By Stephen Lwetutte
LONDON-UNITED KINGDOM/NEWSDAY: President Museveni’s Uganda continues to make world news for the wrong reasons. Horrific images of body torture marks of those lucky enough to survive the notorious and widespread torture chambers are trending on social and electronic media, viewer discretion warnings. One can only imagine the concealed ordeal of the dead or dying Ugandans.
While there is a growing chorus on condemnation of President Museveni for presiding over such a harrowing state of affairs more than 42 years after Idi Amin was ejected from Uganda, the system is clearly somehow supported and sustained. Like the world did against Nazism, apartheid and racism, all decent and honest people must stand up and be counted in telling President Museveni that enough is enough!
The great South African theologian and human right activist, Nobel Peace Prize Winner, late Desmond Mpilo Tutu once aptly noted: “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”
It beggars belief that a western-allied regime as that of dictator Museveni can dabble in the vices of torture and extrajudicial executions to the scale they have reached in Uganda in 2022 and still enjoy western cordial relations, support and assistance. This smacks of racism and discrimination as none of those countries can allow their citizens to be subjected to the same situation like in Uganda under President Museveni with impunity. In recent days, western governments have issued yet again cosmetic brief statements condemning the current human rights abuses in Uganda, and it is business as usual.
It is arguable that the current plight of Ugandans is being perpetrated by our western “friends” who seem to shed crocodile tears yet do nothing to call President Museveni to order, 36 years now and counting. Our eastern “friends”, especially the Chinese are even worse – they make no pretences about the state of affairs in the country as long as they are awarded tenders for big infrastructure projects, from which the average Ugandan is unlikely to benefit.
With these “friends”, Ugandans hardly need to look for their enemies. When the Museveni yoke is eventually lifted off Ugandans, as it will inevitable be at some point, Ugandans will be able to choose who their true friends are. As Dr Martin Luther King Jnr once said: “In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
Despite the imposition of an absolute prohibition on torture globally, Museveni’s regime continues to act with impunity, only occasionally making some public statements condemning it only aimed at calming and allaying concerns, before business continuing as usual. Some of the torture, murder and disappearances allegations are directly attributed to the first family. Investigations into the egregious human rights abuses are few and far between, with reports almost never being published, and are usually conducted following outside pressure.
Without the external support President Museveni getting, he would be unable to terrorise and bankrupt the country with impunity. While protecting their interests, our friends must also understand that the best way to do so is to invest in the people and institutions rather than an individual who is here today and gone tomorrow. The people of Uganda will in future choose their friends according to the way those friends co duct themselves towards Ugandans. This is nothing new – President Mandela pursued the same policy after apartheid was dismantled. It is not too late for our true friends to rise to the occasion, stand up and be counted.
On the local scene, regime collaborators as was the case with the national regime in Germany, are also firing on all cylinders with diversionary messages, be they religious leaders, businesses people, entertainment personalities or even politicians among the opposition ranks – they are being exposed and isolated to limit and control the harm they are causing to the struggle for freedom.
At the same time, a few regime members and supporters are demonstrating their decency and patriotism, by standing up to the regime they support to condemn the current repressions regardless. I was intrigued by the fresh statement today by a known regime apologist Dr Maggie Kigozi in social media, saying:”#l say no to torture. On the 6th of February 1986, a disciplined army NRA took over Uganda. Where are they?” Dr Margaret Blick Kigozi, commonly known as Maggie Kigozi, is a Ugandan medical doctor, business consultant, educator, and sportswoman. A consultant at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, she formerly served as the executive director of the Uganda Investment Authority. She has clearly chosen to stand up and be counted.
At the same time, some opposition politicians, appearing to be compromised by the regime, are instead calling for the victims of the repressions to give in and give up the struggle for freedom. Opposition Member of Parliament for Kimanya-Kabonera in Masaka City, has suggested that the victims negotiate with their jailer, probably to tone down their legitimate criticism of the regime, exchange for conditional regime freedom. This non-starter proposal appears to have been dismissed out of hand by even the victims themselves, who prefer and are seeking justice, and for their constitutional rights and freedoms to be upheld and protected. The local and international roll-call of decent and honest people regarding the Uganda human rights crisis is on and gaining momentum in earnest.
The writer is a Multilingual Human Rights Practitioner, formerly at the International Secretariat of Amnesty International in London for over 20 years and now Legal and Human Rights Consultant.
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