The unintended success of March2Parliament

Young people formerly known as ‘bazzukulu of President Yoweri Museveni’ are taking back what has always been theirs – their say in how Uganda is governed.

Depending on which newspaper accompanies your morning rituals, the hashtag ‘March2Parliament’ was either a success or a dead-on-arrival flop. Those who deem it a flop can argue that the march is yet to achieve any of its seven objectives, the main objective being the resignation of the speaker of parliament, Anita Among.

Even the prospect of marching has been severely curtailed by the state’s security apparatus. On the other hand, the march registered unintended successes. Let us be so bold as to name a few:

1. The state is looking ‘sus’: The state’s response towards the young people’s attempts to peacefully march against corruption has left the state looking ‘sus’ (Gen Z code for ‘suspicious’). Journalist Andrew Mwenda succinctly summarised the state’s response, noting that like the Ugandan young people, the state is learning from Kenya’s Gen Z protests.

It was comical in an ugly crying type of way, watching police officers rough up peaceful protesters and tear up the protesters’ rather harmless manila paper placards. The July 24 Daily Monitor front page headline, ‘Corruption Shield’ captured the grotesque irony the state finds itself in.

The state, through its heavy security apparatus, barricaded parliament – the house of the people’s representatives, preventing Ugandans from reaching the house that is effectively theirs. The optics are tragic for a regime that fought its way to power by overthrowing impunity. The march has succeeded in disrobing the regime. As one netizen tweeted, the young people are in jail while the corrupt go free.

The regime has come off as anti-people, anti-constitution; a hard sale for anyone who supports the regime. Successfully escorting state oppression like flower girls and page boys are the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) and the judiciary whose actions or lack of actions have left these national institutions exposed.

How the protesters were charged and remanded has exposed further how institutions under the NRM regime are aiding and abetting corruption, the glue of NRM’s grip on power. UHRC has a lofty mandate regarding the protection of human rights; therefore, its inaction is another grave missed opportunity.

While the police were vigorously manhandling protesters off the streets, one would have hoped that UHRC teams would be at the various police stations to ensure the rights of arrested protesters were upheld – but alas. UHRC has looked castrated and floppy; in light of the grave allegations of arrested protestors being sexually assaulted while in police custody. The UHRC has failed to show up for the human rights of Ugandans.

2. Young people leading by example: It’s been a heady and intense time with peaceful protesters being arrested and charged on questionable charges. Young people have called on each other to stand up against corruption – some in rather uncharitable ways. Popular comedian Moses Kiboneka/ Uncle Mo received a baptism of fire and brimstone when he made an ill-timed joke on the day of the march.

In a prime example of how quickly the tide on social media changes, Uncle Mo found himself backed into a tight corner with people baying for his blood. Several people took up the charge to set him straight, arguing that personalities with large followings need to use their voice responsibly. To his credit, Uncle Mo read the room and apologized unequivocally. A thing of beauty in our very polarised politics.

The government of Uganda could learn a thing or two from Uncle Mo. Others have been called out for using abusive or derogatory language against others – reminding each other that no personality is too big to be held accountable. That is success because having personalities that are too big to be held accountable is how we are in this corruption mess. Similarly, regime troll accounts that are slut- shaming activists like Agather Atuhaire have been rigorously rebuffed.

3. The success of unity: In the march, young people have coalesced around an issue that is beyond political parties, religion, ethnicity, etc. In rising up against corruption, more young people have found their voice. There is success in finding a cause that even regime apologists cannot deny. Especially poignant is the power of personal experiences with corruption.

On July 25, a young woman was arrested on church grounds while carrying a national flag and a placard that juxtaposed the extravagant displays of wealth by the parliament speaker with barefaced poverty where girls cannot stay in school owing to lack of sanitary pads.

Another protester carried a placard documenting how her parents died due to a lack of services in public hospitals. Others posted their portraits, detailing their names with messages to their parents (especially mothers). The theme of these heart-wrenching posts: “I am going out to march against corruption – in case, I don’t come back, tell my mother I did this for Uganda.”

One by one as people slowly shed off their fear and choose their portion of the struggle, they find strength in this mantra, “When we lose our fear, they lose their power!”

In an unprecedented wave of solidarity, the young people have been unrelenting in advocating for the arrested protesters. It is eye-opening that the arrested protesters include radio show anchors, bloggers, doctors, university students, activists – a segment of people usually accused of opting for the vibes of soft life over the struggle against impunity.

