The Mood in Uganda.

Good morning. It certainly is a beautiful one, here in Uganda.

Bright sun, warm on the skin. White light from a crystal blue heaven with very little cloud. Not too warm, not too hot. Just the caress on the skin.

This is going to be a two part post, of the mood in Uganda. First, I am taking you into the deeps. Show you what is, and what is the brutal reality in Uganda. Reality for me as a gay person, living and working in Uganda. One who is concerned about a bill in the land, which would make my hard life much harder.

The mood in the country.

I thought of writing this because of a few things. First, it was a blogger who calls himself Comrade 27^th. He is a Ugandan. Calls himself a communist. The 27 has a significance and humour totally Ugandan, though some will not get it.

Its like the man himself. Deceptive and misleading.

27^th was the first Ugandan blogger to engage me. While the others were coming in and peeping, and going away to write diatribes against homosexuality, he actually welcomed me to the blogosphere here… To the community of Ugandan bloggers.

Oh, they shied away from me. Which was understandable.

But, 27^th did try to engage me, even when he is not gay. And, this is significant.

27^th believes that we gay people are not all that bad. He believes that I as a gay Ugandan deserves his support in my fight against the bill. He has one pre-condition. He believes I should let go of my allies from the west. Actually, he wants me to let go before he gives me his support.

Well, he is a self confessed communist. The west is decadent and immoral and bad. Even when he desires all that the west can offer in education and material things. Even when he riles against religion which came from the west, which he knows so much about, he still has to maintain the politically correct but thoroughly hypocritical stance that the west is evil.

Because, that is what Ugandans believe. Sincerely, with little question, less insight.

Next comes this letter from a reader of the Observer newspaper. 

He concedes that he feels something for the gay Ugandans. But, in his view, it is better to maroon them on an island so that they live there, and presumably die out. Or, they should all be given visas to America and Europe. So that they leave beautiful Uganda.

I was surprised that the Observer decided to publish it. Because it is a nonsensical piece of ignorance and stupidity. No please. Stop patronizing me by thinking that I am abusing the person, the writer. I am stating a fact as I see it. The writer has not taken trouble to research his knowledge, his hate. And, he blandishes it like a badge of honour. If that is not ignorance and stupidity, then what is?

Polarising words. Definitely not politically correct. But, I will not sacrifice clarity of thinking for political correctness. I am a gay Ugandan. By definition, in Uganda, I am NOT politically correct. In fact, I am evil. With a capital E.

I was surprised that the Observer editor published it. But not at the opinion itself. Because, too often, everyday, I do hear the same sentiments shared out and taken as facts by most Ugandans. Very few will dare to examine the veracity of the things Raymond Otika states as facts.

In response to the letter, a reader of the blog from America is full of despair. What the hell can be done to shake, to change such a frankly, openly, proudly genocidal person? And, he represents a nation, the popular opinion.

Ethnic Cleansing. That is his solution. That is Raymond Otika’s solution. Not different from what the Mufti proposed not so long ago. (search Mufti on this blog) The Mufti is the leader of Moslems in Uganda. And, he also requested the president to avail an island in Lake Victoria for us bad homosexuals. We would die out there. It is not very different from what David Bahati proposes in the Bill (text here). Life imprisonment, and death for the Homosexual Ugandan.

Now, there is this news article that was in the Monitor. (Monitor links keep on disappearing!)

The monitor is a daily. It is owned by the Agha Khan, I believe. They have a big newspaper empire in East Africa. In Uganda, I believe it also includes NTV television station.

They are independent. And, as such, they have been fighting the governments repressive and frankly hostile acts since time immemorial. They use the pen and logic to try to put the government excesses to shame. The government uses the law to repress them.

Uganda has been a strategic ally of the US for decades now. Since the time when President Museveni er, ascended to the title.

He is a very clever, manipulative politician.

He wooed Clinton, very effectively. When Bush W became president, he wooed him too. And, he was a darling of the west. Funny that 27th Comrade doesn’t notice that the 1st Comrade embraces the decadent west. But that is a by-the-way.

But, in the meantime, Museveni has grown more and more dictatorial. Fact.

