Vincent Nuwagaba
On Saturday 28 May, I was watching a programme on NBS Television which I was told is NBS Kids. I was not following keenly but I got interested when the presenter of the programme interviewed a kid who happens to be around 5 years old. The presenter asked the kid what annoys him most and the answer was the Police. When the kid was asked why the Police irk him, the young boy said, “They are bad because they torment innocent people with bullets and tear gas”. When asked what the police should do, he said, in Luganda, “Bave ku masasi ne tiya gasi bakole emirimo gyabwe” meaning “They should do away with bullets and tear gas and concentrate on their job”.
I was thrilled that a young boy of around five years understands very well that the police are bad people and that he knows that the job of the police is not to mete out violence and torture onto innocent civilians. Under Article 212 of the Constitution the functions of the Uganda Police Force include - (a) to protect life and property (b) to preserve law and order; (c) to prevent and detect crime; and (d) to co operate with the civilian authority and other security organs established under the constitution and with the population generally. I am sure to the amazement of the kid; the police have arrogated themselves Powers to threaten life and property and to provoke lawlessness and disorder. This is why I strongly assert that they are the ones provoking riots hence earning themselves a bad name – Provocation Officers not Police Officers and the institution now, Uganda Provocation Force, not Uganda Police Force.
The boy clearly stated that the bullets are meant to kill. I was left with nothing but maximum admiration for the young man. I admired him because he speaks my language and at his tender age he has already cut himself into a human rights defender and peacemaker.
But I also learnt that his primary agent of socialization – his family must be a noble family that cherishes justice. I would call upon the family and teachers of this young man whose name unfortunately I didn’t get, to continue shaping this young man into an unwavering defender of social justice. I also learnt that the educated and grown up people are not the monopoly of knowledge and I further learnt that anything that is illegitimate is discernible even to those we deride for not having attained formal education. In the court of public opinion –including toddlers the police has lost the case. The IGP and his superiors who undoubtedly sanctioned what the police have been and continue to do are also losers in the court of public opinion. This brings me to another issue of concern: the looming constitutional viruses with which the Fountain of Honour intends to infect our Constitution will be loathed by many including those who don’t know that we have in place a constitution. I borrow constitutional viruses and infection from the two leading constitutional law professors, Justice George W.Kanyeihamba and Joe Oloka-Onyango.
The words of the young boy reminded me of two things – the first, the statement attributed to Pope John Paul II that, “Man is born to live; war is meant to kill” and the second is the song by students while we were at Makerere University. During that time, whenever students, especially from the Mighty Empire, Lumumba (no pun intended if you are/were not a Lumumbist) would see the Police, they would sing, “Police, our murderers, we shall never forget you”. This was because of the brutality the Police often meted out on students. I am told, these days, they have substituted forget with forgive and they thus, sing “Police, our murderers, we shall never forgive you”. This shows how terrible the situation is. For the years I spent in Makerere, I often witnessed the police flushing out students in their halls and hostels in case there was a demonstration and flog them and take some to the cells. To the Police, I am happy; it is the children who have now blacklisted you. Please, be good Police Officers and not provocation officers and to the IGP, be an Inspector General of Police and not Inspector General of Provocation. I call upon MPs not to become Museveni’s Parliamentarians but Members of Parliament. Accordingly, they must enact laws for the good of Uganda not for the regime interests. Short of that, they will also be blacklisted by children akin to what has happened to the Police. To me, the NBS kid is the leading Ugandan human rights defender and I welcome him to the human rights family.
Mr. Nuwagaba is a human rights defender
vnuwagaba@gmail.com
Showing posts with label Children rights. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Children rights. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
We should try entrusting national leadership with children
Vincent Nuwagaba
First published by The Razor News paper on Wednesday July 20, 2011
In the recent past I wrote about a kid who said he was incensed by the police because they use teargas and live bullets against innocent Ugandans. The views of that kid prompted me to do more interviews with the kids and so far my findings are amazing. I have come to realise that kids are more patriotic, more compassionate and possibly not less intelligent than the old people that we have. Because of what I have found out, I am beginning to question the relevance of having only mature people vote but also occupy public offices.
