Prime
Maybe we don’t care to learn from history so how about learning from the present then
Writer: Benjamin Rukwengye. PHOTO/FILE.
What you need to know:
- Lots of contexts to analyse and predict what the likely outcome will be. ”
There was a heartwarming story in this week’s Daily Monitor, about how an ex-Lord’s Resistance Army Major General called Ali Acaye, is out to transform his life and that of his former rebel fighters.
Acaye is one of several tens of former LRA rebels who defected from the outfit that is now holed up between the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic. His story was particularly gratifying because we very rarely get these kinds of positive turnarounds. Not because we are short of dreamers but because of the pervasive tendency to want to parasite off the government and public coffers. It is an intriguing case study of the Ugandan psyche that both those who have and those who don’t are always scheming for ways in which to leech. That explains why the campaign season, such as the one just around the corner, brings up all sorts of welfare schemes.
There is never enough time to appraise the performance of the last failed project. Just enough to create a new one, bring in a new set of eaters, and start the cycle again. That is why people like Acaye, who, even as a middle-aged citizen that has been through the most harrowing of life’s circumstances, are a breath of fresh air. Kampala doesn’t always get many things right, but there are spaces in which it excels. The resettlement and reintegration of former combatants – even if for political expediency – is one such example. Working with Non-Governmental Organizations to support vocational skills training, offer psychosocial support, cash, and land has stemmed conflict and allowed communities to rebuild after the ravages of war. Yet it would seem that the same willingness with which former rebels and refugees are welcomed is extended to creating even more of our own – thanks to our politics and economics. And if things continue the way they are, who knows what it will be like in the next couple of years.
Which is what makes the likes of Acaye even more important. They have seen life on the run and at its lowest and have been given a second chance to rewrite their story. They know things about the use of brute force, violence, and raw power that those who are in charge are constantly getting accused of. They also have firsthand experience with living as fugitives because the story didn’t end as had been hoped. So, rather than shun them, we need to give them a platform and encourage them to provide the context. They do not have much of a head start in a Uganda where things rarely work as they should, but they are keen to take a shot and pursue their dreams anyway. They have no connections. No capital. No education. No experience. No family name or reputation to count on.
No perks. They don’t even understand how EFRIS works. All they have as a past that they rue and a dream to do better for themselves and for their communities. If they believe that it is possible to pull it off, how much worse is it for those in power? And perhaps that is the point of all this. That there is enough history for everyone to learn from. Too many examples to point at and know what to do or not. Lots of contexts to analyse and predict what the likely outcome will be. The Acayes can blame their circumstances for the lack of all that. Heck! They could even throw in exclusion and marginalization – and they would still get a pass. In that regard, for them, amnesty was justified. What justification will be made for amnesty in future, given all the advantages that exist now?
Benjamin Rukwengye
Break Even Point
Mr Rukwengye is the founder, Boundless Minds. @Rukwengye
