Wednesday, November 13, 2013

The Indignity that has locked what used to be the Human Rights House

25th October 2013
Dear Mr. Sewanyana,

Greetings from Makerere, Uganda.
I am writing this to you unaware as to whether or not you have returned to the country. During your absence weird developments happened within the precincts of the Human Rights House. What happened is regrettable but I am sure it was inevitable. Injustice breeds injustice, corruption breeds corruption, intrigue breeds intrigue, disrespect breeds disrespect, dishonesty breeds dishonesty, etc. Good practices also breed goodness, justice breeds justice, respect breeds respect. I am sure you will find the scripture sources hereunder helpful in trying to understand the inevitable scandal that ensued at what for long I have taken to be the Human Rights House. I now believe it is a human indignity House
Galatians 6:7-8 “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life”.
Galatians 6:7: Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.
Job 4:8: As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same.
Luke 6:38: Give and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”
Proverbs 22:8: Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity, and the rod of his fury will fail.
Galatians 6:7-9: Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
Mark 4:24: And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you.
Galatians 5:24-6:18: And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. ...

Jeremiah 17:10: “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”
Philippians 2:3: Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
Hosea 10:12-13: Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord that he may come and rain righteousness upon you. You have plowed iniquity; you have reaped injustice; you have eaten the fruit of lies. Because you have trusted in your own way and in the multitude of your warriors,
Psalm 1:1-6 : Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; ...
1 Corinthians 9:7-12: Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk? Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? Does he not speak entirely for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you?
Ephesians 6:1-24: Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ.
2 Corinthians 9:6: The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

Galatians 6:1-18: Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load. ...
2 Corinthians 1:1-24: Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God that is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. ...
Romans 8:28: And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. “As for me, I would seek God, and to God would I commit my cause,
Genesis 8:22: While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”
1 Corinthians 9:16: For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!
Psalm 27:13: I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!
1 Samuel 2:1-36: And Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in the Lord; my strength is exalted in the Lord. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation. “There is none holy like the Lord; there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God. Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble bind on strength. Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger. The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children is forlorn. ...
Romans 16:1-27: I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae, that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well. Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia. ...
Genesis 1:9-12: And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
Matthew 26:52 : Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword.
Matthew 6:26 : Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
Matthew 5:7 : “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Luke 12:4: “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do.
Mark 16:14-18: Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Proverbs 20:1-30: Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise. The terror of a king is like the growling of a lion; whoever provokes him to anger forfeits his life. It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarreling. The sluggard does not plow in the autumn; he will seek at harvest and have nothing. The purpose in a man's heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out. ...
Psalm 126:1-6: A Song of Ascents. When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad. Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like streams in the Negeb! Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! ...
Genesis 1:24: And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so.
Matthew 13:1-12 : That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, ...
Matthew 7:12 : “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
Hosea 4:6: My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.
Romans 2:21: You then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal?
1 Peter 2:9: But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
2 Timothy 3:13: While evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
John 3:16-17: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Luke 9:26: For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
Luke 6:37: “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;
Matthew 10:32 : So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven,
Proverbs 11:27: Whoever diligently seeks good seeks favor, but evil comes to him who searches for it.
Proverbs 11:25: Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.

Genesis 3:1-24: Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” ...
2 Timothy 2:12: If we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us;
2 Thessalonians 1:6: Since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you,

1 Corinthians 9:11: If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you?
Hosea 8:7-10: For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. The standing grain has no heads; it shall yield no flour; if it were to yield, strangers would devour it. Israel is swallowed up; already they are among the nations as a useless vessel. For they have gone up to Assyria, a wild donkey wandering alone; Ephraim has hired lovers. Though they hire allies among the nations, I will soon gather them up. And the king and princes shall soon writhe because of the tribute.