Just recently, I came across another young girl and I asked her what her name was and she told me she was called Sheba Najjemba aged nine years and that she is a Primary Four West pupil at Sir Apollo Kaggwa Nakasero. I asked her any two things that make her happy and she told me her family and school. When asked why, she said, “In my family they teach me good manners; how to respect elders, helping in household chores, and being a good girl”. She added, “And of course, you cannot be a good girl if you are not God-fearing”. Then, I asked her why her school makes her happy, she said, “At school they teach us to build for the future and become responsible citizens”. She added, “For instance, they teach us that if one is to become a doctor, they must place emphasis on science and mathematics”.
I then went ahead and asked her what annoyed her and she told me, “Corruption and child sacrifice”. I was so thrilled about the answers that this child gave me. Then I had another conversation with another pupil at Agakhan Primary school called Che Guavara, commonly known as Che. Che told me he doesn’t like the current regime because ministers squander public funds and they are never penalized for what they do. As for Moureen Eree a sixteen year old student in Senior Four at Good Shepherd High School Bweyogerere, it is painful that there are Ugandans who die because there are no drugs in hospitals and she blames the president for that. She says that if she was to become a member of parliament she would not seek fat salaries or Four Wheel Drive vehicles but her people. That she would make sure they have electricity, good roads and quality standards of living.
I was amazed that when I asked the impact of corruption the children knew quite well that it was responsible for lack of drugs in hospitals, poor roads and poor education standards, inter alia.
I am convinced that children can make better MPs because so far majority of them – with exception of those that have been brought up by corrupt parents, are not yet spoilt. Since, the constitution cannot easily be amended to knock out age and education requirements for one to become a parliamentarian, I would like to urge the civil society activists and the donors to support the idea of having a shadow parliament mainly composed of children wherein the voices of the children can always be captured. I am even convinced that the children are innocent and don’t want too much so they cannot drain our facilities for selfish aggrandisement.
My findings debunk the notion that knowledge is a preserve of the old and the most highly educated. In fact, there are some people who lose relevance as they advance both in age and formal education. I am sure many of you might have heard people wondering why certain people ever went to school. Our children are disappointed that public institutions are dysfunctional yet Ugandans part with lots of money through taxes. As our President talks of a referendum over bail, we should all push for a referendum to have children participate actively in issues of national concern. Since old men and women have betrayed us, why don’t we entrust national leadership with children. For God and my country!
The writer is a human rights defender
mpvessynuwagaba@gmail.com
First published by The Razor News paper on Wednesday July 20, 2011
In the recent past I wrote about a kid who said he was incensed by the police because they use teargas and live bullets against innocent Ugandans. The views of that kid prompted me to do more interviews with the kids and so far my findings are amazing. I have come to realise that kids are more patriotic, more compassionate and possibly not less intelligent than the old people that we have. Because of what I have found out, I am beginning to question the relevance of having only mature people vote but also occupy public offices.
Just recently, I came across another young girl and I asked her what her name was and she told me she was called Sheba Najjemba aged nine years and that she is a Primary Four West pupil at Sir Apollo Kaggwa Nakasero. I asked her any two things that make her happy and she told me her family and school. When asked why, she said, “In my family they teach me good manners; how to respect elders, helping in household chores, and being a good girl”. She added, “And of course, you cannot be a good girl if you are not God-fearing”. Then, I asked her why her school makes her happy, she said, “At school they teach us to build for the future and become responsible citizens”. She added, “For instance, they teach us that if one is to become a doctor, they must place emphasis on science and mathematics”.
I then went ahead and asked her what annoyed her and she told me, “Corruption and child sacrifice”. I was so thrilled about the answers that this child gave me. Then I had another conversation with another pupil at Agakhan Primary school called Che Guavara, commonly known as Che. Che told me he doesn’t like the current regime because ministers squander public funds and they are never penalized for what they do. As for Moureen Eree a sixteen year old student in Senior Four at Good Shepherd High School Bweyogerere, it is painful that there are Ugandans who die because there are no drugs in hospitals and she blames the president for that. She says that if she was to become a member of parliament she would not seek fat salaries or Four Wheel Drive vehicles but her people. That she would make sure they have electricity, good roads and quality standards of living.
