just investigated, but tried and imprisoned.  Rwanda has become one of the darlings of the West.

Sudan is a country deeply divided with an Arabic North that rules by Sharia law over an African South that is mostly Christian and animist now in a power sharing arrangement with Khartoum.  There is still Darfur and the President of Sudan is under an international arrest warrant, that most African countries will not enforce.  The Arab Nations are quiet as Muslims are eliminating Muslims.  It is a sad day for Sudan.