Uganda, April 13 -- The practice, not so much the ideal, of democracy has become a convenient punching bag for everything that has gone wrong in our world, but especially in countries like Uganda that engage in democratic pretensions.

Just as it is convenient to focus on the flaws and failings of democracy, so it is convenient to ignore the idea, indeed the deals, of democracy - what is democracy supposed to be about?

The easiest target for derision and denigration is the Western-style liberal democracy that foregrounds multiparty competition, media freedom and a vibrant civil society that casts a spotlight on the government of the day.

Sections of the African intelligentsia, on social media and traditional media as well as academia, h...