Daniel 9:1-27
In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a Mede, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans— in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules. ... Psalm 38:6 “I am utterly bowed down and prostrate; all the day I go about mourning”.
1 Samuel 15:26 : And Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you. For you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.”
Genesis 1:1-31: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
The Genesis of the Friday October 18, 2013 human rights scandal at the “Human Rights House”
That I am disillusioned by what takes place in Uganda is no secret, it is public knowledge. President Museveni knows me and the lowest person in Kamabare, Kigarama, Bitereko knows me to be diametrically disillusioned by the decay in the Ugandan society.
Before you left office, I had sent you a philosophical message whose meaning I have now come to understand that you either didn’t decipher or if you did, you must have silently laughed at me for thinking moral decay, corruption, intrigue, dishonesty and pretence must be uprooted from our society. You also handed me a huge study (the right to education) to do and never left me with any money. Sh350,000 that I signed for is a pittance and couldn’t move me on a huge study such as the right to education. I never complained because I never sat with you to agree on the initial monetary requirements.
You may also have known that I have launched a serious battle against NGOs (Negativity Going On) that purport to speak for a civil society in Uganda which in my informed and highly learned view does not exist. Civil society organically evolves from below by the down-trodden; it doesn’t mechanically descend from above by the elites. Here in Uganda, NGOs are formed by the elites for purposes of enriching themselves and they hog the talking space as a form of accountability to the donors who give them money. Taxpayers from donor countries must prevail on their countries from giving us their money. Tell me how relevant FHRI is to a common man from Nyandago or Rwempungu in Kanyabwanga? How relevant is it to a widow in Kirera, Kashenshero? How relevant is it to a school dropout in Nyabyondo or Iraramira in Kiyanga Sub County? How can it be relevant to the down-trodden when it sat on my case which you Mr. Sewanyana told me to file through FHRI in 2008 and to date no explanation? Is that accountability?
Imagine I had to appeal to Frontline Defenders, International Crisis Group, Human Rights Watch, Fahamu among others. They referred me to Tabitha of Eastern and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders’ Project and Tabitha told me and she still told me that you, FHRI are in firm control of my case? I demand accountability now.
When I filed a suit in court, my case was dismissed without ever calling me and I hear my lawyer to court. And you thump your chest every day that you are human rights defenders. FHRI is now Foundation for Human Rights Indignity.
I worked for more than a year on a fulltime basis until I was thrown in jail because you ignored me. Tell the world whether you were paying me. The handout you were giving me was hardly enough from my rent. Have you asked yourself how I would survive? Can you ask Prof Barya or myself his product to take you through labour rights. Help yourself by at least reading the 8 core ILO Conventions. You Mr. Sewanyana are the leading human rights violator and you should by now hide your head in shame. You should immediately quit FHRI because although you started it, it is a membership organization and you and I are equal members. At least, you never gave me free life membership as an award which you can take away from me.
You have some people who call themselves lawyers but show utter ignorance of the law. What a shame? Read for yourself the whole of article 28 of the Constitution and if you cannot interprete it properly, Prof Oloka-Onyango is one of my living icons. He will help you understand it. Do you still remember the legal maxim of “audi alteram partem”? It means literally that you listen to two sides. Before you ordered police to block me, did you hear from me?
Do you have a right to block me from accessing East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project offices located at the same Human Rights House?
How I entered the FHRI Family
I first learnt of FHRI twelve years ago when I was a freshman in the University from village schools Kigarama SSS and Bubangizi SSS in Bitereko Sub county and Kashenshero Sub County respectively. Both schools are in Ruhinda. I entered the University Bookshop Makerere (UBM) and landed on a defender Magazine writing about Besigye, a man I had vigorously campaigned for and voted but was at that time in exile. I found the Magazine very good, read the profile of the organization and fell in love with it, a year or so later I consummated the marriage. Thus, I have been a member of FHRI for 10 years now and a life member since 2005. So, where do you derive the right to chase me from our social or collective family? As the ED you know very well that you have worked in that position beyond what the original FHRI Constitution mandated you to do? Accordingly, your being ED of FHRI is ultravires.
In the first AGM I attended in 2004, I raised quite a number of substantial issues. I also remember when members proposed that as FHRI, we steer clear of political matters, I said human rights and democracy issues are necessarily political issues. I emphasized that we must inevitably engage in political debates, discourses and developments but from a non-partisan angle. During the tea break, it is you who came to me, handed me your card and told me you like my brilliant ideas and you associate yourself with them. I was greatly humbled, exceedingly honoured by your humility and I have since Since then, I have directly dealt with you not through intermediaries.
When I was a full time staff member, you would proudly tell us there were 19 projects which personally I never saw. Could that mean FHRI has been running ghost projects? I owned a Volkswagen Golf Vehicle in 2009 when I was being exploited by you. I was paying fees for some of my relatives. I used to dress up very properly and I was sleeping in a decent place. Or you think I was stealing. The Bible says, those who work in the temple get their food from the temple. Good work pays. Wait when you find me either president of Uganda or UN secretary general. If society had not been killed by the likes of you who are in bed with dictators and get more funding from donors than political parties, I would be a high ranking career diplomat. You seem not to know that I studied diplomacy and international relations.
About Doreen Namyalo, FHRI Manager Right to Life Project
I saw Doreen enter FHRI as a young girl; I saw her win a Masters scholarship. I saw her come back to FHRI. Prior to Thursday 17, 2013 when she shamelessly insulted me and dehumanized me publicly just because I was talking about certain issues to Penny, I had never had any iota of dispute with her. If I could withstand the indignity that Wendy subjected to me, Charles Olweny and Mike Kayiwa telling us every day we had no right to be there. If I never complained about Carol Adoch who I found very difficult for she one time denied me my allowance in Seeta during the prisons’ conference; if I swallowed the indignity of not being paid a penny when others were earning huge millions of money. If I later had to ignore Edmond with all he did to me and to Charles. What did I have to do with Doreen? Let Betty do the full explanation. In fact because of the dehumanization Doreen poured onto me, I decided to go home that very day, Betty said she would raise money for a bus fare only to be tricked by my brother January Sunday who was called I may imagine by Betty who dropped me at the Amnesty Commission office.
Doreen couldn’t chase me from FHRI because she didn’t appoint me there. She said where she works from is her office and I thought otherwise. You have now confirmed that you are FHRI, and all the workers there can with impunity abuse all the clients and members of the public. I will sit down and write an article for all major media outlets in the world. I will write to all the donors and I will offer to be a whistle blower in the anti-corruption court against you.

