2009 started in a very bland style that it found me in slumber and true to its commencement; I enjoyed my sleep throughout the year till December 25th when the slumber finally played accomplice to the theft of a phone that for eighteen months had paved its path to the softest spot of my heart. It is however erroneous to refer to the loss of my phone as the most remarkable event of 2009. It is just one among other issues that make 2009 absurd, particularly on the national plane.
In August, to be precise on its 14th day, at an annual gathering of law students and lecturers in Africa hosted by the University of Lagos, Nigeria, I was one of two Ugandan law students that staged a 20 minute performance on the right to self determination, identity, freedom of expression, movement, personal liberty, torture and the antecedent rights in regard to Buganda Kingdom. The plot of this burlesque centred on a kingdom official who had been illegally detained, tortured, abused and later released without charge all for demanding for a certain style of governance. Our performance won us third place in a hot contest with several other actors from other parts of Africa who ably explored other themes. This, you may think should be an important highlight for the year and I should not complain, yet it turned out to be the most bizarre.
No sooner had a month passed after our prize-winning piece than our skit started playing out in reality. The whole of Buganda region went to the dogs and the dogs did not hesitate in embracing it. Non Baganda suddenly became “wanted” as the Army/Police also hunted down the Baganda. It was a bizarre mix-up particularly for some of us who despite hailing from outside Buganda think that the Kabaka like anyone else should be protected than restricted from visiting anywhere in Uganda. Yet His Majesty’s supporters were on the look out for anyone whose accent, name, ancestry and ethnic group was inappropriate in the circumstances. The state operatives, rather than hunting down the actual criminals were also on the lookout for those whose views were deemed improper whether on the streets rioting or at home making a call to discuss the big chaotic scene that the Central part of Uganda had turned out to be.
A double faced tragedy had befallen the country. The state on the lookout for particular people of a known identity, (you can tell from the tribal background of all the detained and the dead due to the riots) and the rioters also hunting down those who had no idea how the “Ekitiibwa kya Buganda” sounds. Yours truly was on both sides yet on none. Largely, if the rioters had found me, I could not have survived because my ability to speak Luganda is only four years old and is far from perfection, I at the time could not even finish the first stanza of the famous “Ekitiibwa …” If the state operatives had struck, I would not survive either for my high propensity to air my opinions which were largely reprehensible judging from Mr. Serumaga’s experience. Fortunately, I survived the two sides of this dual genocide, which was only deprived of magnitude of destruction to fully transmit the genocidal intent.
The chaos having erupted in September, one thought that international media would have a break as regards stories from Uganda, particularly in regard to comparisons with genocidal situations, but that was not to be, unless Hon. Bahati had prioritised the plight of his constituents after floods had ravaged their crops but he chose not to. This man, perhaps taking a clue from the human rights organisations’ condemnation of the “illegal” high-handedness that the state reaction to the Buganda riots took introduced a Bill in October to legalise the death at the hands of the state of any one who identifies themselves as lesbian or gay. Dubbed the Anti Homosexuality Bill 2009, a terse perusal of the text makes you wonder why the private is being spilled over by law for the public to keep an eye on.
When Nazi Germany turned to killing the Jews for being Jews, it was called Genocide and when the Serbs turned to annihilating Muslim Bosnians, the same tag of genocide was given to the whole operation. Closer to home, after the Hutus had implemented their plan to exterminate the Tutsi who they assumed did not deserve to live, the whole world cried out Never again and Mr. Ocampo of the ICC in 2009 sought to hold some individuals accountable for alleged genocide in Darfur following the promise of Never again.
Looking at Bahati’s bill, one premise of the proposed Bill is obvious, that because the “homosexuals” are too immoral, too perverted, very debauched, “unAfrican” and evil, they should be wiped off the face of the earth, not only from Uganda’s territory but anywhere in the world as the Bill seeks to apply extraterritorially. Isn’t this the same logic that the Nazi’s used against the Jews even making laws that made it legal to obliterate the race? Even, the Hutus said that the Tutsi were so selfish, cunning and property-hungry and so it was logical for the “Benesebahinzi” to kill their Tutsi neighbors. Yet the world has said that this is genocide. To obliterate individuals who are part of a group that identifies itself in a way that you deem evil and unacceptable is to put it plainly committing genocide.
When Bahati asks me to report the neighbor/friend/relative/colleague that is lesbian or gay to the Police so they are executed according to Law is to ask me to be an accomplice to genocide. Despite his statements that he is not in hate campaign, the logic of “his” Bill is similar to Hitler’s, Bagosora’s and many others in the Genocidaire’ club. What hurts is that Bahati is using my taxes to perpetrate this genocidal campaign which in a space of a month after a dual genocidal attempt during the September 10 – 12 riots put Uganda back into international headlines for proposing a genocidal law… Even Amin never reached these lows.
May Uganda cleanse its image and name in 2010, after all, Hatred, Discrimination, Sectarianism have never been our values, so why always find ourselves in the media mentioned in the same breath with evil phenomena as genocide, hate campaign, murder and other unpalatable phrases and words that have been used in 2009 to refer to the pearl of Africa? May we remember the events of 2009 in a Never Again context!
Hi, so the opinion and I must applaud your diction! Anyway I reserve my comment till next week when I can have a thorough reading of this piece of writing.
Great writing, Brian.
I don’t want homosexuals killed for their sins but certainly we don’t want homosexuality ‘normalised’ in our land. It’s evil and dangerous. Just thing about it.
Wishing you a blessed year.
superb writing,brian