Democracy will end civil unrest in Africa

Democracy is a crucial aspect in the political stability and development of a nation.

In relation to African countries and their leaders, a majority of them do not respect and appreciate democracy-they despise it. As a consequence, many African countries suffer or have at one point suffered from political and civil wars, some of which have lasted for decades.

In reference to Kenya, a lot of efforts and time have been made to achieve democracy. Across our borders, in neighbouring Uganda, democracy is evidently dead. Political democracy appears irrelevant to President Yoweri Museveni's regime, which has been in power for the last 30 years. The one party one man syndrome is currently ailing Uganda's politics.

During the recent presidential elections, where Museveni was declared winner, the democratic rights of the main opposition candidate, Kizza Besigye (pictured), were violated when he was put under house arrest during the announcement of the election results.

Furthermore, Mr Besigye was not allowed to carry out his political campaigns freely and was even restricted from certain areas by the Ugandan police. This is a clear indication that democracy is lacking in Uganda politics. It's the high time our political leaders embraced, respected and appreciated democracy if political unrest and civil wars are to end.