For a long time now, Ugandans and foreigners have praised
the government of President Yoweri Museveni for being ‘tolerant’ of press
freedom. I have been inconsistent on this issue. Sometimes I believe we enjoy a
relatively good level of media freedom and freedom of expression generally yet
at times I feel the creeping hand of fascism. Part of this confusion results
from the personalised way in which our country is run ‘ nothing of significance
happens without the president’s personal involvement.
Thus, when Museveni has been in good mood or on top of public
debate, he has allowed and defended a high degree of free debate. Yet whenever
he has felt threatened, he has not hesitated to unleash the wrath of the state
on anyone who dares challenge him. Thus, over the years, critical voices in our
media have been systematically eliminated or threatened ‘ some through bribery
using state patronage like Teddy Sseezi Cheeye and Tamale Mirundi, some have
been forced into exile like Charles Onyango-Obbo and Conrad Nkutu, others have
been killed and the rest have tens of criminal charges against them.
Over the last four weeks, Museveni and his apparatchik have
launched a frontal assault on independent media. They shut down five Luganda FM
stations for ‘telling lies’ (never mind it is the president who judges what is true
and what is false), for ‘insulting the president’ (it is Museveni who calls his
predecessors swine and refers to journalists as vultures) and ‘inciting the
public’ (yet there is evidence of government inciting one ethnic group,
Banyala, against another, Baganda).
Then government demanded and media owners accepted to
suspend bimeza (public debate) on national issues. The government also demanded
and media owners accepted to remove radio and television talk-show hosts whom
the state objects to. Indeed, with that level of intimidation, most media
decided to censor themselves. A classic example is KFM radio. Once the bastion
of free speech, KFM and Monitor management took all their radio talk-shows off
air and instead throughout the crisis aired Museveni’s speech ‘ ‘the truths’ ‘
about what was happening.
For many years, there has been a general consensus that
Museveni personally is tolerant free debate. I am a part time believer in this
view because both through personal interaction with him and reading about the
man, Museveni comes across as an enlightened president. Yet there is a fascist
side to him that is scary. This is the man who scorns the rule of law (he has
sent hooded gangs to invade courts of law), shuns due process (believes that
military court martial ordered public executions offer better justice than our
civil court system) and is always ready and willing to run rough-shod over
rights in person and property (like he did with Kizza Besigye in 2005).
The kidnapping of talk-show host Robert Kalundi Serumaga,
his detention and torture for speaking his opinions are only a tip of an
iceberg. The current manhunt against Kampala Central Member of Parliament (MP),
Elias Lukwago, is another example of an extended effort to suppress dissent.
These are not actions of a strong government. They are desperate acts of a
regime that has lost both popular support and legitimacy but still wants to
cling to power at all costs.
The current crackdown on dissent should be understood in the
context of the 2011 elections. Having survived a second round with only 638,911
votes, it seems Museveni and his apparatchiks are scared of a presidential
election. The plan is therefore to stifle all voices of dissent, deny the
opposition a platform to challenge the status quo and use fear and intimidation
to retain power. The evidence to back these suspicions is contained in the
proposed election amendment bill before parliament. Apparently, the government
is proposing that election results can only be announced by the Electoral Commission
after seven days.
On top of this, the government is involved in the
procurement of services for the registration of voters. Without public support,
the NRM’s election strategy may be to place many ghost voters on the register
to bolster its chances. It is inconvenient to openly rig an election in an
atmosphere of free debate and free dissemination of news. Therefore, the first
step on the road to a massively rigged election is to intimidate journalists
and media owners, accuse them of telling lies and force them into
self-censorship.
Will these strategies work? It depends. Independent media
owners may make short term compromises to safeguard their businesses. Although
this may win them short term survival advantage, it will certainly lead to
their demise in the long term. A fascist system does not come by the gallop but
by the creep. There will never be enough compromises to a regime that is
rapidly losing legitimacy. Every day, it will demand more from the media owners
and from journalists. Since diverse media like we have in Uganda can only
thrive in a free environment, the consistent closure of this space with the
acquiescence of media owners will lead to their doom.
A democracy cannot exist when everyone works for themselves.
It is through organised political expression of one’s interest that any group
can engage the state in an effectively healthy confrontation to elicit
concessions from it. Media owners and journalists and the wider intellectual
class in Uganda need to close ranks and defend our liberty. NRM leaders too
should support efforts to defend our country from self destruction.
Otherwise our fate will best be captured in the words of
Martin Niemoller, a German clergyman, in a poem criticising German
intellectuals for acquiescing to Adolf Hitler’s rule. ‘First they came for the
communists and I did not speak out because I was not a communist,’ he wrote,
‘Then they came for the socialists and I did not speak out because I was not a
socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews and I did not
speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me and there was no one
to speak for me.’
amwenda@independent.co.ug
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