The moral conscience of the nation

Dr Peter Mwesige once told me his former boss at The New Vision, William Pike, used to refer to him as the ‘conscience of the newsroom.’ Peter is a very thoughtful and perceptive person. He speaks his mind and argues his principles.

I admire Peter’s candour and commitment to what he believes in, professionally and in the public sphere. Full disclosure: Peter is my friend. But we disagree as much as we agree. It’s healthy. Also, Peter is no angel and he would be the first to concede to this because no one is, anyway. But in life, one must stand for something and be willing to go down defending an idea, ideal and a value.

In the past few weeks, our country has grappled with a deep moral reckoning. The images of two severely tortured compatriots have spurred outrage and indignation, at least on social media, or more specifically on Twitter and Facebook where I maintain a modest presence.

One has to be aware of two Ugandas, perhaps more. We have the elite circles, especially the outspoken who are out and about on social media, but we also more importantly have the rest of society hussling away in the rough and tumble of tough life, mostly in the countryside. It’s possible there is a huge disconnect between these two Ugandas, and others one can break down.

But even if we just take what is likely a small segment of the country, the chattering classes on social media, as Andrew Mwenda likes to disparagingly frame them, there is no doubt that as a country we have been feeling a knee on our necks. Matters are bad. The rulers are not just abusing Uganda, they are assaulting Ugandans, both country and people.

In a Twitter comment, recalling the compliment he got from Pike more than 20 years ago, and given that he has spoken out so forcefully against torture, I suggested to Dr Mwesige that he is the moral conscience of the nation, not just the newsroom.

Peter is no longer in the newsroom and yet the stakes are bigger for the country. But it’s not just Peter who must carry the moral conscience burden, it is necessary that we all be bearers of the moral conscience for the nation, Uganda, never mind I have argued in this column that we don’t have a nation in the strict sense of the word.

Why on earth, for example, would a citizen be maimed and mutilated by the very state agents who we, taxpayers, pay to ensure our safety and security? Not that it would be acceptable if torture was meted out to non-citizens, but at a minimum the state’s security apparatus is there to defend and protect citizens and our sovereignty, not to commit acts of torture.

When citizens are stripped of their basic humanity, denied their basic decency and dignity, subjected to humiliation and anguish, then the nation is in peril. Citizenship confers a set of basic rights and freedoms but also imposes duties and responsibilities.

The state and government have the primary task of protecting citizens’ rights and freedoms but also ensure that citizens meet their duties, obligations and responsibilities. When it is the same state or a section of its agents violating, instead of defending, rights and freedoms then that state and the government cease to have the reason and rationale for existing.

In practice, states and state-agents engage in egregious acts. The burden then falls on citizens to push back, to demand and press for accountability. There is especially a specific and separate role for the intelligentsia, to face up to the issues of the day, to candidly and courageously speak truth to power.

The intelligentsia, the educated classes and the professionals have the intellectual bandwidth to denounce excesses of the state and its agents, to demand for accountability and transparency.

This leads me back to where I started, referencing Dr Mwesige: where is the moral conscience of the nation?

In the past weeks, as we reeled and struggled to process a chilling testimony of unimaginable physical torture, broadcast on national television, some compatriots found reason to either stay deafeningly silent or go as far as attempting some explanation!

But why would anyone, in good conscience, equivocate or attempt some veiled cover for state agents committing extreme acts of torture on a citizens? At a minimum, this shows the moral bankruptcy we face as a country.

The badly needed reform and redemption is not just on the part of the rulers; I think it is even more importantly required of members of the public, particularly the educated and privileged classes who appear to care more about safeguarding their personal and professional privileges than take the risk of defending the common good for all.

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