I was amazed that when I asked the impact of corruption the children knew quite well that it was responsible for lack of drugs in hospitals, poor roads and poor education standards, inter alia.
I am convinced that children can make better MPs because so far majority of them – with exception of those that have been brought up by corrupt parents, are not yet spoilt. Since, the constitution cannot easily be amended to knock out age and education requirements for one to become a parliamentarian, I would like to urge the civil society activists and the donors to support the idea of having a shadow parliament mainly composed of children wherein the voices of the children can always be captured. I am even convinced that the children are innocent and don’t want too much so they cannot drain our facilities for selfish aggrandisement.
My findings debunk the notion that knowledge is a preserve of the old and the most highly educated. In fact, there are some people who lose relevance as they advance both in age and formal education. I am sure many of you might have heard people wondering why certain people ever went to school. Our children are disappointed that public institutions are dysfunctional yet Ugandans part with lots of money through taxes. As our President talks of a referendum over bail, we should all push for a referendum to have children participate actively in issues of national concern. Since old men and women have betrayed us, why don’t we entrust national leadership with children. For God and my country!
The writer is a human rights defender
mpvessynuwagaba@gmail.com
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
The African child is a victim of “Liberal democracy” which lays emphasis on individual as opposed to social rights
VINCENT NUWAGABA
The African continent celebrates the day of the African child every 16th of June. This year’s theme was “Accelerated Child survival and Development; creating a safe environment for Children”. We need reflect on the day of the African child and the theme by looking at the plight of the African child. As the saying goes charity begins at home, I will concentrate on the plight of the Ugandan child not because I am insensitive and indifferent to other children on the African continent but because it is the Ugandan child whose plight I am fully aware of for I have witnessed with my naked eye stark child abuse and neglect and I am fully involved in human rights research including research on juvenile justice.
Majority of Ugandan children are the wretched of the earth if I can borrow Franz Fanon’s parlance. Uganda is a country with extreme wealth alongside extreme poverty. The poverty-stricken parents as a matter of fact have their children facing the full brunt of poverty. Uganda is bedeviled by vices of child labour, child prostitution, defilement, child trafficking, and child sacrifice among others. It is also vital to note that besides children-specific troubles, they are not spared the other problems that have bedeviled our society.
Given the nature of Africans where social responsibility is very crucial, whether or not one has a child, he/she must necessarily have some children depending on him/her. In Africa, children belong to society not to their biological parents. And this where I agree with the problem when he says bano bana ba ggwanga, a Luganda word meaning these are the nation’s children. I only find it strange that his government doesn’t give them the necessary attention they deserve to enable them make a meaningful contribution in future since they are the pillars of our nation, our continent and our world. Our children truly have biological parents but all of us are social parents to these children and therefore have a social obligation to ensure their welfare. I happen to have very many children calling me uncle and brother including my neighbours’ and friends’ children. These children have a lot of expectations in me. However, if I am terribly suffering from the clutches of unemployment, it becomes virtually impossible to extend a helping hand. Yet, personally I was helped when I was studying. It would only be fair that I do exactly what other members of our society did to me. Unemployment also hits a hard blow on children whose parents might have spent all the resources educating their elder brothers and sisters expecting that they will extend a hand to their siblings.
In Uganda, we have children whose parents have died of HIV/AIDS. Some of these of these children are infected with the virus while all of them are affected. This disease has left so many child headed households. I don’t know of any child headed home that gets financial or any other material support from our government through the ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD) under whose docket children fall. Most of the household heads who are too young to play any meaningful role in the homes they head end up being frustrated as a result of being overwhelmed by responsibility. Ultimately these children flee their homes and go to stay in town centres. In order for them to survive some of them end up working in bars, quarries, brothels, become motorcycle riders and involve themselves in hazardous activities including turning into petty thieves, drug abusers and so forth. These activities are detrimental to the children mentally, psychologically and physically. This is antithetical to the four general principles accentuated by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the children; namely, non-discrimination, the best interest principle, the right to life, survival and development, the child’s views about his or her own situation or simply put the right to freedom of expression. I elaborate how far these principles are enforced or not enforced in Uganda.