We are having elections in 2011. Yesterday, a group of women political activists were violently arrested, and thrown into jail. For a demonstration against the fact that the ‘Independent Electral Commission’ as mandated by the Constitution of the Republic, is NOT independent. Of course, the constitution allows demonstrations. But, the police will only allow those which benefit the government. However peaceful. You are met with tear gas and battons. Beaten up. And, you are thrown into jail to nurse your injuries. That is what happens in Uganda. 

Museveni’s Uganda embarrasses Barack Obama’s administration. An important ally. Fighting the war on terror in Somalia. But, at the same time brutal, violent, dictatorial. And, increasingly so. [By the way, expressing this opinion makes me more likely to be arrested and ‘questioned’ about my ‘seditious’ views. Hope Andrew Mwenda does win that Constitutional Court challenge.]

So, the Congress in the US has put some grim conditionalities on the money, the aid that the US gives to Uganda.

Independence of the Electoral Commission – a disputed matter locally, creating an accurate and verifiable voter registry; media freedom and citizens right to political assembly as well as timely announcement and posting of election results, are some of the salient issues the Congress wants sorted.

“The conferees direct the Secretary of State to submit a report to the Committees on Appropriations not later than 90 days after enactment of this Act and every 120 days thereafter until 30 days after the elections, detailing actions taken by the Government of Uganda to address these concerns,” reads the directive.

And, public opinion in Uganda is up in arms. Throw out the donor aid. Neo-colonialism. And all the assorted ‘isms’.

I have no doubt that the government is whipping up the hysteria. The govt is served by the corruption, and maintenance of the status quo. Because that is what will happen, with all this American help and aid coming to Uganda to help shore up the regime. So, the posturing happens.

The efforts of such activists, along with the agitation of lawmakers who are outraged that Mr Museveni backed down under pressure, are geared towards making the Ugandan leader understand that he made the wrong call.

“Uganda is a sovereign country, and we don’t need any lectures from the US,” said Buliisa MP Steven Mukitale, who chairs the Committee on National Economy.

See, what Comrade 27^th would say, keep the damned dollars. And let us stay in our corrupt, dictatorship.

Me, I dissent. I do say no.

We accept the dollars because the politicians take the biggest amount of them. Fact. Most of them will be embezzled by the big whigs of the ruling party.

But, the US also has a right to demand reforms. And, I as a Ugandan will not see any ill in us making sure that the excesses of our government are reigned in.

Because, they are excesses. Because, Uganda is beautiful, and the manipulative might of our government is not balanced by the weak, fractious, fractured opposition. Me as a Ugandan who is minimally interested in the politics still feel the strain, and the fear, and the risk of writing such blunt opinions.

To continue, the issue of ‘neo-colonialist influence’ is being hyped up here in Uganda.

So, the bad west (not the bad dollars, by the way..!) the bad west wants the evil gays? And, they don’t want the Anti-Homosexual Bill? And, they want to spread homosexuality in beautiful Uganda?

Barack Obama keep off!

Ssempa, (of course), is playing it up to the maximum.  From his latest press release (he is prolific!)

We observe that the President talked about the phenomenon of 300,000 sodomites who gathered in New York demanding that Uganda should also legalise sodomy! The coalition would like to encourage the President, Executive and the Parliament by mobilizing a peaceful demonstration of more than 1,000,000 people on the 17th of February. This demonstration will bring all Ugandans and well wishers for a day to show how they feel. The taskforce will then also undertake a nationwide campaign to educate the public on this evil calling on them to support our leaders

So, in this kind of atmosphere, how to intervene? How to do something that can impact for the well being of the common Ugandan?

Oh, I don’t think I have ever subscribed to the whole issue of the decadent west and all. (Mind you, I was born old and wise. Hey, give me leave to be arrogant and boastful too!)

But, with all the ills that we have, I am all for clarity of thought. And that clarity is NOT served by us Ugandans, and African hearing the call of rubble rousers and manipulators. Clarity of thought. That is a necessary thing, and, that is what I request of my allies. That will be in the follow up post. A note to my allies.

gug