I am made to understand that the March 23, 2024 demonstration dubbed “marchtoparliament” was much anticipated in some circles. It was timed to coincide with the GenZ protests in Kenya which saw the capital, Nairobi, and other cities, come to a standstill. Subsequently, President William Ruto’s government made concessions, including disbanding his cabinet.
The GenZ (youthled movement which claims to be faceless) hinged their action on Finance Bill 2024, corruption and other governance issues. Their bravery, coordination, articulation of their grievances and numbers sent a strong message but fell short of achieving the main objective that they advanced to-the demand for President Ruto to resign.
Hopefully, Kenya can find a safe way out of the situation and total stability and continuity is restored. We have long understood that when Kenya is tense or unstable, we are affected greatly, she being the gateway to our hinterland country through which our exports and imports come and go.
So, when last Tuesday, a section of activists attempted to replicate the Kenya situation in Uganda, tagging their action on fighting corruption, it was mainly a matter of “copyandpaste”, probably coordinated from the same center away from both countries. But in the end, the Kampala demonstrations came to naught. Uganda is unlike Kenya in a number of respects. There is something in the Ugandan’s psyche informed by our past experiences as a nation. Ugandans are a peace-loving people, averse to destroying the tranquility that eluded them before the advent of President Yoweri Museveni.
Kenya was peaceful at a time Uganda was going through untold turmoil in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, plus 1990s and early 2000s due to civil wars in parts of the country. In 2007-2008, Kenya suddenly went up in smoke due to pent up tension that had been building up underneath the carpet of stability and since then, the tensions have never calmed definitively which is why a situation over debatable issues like a Bill in Parliament could quickly spiral into a nearly uncontrollable national security crisis. But that is for Kenyans!
Back in Kampala, the idea of demonstrating or marching against societal ills is something that all patriotic Ugandans could well consider and be part of. But with security advisories and the involvement of “hidden faces” with ulterior motives detected in planning the demonstrations, the success rate of such action drastically fell.
Ugandans are to be commended for loving their country while exercising caution in the things they do.
It’s unfortunate that we still have a section of mostly young people who are misled to ignore advice from parents, the leadership and security just because they have been paid or enticed to become confrontational on causes without direction or effect. In previous episodes of riots engineered by politicians, a number of youths found themselves on the wrong side of the law. They ended up in jail or with injuries while those who sponsored or incited them remained at large, enjoying with their families; partying, marrying and being taken in marriage, building mansions and careers, visiting world capitals and meeting funders regularly while shedding crocodile tears. Ugandans are long tired of being deceived and taken for a ride by these self-seeking actors trying to destroy what the ordinary Ugandan has worked hard for. Yes, Uganda faces challenges in many forms including unemployment, biting poverty, corruption and inefficiency and governance questions but they cannot be resolved by creating more problems such as setting our cities on fire. That is where the so-called anti-corruption crusaders go wrong-the approach matters!
It’s not a matter of If you say there is corruption, what has that go to do with attacking other citizens freely attending to their business or those uninterested in being part of your actions? Even then, how many corrupt have been smoked out or frightened by merely going to the streets and shouting? Mass action works with popular support. And with popular support, no cause can be lost. The fact that the march flopped means that it was not well thought out and executed.
Furthermore, it lacked goodwill of those at the forefront of fighting corruption like His Excellency the President, heads of the anti-corruption agencies and even myself. My attempt to reach out to the organisers of the march to better understand what they wanted to do and what they wanted to achieve so as to consider whether and how to join in were in vain. There appeared to be a hand pushing away other participants in order to keep it in the hands of a few. I was, therefore, not surprised when reports came in to point to the involvement of foreign backers, whose interests were more aimed at “regime change” than pursuing the cause they were publicly declaring. If that’s not an act of corruption, it is treasonous or both! There is no way they would involve someone like me working with government because they feared that we would discover and reveal their game plan.
Nevertheless, security agencies know better.
A humble appeal to youths is to avoid being exploited for unclear causes which can lead them into harm’s way. Fighting and resisting corruption is a noble, in fact, very patriotic duty which every Ugandan is enjoined to be part of. However, using the fight against corruption to advance other ideas detrimental to Uganda’s existence should never be entertained. Together, we can defeat corrupt but without ruining the good progress achieved.
The author is the Deputy Press Secretary to the President of Uganda
Contact: kirundaf2@gmail.com
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