Resisting Museveni is ‘illegal’ but also ‘right’
By Nathan Iron Emory
7th Nov 2011: The Walk-to-Work protests have triggered some impulses in the Ugandan psyche. In my view, the purpose of the protests was to arouse change in the social consciousness, thinking, and the inaction of our coerced population.
If Ugandans want change, they ought to know that success will only come after a deliberate effort to weave together multiple strategies as numerous and successful social justice movements did in the past. The combined efforts in awareness, public education, mass participation in non-violent demonstrations and militant resistance will have to be married to deliver success.
“Legal” is not the same as “Right”. Apartheid, the Holocaust, and Slavery were all “Legal” but “Wrong”. On the other hand, resisting those injustices were all deemed “illegal” at the time but they were not “wrong”. It is therefore incumbent upon all Ugandans to resist anything repressive to our nation and oppressive to our lives. Ugandans can, and should employ any means they deem fit to tackle these problems. It is a right!
Nobody can stop or prove this position wrong. This is the central reason why many revolutions are also Mass People Movements in character. Such a movement will bring Ugandans together and make the struggle a national concern, a collective will of the people to free themselves from oppression, exploitation, corruption and domination by a minority group.
The electricity of change should permeate the atmosphere. It should fill every corner of our country. This is the magnetic force of the moment. Yet this moment – this window in time, in which Ugandans seem to have awoken from a long slumber, is also one that will be rife with challenges and potential pitfalls. But we must never waver.
I also think that when protesters are faced with “unjustified” aggression by the state security agencies, then they would be fully “justified” if they decide to apply commensurate self defence force against Maj. Gen Kale Kayihura’s cops. To the vanguard of the peoples’ revolution, I say this:
Exhibit full courage and creativity! You must be ready to sacrifice and improvise. You must be highly potent political performers and situation analysts. Ugandans need liberation. The rage among Wanainchi is now uncontrollable and they will not, and should not kneel before Museveni again.
They must take matters into their own hands and defend human dignity. And one way of doing that is to embark on peaceful protests across the country. These actions, led by the people themselves, will kick-start what will be remembered as the “mother of all mass civil rights campaigns”. Only through such sacrifices will we have any hope of getting our back from the NRM vultures tearing it apart.
Taking back our country is fully justifiable because the intentions of the people are good. Even after 25years in power, the NRM regime has failed to nurture democracy, the rule of law, and human rights. There is therefore a need for their mess to be brought to a sudden and painful end, and end that will ensure that no one ever does what Museveni has done to our motherland.
We have witnessed our country being mortgaged. We have witnessed our national assets like public corporations and properties being sold off in the name of creating development and gentrification. Many citizens have been forcibly evicted out of their ancestral land by the looters without compensation. They are powerless.
Demos in Greek means “people” and Cracy means “rule”. Put it together and you get “rule by the people”, and that is what democracy is all about. Just because Museveni led guerrilla war that toppled the bad governance of General Tito Okello and so forth does not make him a good leader. A French existentialist philosopher John-Paul Sartre once wrote:
“…Man is therefore nothing else than the ensemble of his acts, nothing else than his life.” What that means is that in the end, Museveni can only be defined by the totality of his actions. And the totality of his policies and actions will bare witness to his true character, his virtues, and his vices. His regime is repressive and intolerant beyond match.
Time has come for Ugandans to reign in errant rulers and take responsibility for their governance. We can no longer tolerate notorious regimes like Museveni’s. The only question remaining is what will Ugandans ACTUALLY do about it?
Is peoples’ inaction fostering misery within themselves? If all Ugandans have to live good lives, then they must see to it that NO one uncaringly benefits or turns a blind eye to the oppression of others, simply because it hasn’t reached his family yet! It will only be a matter of time before it does. I can bet my life on that! So get up and do something now.
It may only take the form of sharing resistance ideas with others, or writing critical articles for all to read, or writing a blog, or being a whistleblower, or simply cheering protesters and giving a bottle of water.
So opportunities for resistance are inexhaustible. What we must never do is limit the struggle for social change to any one activity. We must be creative, constantly changing tactics to keep ahead of the enemies of the people’s freedom. The enemy of social change is fatalistic complacency. The future is un-written. The future does not exist. It has not been made. It is made only as we make it.
The question we should be asking ourselves is: What sort of future do we want? Whatever it is we want, we can build it together. Be among the beginners and act today “For God and Your Country”! END. Please login to www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories and anytime mid-week for our news updates.
