Beware of those who claim to love Uganda, they love it for themselves

“Do you believe a man can truly love a woman and constantly betray her; never mind physically, but betray her in his mind, in the very poetry of his soul? Well, it’s not easy but men do it all the time.” – Mario Puzo, Fools Die.

I had made a mental note to write about the manner – not reason for – of arrest of Opposition Members of Parliament, Allan Sewanyana and Mohammed Ssegirinya, but it’s probably best not to – because from the looks of things, skins aren’t too thick.

Grace Ibingira, is a name many Ugandans would be familiar with. You might remember his from your primary school social studies lessons, where he is erroneously credited for designing the Uganda flag. He was also famously, a co-founder of the all-but-gone Uganda People’s Congress and its secretary general, during its heydays.

In 1965, the all-powerful Ibingira was instrumental in amending a law that allowed the police to disperse public assemblies. Think of it as a precursor to the Public Order Management Act – which was annulled last year. 

The problem is that Ibingira was ambitious and sought to take over the UPC, and dethrone President Milton Obote. To do this, he decided to convene a conference but that was nipped in the bud by the police, citing the same law he had caused to be amended.
He wasn’t done or even the wiser for it. The following year, he went one farther. 

The colonial government had enacted a law which permitted government to deport citizens to remote areas like Karamoja, if they were causing trouble in Kampala. When the UPC government took over, opposition Members of Parliament sought to have this law repealed from the books because of what it portended for them. But Ibingira wouldn’t have it and mobilised for the motion’s defeat. 

Three weeks later, with Obote tired of his shenanigans, Ibingira was arrested and taken to court, which released him. As he and his co-accused walked out to what they thought was freedom, they were grabbed and transferred to Karamoja, under the same law that he had fought so hard to save.

This week’s column was actually meant to be about the silent teenage pregnancy pandemic that is going on as the rest of the world tries to make sense this pandemic life. To illustrate the gravity of things, I hoped to find an aggregated figure for you reader, but they are coming in from everywhere – Kamwenge, Soroti, Jinja, Masindi, Mbale, et al.

It is obvious that the closure of schools has cut holes into the safety net that protected young girls from predators and rapists. So, even if the argument were to be that schools don’t offer much in the form of quality, surely, this is reason to have them reopened, right? In the absence of schools, police and the courts of law have also failed the future of this country.

This same week, acclaimed crooner, R. Kelly, was found guilty of multiple sexual abuse cases after over two decades of evading justice. He stayed ahead of the law largely because of his money, fame and power. 

You see this all the time even outside of sexual offenses – moneyed, powerful and connected people getting away with murder (pun) because those in charge of enforcing the law are complicit.

Majority of the criminals who rape, defile and marry (off) underage girls in this country aren’t even connected or famous. They get away with it because those who should protect these thousands of little girls are engrossed in power grab schemes, and in effect, putting everyone’s future at stake.

So, why does a man constantly betray a woman he truly loves? Well, because the man is a fool, and refuses to learn from history. Think of this as you would if it were Uganda and those who, like Ibingira, go about life like they have a higher claim to her heart and soul than others do. They will stop at nothing – including the irrational – to protect and promote their stake and agenda.

Would Ibingira, looking at us now, advise those in power to focus on securing the future of those young girls? What would he tell security agents about the way they arrest their countrymen? Or the MPs and courts about protecting the right to bail? Would he say only fools don’t learn from history, and probably agree with Puzo, that they die – in some way?

Mr Rukwengye is the founder, Boundless Minds. @Rukwengye