Because President Museveni's government is now widely perceived as incompetent and heartlessly corrupt, people do not expect it to do much more than opportunistically exploit what general conditions prevail, and what sudden misfortunes or strokes of good luck befall the citizens, to justify its stay in power.

In the wake of the rains and landslides that devastated the communities of Bududa in Eastern Uganda, President Museveni visited the scenes of destruction, collecting points as a caring "Father of the Nation". But then the President might have remembered that he had a minister for Disaster Preparedness who has been said to be a disaster in his own right. If the President was on the mark, the best he would expect from Prof. Tarsis Kabwegyere was a three-quarter empty discourse on the nature of disasters, or on the philosophy of pain.

If the President had such reflections in his mind, he might have quickly thought of relieving his man of some of the pressure expected from the public; after all, it was he who had appointed him and stubbornly refused to remove him from a department where his gifts were not appreciated.

So what does the President do? Well, he puts on his military fatigues and slings an assault rifle around his shoulder. It was an appalling sight. As various people have noted, it is very difficult to think of another head of state who would display his militarism so blatantly; moreover, almost at the level of a foot soldier. But this warrior image invites us to view the devastated Bududa landscape as a battlefield. With Bududa in effect a place of war, the tasks there are not really for Prof. Kabwegyere. They are for Gen. Museveni; and we are told the army was to be given prominence in the rescue effort, however rudimentary the tools used were.

From the days of the 1981-86 bush war, or indeed even earlier, Gen. Museveni has elevated the gun to a totemic object, a sacred symbol the reverence of which can lead a people to greater consciousness, hope and salvation. And he believes his personal story demonstrates the validity of this cult. So, the wretched people of Bududa only have to strengthen their faith in Uganda's highest warrior-priest.

After the role of the gun was established, Gen. Museveni needed the mass of Ugandans to support him. Among the country's elite, there were minorities that benefited greatly from the imbalances and the corruption associated with his rule. However, his support has been strongest among peasants, especially women, and he often boasts about this position to spite the more critical educated classes. Now, with due respect, the single attribute that united the peasants was ignorance. Ignorance of the corruption and decay just under the surface.

Ignorance of their rights. Ignorance of the duty and responsibility for which leaders were chosen and got handsomely paid. Ignorance of the possibility of more progress under different leaders and forms of government... And so on. This government has exploited the ignorance of peasants to the hilt.

Partly because of that ignorance, and partly because suspicious Born Again Christian pastors are spreading their falsehoods about all manner of evil spirits, the belief in supernatural phenomena and witchcraft has grown to an unprecedented level.

As a result, the impact of the scarcity of working diagnostic tools and drugs at public medical centres has been reduced, since many of the sick and their relatives believe that what troubles them are disgruntled clan or enemy evil spirits, or neighbourhood and work-place witchcraft; and the solution - if there is one - is not necessarily better medical attention, but the intervention of pastors and witch doctors.

As women from the political opposition demonstrated and invaded Mulago Hospital on Women's Day this week, castigating the state of health care for ordinary women, the President should have got worrying that the fog of ignorance might slowly evaporate.

Mr Tacca is a novelist, socio-political commentator and artist.