Non-discrimination
The children of the well placed people in government and close associates to the powers that be attend the best schools at the expense of the Ugandan taxpayer, they have the first class medical treatment and I am sure many of them don’t get treatment from Mulago. This is contrary to the NRM’s avowed reasons as to why they fought the so-called past dictators. One wonders whether those who genuinely joined the struggle to oust dictatorship such as Comrade Mugisha Muntu are not breeding at heart up to this day when they see that the revolution they sacrificed to champion and actualise has utterly been betrayed by the very person who nurtured the revolution idea and saw it to fruition.
Best interest principle
The best interest principle which is in other words referred to as the welfare principle is the cardinal principle that has even been accentuated in Uganda’s Children Act. According to the principle whatever should be done should reflect the best interests and the welfare of the child. If a child for instance faces problems either from the mother or the father, measures must be put in place to ensure that the welfare of the children is guaranteed. Because the Ministry in Charge of Children is always starved of funds, not much has been done to ensure this principle is implemented and enforced. At least even the budget that was recently read never underscored the importance of funding the inspectorate department of the MGLSD. This frustrates the ministry work however well-intentioned the ministry staff may be. This is despite the existence of a multitude of laws and instruments meant to protect children rights both domestic and international. For instance, Uganda ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the African Child Charter, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, among others. All these instruments clearly enshrine the rights to be enjoyed by the children. The government also has more often avowed its commitment to actualise the eight Millennium Development Goals all of which are reflected in the core instrument of children rights, the Convention on the rights of the child.
On the right to life; survival and development
I state unequivocally that we are still below the mark. The right to life, survival and development is very difficult to attain amidst biting poverty levels in our country that have hit children the hardest. Right now famine in North-Eastern Uganda in areas of Teso and Karamoja is threatening to cause human extinction. In the wake of such a catastrophe, the question is who takes care, who speaks for the voiceless children? Ironically, poverty threatens one region in Uganda when some other regions are experiencing plenty and reach the extent of feeding bananas to cows. At least western Uganda doesn’t face the problem of famine. Government has not put in measures to help those in need at this crucial moment. So the question is, whose responsibility is it to provide security to citizens including security from hunger and starvation which is partly number one of the Millennium Development Goals? It is my considered opinion that much as many of the rights of the children are positive in nature in a sense that we must commit resources if they are to be realized, it would not be difficult to realize them if we were not encumbered by the corruption monster.
Freedom of expression
I am sure it is news to many Ugandans that children have a right to express their own views. It is only children who were born with silver spoons in their mouth that can say, Dad, I need a shirt, I need this or that. The children of the peasants whom we always appeal for votes however, are as powerless as their parents. But also, although this is a right, as long as it remains unknown to the general public, children inclusive, it becomes meaningless to talk about it. I need not restate that the ministry in charge of children is always starved of funds yet this is a crucial ministry as it is a human rights-based ministry. In Uganda children have never been given a forum to express themselves. I believe the little step we have made forward is largely attributed human rights non-governmental organisations. Trade unions would also be crucial in this area especially in combating child labour only that the government has deliberately made efforts to muzzle them and turn them into appendages of the NRM party in which case criticizing the party leads to them being branded as rebels. And the reason is largely if not wholly because the government usually extends funds to some trade unionists to contest for leadership positions including parliamentary positions.
Best practices we can borrow from our neighbours
In Rwanda for instance, they have passed a policy for each primary school to own a laptop computer and it is going to work. Rwandan children put on shoes as opposed to Uganda where shoes are a preserve of the privileged children. In Uganda, even in my district Bushenyi which is called a model district, majority of the children in primary school don’t put on shoes. In Rwanda, health insurance covers everyone so if anyone fell sick they can access treatment anywhere in any hospital and failure to go for treatment; one is charged with criminal negligence.