This has opened various avenues for participation that those who are unable to hit the streets and march have the option of supporting legal services, contributing to bail monies, standing as court sureties, meeting the welfare needs of those in custody and providing food, among others. More so, it allows the Ugandan diaspora to get involved. There is power in finding your lot, in accepting that the work of a Uganda that works is a struggle for everyone.

4. Solidarity across borders: The march has used online platforms especially X (formerly known as Twitter) to mobilise. Young people have harnessed social media to transcend the limitations of traditional broadcast media (radio and TV). The Ugandan youth have organised several spaces on X to rally people and communicate with each other. In some of these spaces, young Africans are transcending their physical borders, learning from each other about peaceful citizen activism.

A Kenyan participant warned the Ugandan youths to dig in for the long haul, equating citizen struggles against oppression to a marathon. If the strongmen of Africa will not hand over the mantle peacefully, young Africans are uniting and hiding in plain sight. The success here is twofold – online spaces mobilising young people and young Africans uniting virtually to build Africa back better.

5. Artistes joining in, calling others to lend their voices: Still in the spirit of solidarity, a few leading artistes/ celebrities such as Azawi have lent their voices to the march and urged their fellow artistes to take up this cause. Azawi on a July 27 space on X recounted how her sister died in childbirth due to lack of services, expressing her anger and disgust about corruption.

She reiterated that musicians owe it to Ugandans, their fans, to speak truth to power. Opposition leader Bobi Wine who entered the political arena with a formidable fan base has urged his fellow musicians to step into the ring, “If your people are not okay, you also won’t be okay as an artiste. Art, especially music, should not only be for entertainment but also for the betterment of society.”

In 2010, when President Museveni made his debut on the music scene, with his ‘You Want Another Rap’, he was not blind to the power of music to mobilize people.

6. Repression breeds Innovation:

The advantage of NRM’s Uganda is Ugandans know who they are dealing with. Dissent is a dangerous sport in NRM’s Uganda – and this is its ‘success.’ As President Museveni warned, we are playing with fire. Thus, the heart of this question – what does non-violent citizen activism look like in the face of the state’s coercive force? The answers will not come fast and furiously; Jesse Moore, a Kenyan entrepreneur, counsels, “The worst thing you can do is sit down and stop moving. Keep pushing forward and know that eventually the storm will clear up and you will reach the other end.”

The famous saying, ‘necessity is the mother of invention’ is derived from the Greek philosopher Plato who famously wrote, “Our need will be the real creator.” To that end, the march has influenced innovative tools like the missing persons website, https://missingpersonsug.org/. Given Uganda’s turbulent political history and today’s ‘we are playing with fire,’ this website has the potential to reach into our past and document the disappeared and forgotten Ugandans who suffered at the hands of previous regimes.

For the present and future, the website is a powerful tool in documentation – that in future, when Uganda’s public institutions can step up to the plate independently, such tools will be crucial in achieving justice and national reconciliation.

7. Dialogue is backbreaking work:

The march has exposed the regime’s unpreparedness for the heaviness of their now favourite word – dialogue. The young people talked about March2Parliamemt for weeks; for the police and the regime apologists to show up on the eve of the march preaching ‘dialogue’ is simply duplicitous.

Dialogue is not for the weak or the resistant; it requires us to acknowledge each other, accepting that all Ugandans, bazzukulu and grandparents, those who fought and those who were fought for, have an equal stake in the governance of their country. Brazilian philosopher and educationist, Paulo Freire in his book, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, argues that dialogue calls for humility and cannot exist without “a profound love for the world and for men”.

Freire contends, “How can I dialogue if I always project ignorance onto others and never perceive my own? How can I dialogue if I consider myself a member of the in-group of “pure” men, the owners of truth and knowledge, for whom all non-members are “these people” or “the great unwashed”?… How can I dialogue if I am closed to – and even offended by – the contribution of others? How can I dialogue if I am afraid of being displaced, the mere possibility causing me torment and weakness? Self-sufficiency is incompatible with dialogue.”

8. Dear reader, as we wait for true dialogue and most importantly action around corruption, we cannot forget the GOAT- the government of Uganda itself. Despite its abysmal performance in the fight against corruption and undisputed track record in militant repression, the state has yet to respond to the protests with its usual lethal cocktail of kiboko, tear gas and live bullets.

To have a protest in Uganda and not have even one stray bullet cause a slight case of death is a luxury we need to turn into a necessity. Whatever had led to such glad tidings within the formidable state apparatus of bullets and pink tear gas might be a chink in the regime’s bloodied armour but a good chink for the people of Uganda.

We might have to go down on our knees and appreciate the state for not ‘killing our children.’ We are grateful, ba dia.
smugmountain@gmail.com

The writer is a tayaad muzzukulu