Mahmood Mamdani has written a 338-page account of how Uganda became the state it is today, tracing the arc from Idi Amin's brutal rule through to Yoweri Museveni's long presidency. Published by Wits University Press in 2025, "Slow Poison" carries a cover price of R380 and arrives reviewed by Uma Dhupelia-Mesthrie for allAfrica.
The title alone does a lot of work. "Slow Poison" signals that Mamdani is not interested in the dramatic, headline-grabbing violence of the Amin years alone. He is asking a quieter, more uncomfortable question: what accumulated over decades to shape Uganda's political condition, and who is responsible for sustaining it?
Mamdani is one of the continent's most rigorous political thinkers, and his framing of two leaders, one remembered as a monster and one still in power, within a single argument is the kind of provocation that makes this book worth watching. Whether you are a student of African politics or simply someone who wants to understand how states are made and unmade, this one belongs on your reading list.
Originally published by AllAfrica · info@allafrica.com (allAfrica).