In Rwanda, the government abhors profligacy and this explains why government officials don’t drive posh vehicles which they park as soon as they finish work. In comparative terms, in Uganda government vehicles are used during dating, weddings and merrymaking of any sort outside the working hours. Not only do they depreciate but also the government officials use government fuel for private work. It is not uncommon to find government vehicles carrying charcoal and some have been seen in areas were prostitutes sell themselves. To make matters worse it is not uncommon to find a minister with say four government vehicles. One vehicle, he uses it himself, another o gives it to his son or daughter and does whatever he/she wants with the other two. All these vehicles are fuelled using taxpayers’ money and they do depreciate. The money that would be used to provide essential services is wantonly abused without any sense of decorum! This is a social evil! It is the highest form of corruption that has been presided over by a leader who promised to crush corruption and one might have thought that in one month it was to be history.
Ironically, I would argue that Rwanda was reborn after the 1994 genocide and Mr Museveni has in the past been deriding the Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
The problem we have in Uganda is that we don’t have our priorities right and that is why the enjoyment and realisation of rights generally remains a pipedream. I state without any fear of contradiction that Rwanda under President Kagame is turning into a social democratic state which values social welfare and social justice through the delivery of services based on meritocracy. On the other hand, Uganda which many scholars aligned to the Anglo-Saxon axis rate highly in terms of democracy in comparison with Rwanda has fully embraced the Darwin principle of survival of the fittest. I wish to state that those who rate Uganda highly in terms of democracy think liberal democracy is more important than social democracy. I discount that flawed notion. Individualism should have no place in Africa. Liberal democracy accentuates the primacy of individual interests at the expense of social welfare. On the other hand social democracy emphasizes the importance of the societal or common good.
Whereas Museveni is a far rightist ideologically who paradoxically also violates the civil liberties and political rights, Kagame, his practice has shown is a centre-leftist (social democrat) who cherishes the delivery of services for the common good. The question thus is who of the two is better? Haven’t we been hoodwinked and misled by our press which portrays Museveni as having more democratic credentials than Kagame? I think Africa must of necessity redefine the concept democracy based on our social needs as a continent. Both Kagame and Museveni may be interested in retaining power (although I cannot impute any wrong motive on Kagame now) but where Kagame may use his track record of service delivery to retain power, Museveni will use a combination of three strategies 1. Manipulation and deception, 2. Cooption and bribery and 3. Outright intimidation and coercion typical of all Machiavellian politicians. Ironically, these days the police has devised another wicked and outrageous means of muzzling the small critics which is connivance with the mental hospitals to declare tortured people persons of unsound mind. It has happened to me but no right thinking Ugandan agrees with that trash.
I believe at this point in time Africa needs more socio-economic rights than political rights and civil liberties and therefore social democracy as opposed to liberal democracy which focuses on the primacy of individual rights as opposed to social or group rights. I will elaborate how the negation of socio-economic rights is purely responsible for the violation of civil and political rights.
Vincent Nuwagaba
The writer is a human rights defender with keen interest in socio-economic rights and can be reached on email: vnuwagaba@gmail.com, cell phone +256772843552.
The African continent celebrates the day of the African child every 16th of June. This year’s theme was “Accelerated Child survival and Development; creating a safe environment for Children”. We need reflect on the day of the African child and the theme by looking at the plight of the African child. As the saying goes charity begins at home, I will concentrate on the plight of the Ugandan child not because I am insensitive and indifferent to other children on the African continent but because it is the Ugandan child whose plight I am fully aware of for I have witnessed with my naked eye stark child abuse and neglect and I am fully involved in human rights research including research on juvenile justice.
Majority of Ugandan children are the wretched of the earth if I can borrow Franz Fanon’s parlance. Uganda is a country with extreme wealth alongside extreme poverty. The poverty-stricken parents as a matter of fact have their children facing the full brunt of poverty. Uganda is bedeviled by vices of child labour, child prostitution, defilement, child trafficking, and child sacrifice among others. It is also vital to note that besides children-specific troubles, they are not spared the other problems that have bedeviled our society.
