Uganda Diaspora meets UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office
By: Belinda Atim – Uganda is a failed state. In recent months, Ugandan authorities have had to deal with multiple complex issues including Corruption and Oil bribery, gross human rights violations and illegal detention, arrest and imprisonment of Pro-Democracy Activists and suffocation of the media. The corruption pyramid in Uganda is ripe and its most potent at the top layers of the Country’s ruling circle. The Oil bribery and Corruption allegations pin points to Sam Kuteesa (Ugandan Foreign Affairs Minister), Amama Mbabazi (Prime Minister of Uganda), Hillary Onek and many others. The Ugandan parliament tabled a motion to scrutinize the shady Oil deals, but only to be choked-up by president Museveni as reported by the Monitor newspaper. How else can a country function when the people’s representatives are silenced by the government and its functionaries?
Uganda Diaspora Foreign Office meeting
While many continue to praise Uganda for leading the way in various tasks including its leading role in the Geo politics of the Great Lakes, its about time the world and the international community as a whole re-evaluate its approaches and investment through the Museveni’s Government.
Ugandans living in the UK took to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to meet the African team to dialogue on obvious symptoms of a failed state including the deteriorating human rights conditions, raise issues of illegal imprisonment of opposition activists and flag up the presidential interference in parliamentary business on Oil scrutiny as well as raise concerns over the barbaric Ugandan government public order management bill, the press and journalist bill applied to suffocate the press and the public. Members of the Ugandan Diaspora urged the UK government to exert pressures and advise Ugandan government over its excessive use of force and illegal imprisonment of opposition activist and journalist. It was evident that Ugandans are fed up of Museveni’s dictatorship and were happy to consider an alternative government/governance system. Many also shared their concerns about the UK governments continued support and provision of aid to the Ugandan Government despite its inability to resurrect the collapsed institutions and governance systems. It was reassuring to learn that the UK government engaged the Ugandan Government and placed strong emphasis on Public Financial management tool, which includes a tough call to president Museveni to iron out corruption.
While diplomacy is a medium through which the UK government responds to the desperate calls and tears of Ugandans, the ordinary Ugandan is fast running out of steam as funds meant for ARVs, funds meant for rehabilitation, funds meant for reconstructions and general developments have been diverted for personal gains. Charles Mugagga stated that with youth unemployment at 80% and cost of living rising daily “what would stop a man who does not even earn £1.00(pound) a week to demand for answers from Government, he asked “what would stop a man from taking to the streets if he can’t afford school fees and other basics for life, while his country buys a $744 million Dollar jets?” as if these were not enough to frustrate Ugandans – Bosco Nyeko added by saying, why should our country operate on a mode where bribery is normalized, while the principled are threatened?
Richard Semitego, confirmed that “In the eyes of many Ugandans, the 2011 February general elections were flawed and therefore Museveni’s current government is an illegitimate government.” Belinda Atim, went on to elaborate that the recent Amnesty report cites that human rights and democracy in Uganda has diminished beyond recognition, the framework of democracy is human rights laws, and in Uganda today human rights only applies to the most corrupt and those in the top layers of government, a trend that must be reversed.
Margaret Lakidi, concluded by stressing the need to reinforce accountability mechanisms by the UK/EU given the fact that their good intentions of providing budget support/aid to Uganda as a means to ensure the availability of, and access to, basic commodities for the country’s most vulnerable people may translate into a moral disaster if they continue to invest in this current regime.
