Institutional Change and Democratization

Abstract

The power consolidation and legitimacy strategies laid out in the years between 1986 and 1991 began to develop institutional identities during the years under study in this chapter, namely, 1991 to 1996. Following deregulation, the press was gaining a vibrancy unprecedented in Uganda’s history. Already-established private newspapers, and TV and radio stations, were finding their niche as organs for the people’s voice, while new ones were still being established. Women’s associations were fast emerging as the strongest section of civil society. The Commission of Enquiry into the Violation of Human Rights became the forerunner of the constitutional Commission of Human Rights. An anticorruption, government ombudsman—Inspector General of Government (IGG)—was also given constitutional latitude coupled with a full-fledged Ministry of Ethics. At the same time, these and many other developments were beginning to create feedback loops that would redirect and reshape other strategies of governance and administration.