Given the nature of Africans where social responsibility is very crucial, whether or not one has a child, he/she must necessarily have some children depending on him/her. In Africa, children belong to society not to their biological parents. And this where I agree with the problem when he says bano bana ba ggwanga, a Luganda word meaning these are the nation’s children. I only find it strange that his government doesn’t give them the necessary attention they deserve to enable them make a meaningful contribution in future since they are the pillars of our nation, our continent and our world. Our children truly have biological parents but all of us are social parents to these children and therefore have a social obligation to ensure their welfare. I happen to have very many children calling me uncle and brother including my neighbours’ and friends’ children. These children have a lot of expectations in me. However, if I am terribly suffering from the clutches of unemployment, it becomes virtually impossible to extend a helping hand. Yet, personally I was helped when I was studying. It would only be fair that I do exactly what other members of our society did to me. Unemployment also hits a hard blow on children whose parents might have spent all the resources educating their elder brothers and sisters expecting that they will extend a hand to their siblings.
In Uganda, we have children whose parents have died of HIV/AIDS. Some of these of these children are infected with the virus while all of them are affected. This disease has left so many child headed households. I don’t know of any child headed home that gets financial or any other material support from our government through the ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD) under whose docket children fall. Most of the household heads who are too young to play any meaningful role in the homes they head end up being frustrated as a result of being overwhelmed by responsibility. Ultimately these children flee their homes and go to stay in town centres. In order for them to survive some of them end up working in bars, quarries, brothels, become motorcycle riders and involve themselves in hazardous activities including turning into petty thieves, drug abusers and so forth. These activities are detrimental to the children mentally, psychologically and physically. This is antithetical to the four general principles accentuated by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the children; namely, non-discrimination, the best interest principle, the right to life, survival and development, the child’s views about his or her own situation or simply put the right to freedom of expression. I elaborate how far these principles are enforced or not enforced in Uganda.
Non-discrimination
The children of the well placed people in government and close associates to the powers that be attend the best schools at the expense of the Ugandan taxpayer, they have the first class medical treatment and I am sure many of them don’t get treatment from Mulago. This is contrary to the NRM’s avowed reasons as to why they fought the so-called past dictators. One wonders whether those who genuinely joined the struggle to oust dictatorship such as Comrade Mugisha Muntu are not breeding at heart up to this day when they see that the revolution they sacrificed to champion and actualise has utterly been betrayed by the very person who nurtured the revolution idea and saw it to fruition.
Best interest principle
The best interest principle which is in other words referred to as the welfare principle is the cardinal principle that has even been accentuated in Uganda’s Children Act. According to the principle whatever should be done should reflect the best interests and the welfare of the child. If a child for instance faces problems either from the mother or the father, measures must be put in place to ensure that the welfare of the children is guaranteed. Because the Ministry in Charge of Children is always starved of funds, not much has been done to ensure this principle is implemented and enforced. At least even the budget that was recently read never underscored the importance of funding the inspectorate department of the MGLSD. This frustrates the ministry work however well-intentioned the ministry staff may be. This is despite the existence of a multitude of laws and instruments meant to protect children rights both domestic and international. For instance, Uganda ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the African Child Charter, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, among others. All these instruments clearly enshrine the rights to be enjoyed by the children. The government also has more often avowed its commitment to actualise the eight Millennium Development Goals all of which are reflected in the core instrument of children rights, the Convention on the rights of the child.
On the right to life; survival and development
I state unequivocally that we are still below the mark. The right to life, survival and development is very difficult to attain amidst biting poverty levels in our country that have hit children the hardest. Right now famine in North-Eastern Uganda in areas of Teso and Karamoja is threatening to cause human extinction. In the wake of such a catastrophe, the question is who takes care, who speaks for the voiceless children? Ironically, poverty threatens one region in Uganda when some other regions are experiencing plenty and reach the extent of feeding bananas to cows. At least western Uganda doesn’t face the problem of famine. Government has not put in measures to help those in need at this crucial moment. So the question is, whose responsibility is it to provide security to citizens including security from hunger and starvation which is partly number one of the Millennium Development Goals? It is my considered opinion that much as many of the rights of the children are positive in nature in a sense that we must commit resources if they are to be realized, it would not be difficult to realize them if we were not encumbered by the corruption monster.