Tell the public the method of staff recruitment, retention, promotion, the mode of payment and whether FHRI abides by its number core value of equal opportunity. Remember when I sent an email to Sheila as you were in South Africa, when I found you reading it you told me not to write but to ask for opportunities. Don’t you know me? Do all people who get opportunities have to first lobby for them? Or you don’t know that lobbying is corruption.
In the next AGM you should display all the pay slips so that we know you are transparent. What criterion do you use to select people to go for conferences, fellowships and roundtables abroad?

How could FHRI put me in handcuffs, throw me in police cells and thereafter in Butabika and order that they inject me? You will pay dearly for that. And you have incompetent lawyers who know so little about the law and are too full of themselves. I read all the major international law that is relevant in my work. It is courts of law that legally should refer suspects to psychiatrists if they doubt their sanity. On the orders of George Musiisi, a proud lawyer from Uganda Christian University (UCU) Mukono Rose Kamuli drives me to Butabika, bribes the nurses, they forcefully inject me with chemicals I don’t know and deprive me of my money USD 2200. Shame on you FHRI.
Finally, why should workers not members represent FHRI on boards of organizations/institutions to which FHRI is affiliated? Where is the sense of ownership by the members? Remember I have two board members that I brought into FHRI. It is me who convinced Celestine Mugisha my brother to pay up full membership. It is me who recruited Rev John Kateeba, I recruited Prof Yasin Olum and very many other people. I have the e-mailing list of all members and I will share with them the views I hold of FHRI. At least, before I became a member to FHRI, I was a human being, a Munyankore, a Mukiga, a Catholic, a human rights defender. I will not bow to injustice by anyone. I have told off Museveni. I have told off Kayihura and I don’t think I can spare you when you deviate from the moral path. You either repent or perish.
Good luck
Vincent Nuwagaba
+256702843552

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