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I am shocked Ugandan journalists are angry at being terrorized by security forces alongside other citizens as if they are a special category entitled to an exemption. This is a story of the state use of arbitrary violence against citizens, journalists only being a part!
When journalists position themselves as a special category that should be exempted from the indignities and violence other citizens suffer at the hands of the state, they lose sight of the actual story. The story becomes about them as a profession instead of all the citizens.
I am even more shocked some think this is new. The use of violence has been a characteristic feature of NRM from its inception. The issue has always been which group in which region is targeted based on its attitude towards NRM. The direction of this violence has changed.
The NRM claimed its struggle was against arbitrary use of violence by the state. But it used violence to come to power. I wonder why anyone would think it would restrain itself from employing the same violence to retain that power. It’s admires failed to see this.
This is why it’s critical for us to critique the groups that seek to wrestle power from NRM. What are their values? How do they treat those who criticize them? Without rising these issues we risk rotating on roundabout forever. And opposition activists hate me for this insight
There is nothing new about NRM’s behavior. That is why we don’t need a mere change from NRM as a group but as a system of rule. We need a group with a different politics - politics of tolerance of divergent views, of accommodation of diversity (ethnic, religious or ideological).
If we do not insist that the forces of change must demonstrate to us a different mode of conduct, then we are giving them license to remove Museveni but not Musevenism, NRM but not NRMism. That has been the persistent tragedy of Uganda and Africa - change of guard not of values.
A large cross section of Ugandan elites hate me for exposing this, their myths & shallowness; their tendency to be driven by momentary anger (perhaps understandable) and thus embracing one violent group to wrestle power from another and mistaking that for the change they want
I am not willing to trade Museveni’s violence with anyone else’s violence. If I disagree with u and instead of responding to my arguments u hurl insults and abuses at me, you are telling me how u will use state power when criticized. Then I know you are not the change we need!
It is harder to shape the behavior of any group once it captures power - for then it has money to rent political support and armies and weapons to coerce. But it is easier to shape the behavior of a group seeking power but all it has is the power of persuasion.