Freedom of expression
I am sure it is news to many Ugandans that children have a right to express their own views. It is only children who were born with silver spoons in their mouth that can say, Dad, I need a shirt, I need this or that. The children of the peasants whom we always appeal for votes however, are as powerless as their parents. But also, although this is a right, as long as it remains unknown to the general public, children inclusive, it becomes meaningless to talk about it. I need not restate that the ministry in charge of children is always starved of funds yet this is a crucial ministry as it is a human rights-based ministry. In Uganda children have never been given a forum to express themselves. I believe the little step we have made forward is largely attributed human rights non-governmental organisations. Trade unions would also be crucial in this area especially in combating child labour only that the government has deliberately made efforts to muzzle them and turn them into appendages of the NRM party in which case criticizing the party leads to them being branded as rebels. And the reason is largely if not wholly because the government usually extends funds to some trade unionists to contest for leadership positions including parliamentary positions.
Best practices we can borrow from our neighbours
In Rwanda for instance, they have passed a policy for each primary school to own a laptop computer and it is going to work. Rwandan children put on shoes as opposed to Uganda where shoes are a preserve of the privileged children. In Uganda, even in my district Bushenyi which is called a model district, majority of the children in primary school don’t put on shoes. In Rwanda, health insurance covers everyone so if anyone fell sick they can access treatment anywhere in any hospital and failure to go for treatment; one is charged with criminal negligence.
In Rwanda, the government abhors profligacy and this explains why government officials don’t drive posh vehicles which they park as soon as they finish work. In comparative terms, in Uganda government vehicles are used during dating, weddings and merrymaking of any sort outside the working hours. Not only do they depreciate but also the government officials use government fuel for private work. It is not uncommon to find government vehicles carrying charcoal and some have been seen in areas were prostitutes sell themselves. To make matters worse it is not uncommon to find a minister with say four government vehicles. One vehicle, he uses it himself, another o gives it to his son or daughter and does whatever he/she wants with the other two. All these vehicles are fuelled using taxpayers’ money and they do depreciate. The money that would be used to provide essential services is wantonly abused without any sense of decorum! This is a social evil! It is the highest form of corruption that has been presided over by a leader who promised to crush corruption and one might have thought that in one month it was to be history.
Ironically, I would argue that Rwanda was reborn after the 1994 genocide and Mr Museveni has in the past been deriding the Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
The problem we have in Uganda is that we don’t have our priorities right and that is why the enjoyment and realisation of rights generally remains a pipedream. I state without any fear of contradiction that Rwanda under President Kagame is turning into a social democratic state which values social welfare and social justice through the delivery of services based on meritocracy. On the other hand, Uganda which many scholars aligned to the Anglo-Saxon axis rate highly in terms of democracy in comparison with Rwanda has fully embraced the Darwin principle of survival of the fittest. I wish to state that those who rate Uganda highly in terms of democracy think liberal democracy is more important than social democracy. I discount that flawed notion. Individualism should have no place in Africa. Liberal democracy accentuates the primacy of individual interests at the expense of social welfare. On the other hand social democracy emphasizes the importance of the societal or common good.
Whereas Museveni is a far rightist ideologically who paradoxically also violates the civil liberties and political rights, Kagame, his practice has shown is a centre-leftist (social democrat) who cherishes the delivery of services for the common good. The question thus is who of the two is better? Haven’t we been hoodwinked and misled by our press which portrays Museveni as having more democratic credentials than Kagame? I think Africa must of necessity redefine the concept democracy based on our social needs as a continent. Both Kagame and Museveni may be interested in retaining power (although I cannot impute any wrong motive on Kagame now) but where Kagame may use his track record of service delivery to retain power, Museveni will use a combination of three strategies 1. Manipulation and deception, 2. Cooption and bribery and 3. Outright intimidation and coercion typical of all Machiavellian politicians. Ironically, these days the police has devised another wicked and outrageous means of muzzling the small critics which is connivance with the mental hospitals to declare tortured people persons of unsound mind. It has happened to me but no right thinking Ugandan agrees with that trash.
I believe at this point in time Africa needs more socio-economic rights than political rights and civil liberties and therefore social democracy as opposed to liberal democracy which focuses on the primacy of individual rights as opposed to social or group rights. I will elaborate how the negation of socio-economic rights is purely responsible for the violation of civil and political rights.
Vincent Nuwagaba
The writer is a human rights defender with keen interest in socio-economic rights and can be reached on email: vnuwagaba@gmail.com, cell phone +256772843552.
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