This & That by Henry Ochieng
May 28, 2003
| That notable man of history George Bernard Shaw left us with many good things of which the following statement has recently interested me: “All censorships,” he said, “exist to prevent any one from challenging current conceptions and existing institutions.
All progress is initiated by challenging current conceptions, and executed by supplanting existing institutions. Consequently the first condition of progress is the removal of censorships.” Three honourable men and a woman were left suddenly jobless in last week’s cynical and ruthless cabinet shake-up. An emerging believer in the evil doctrine of censorship, Charles Rwomushana, has since christened Mr Eriya Kategaya, who was among these four people, the leader of a malwa group. Obviously, Mr Rwomushana, who seems to have been given the job of running dark, cloak and dagger operations against the responsible Mr Kategaya is taking himself a little too seriously. Before the man (a political spy in State House) runs his mouth off into further scandal, an education into malwa politics might just be in order. In the first instance malwa happens to be a nutritious beverage, which when consumed in reasonable quantities can nourish the human body. The stuff has only been known to make a nuisance of itself when quaffed in liberal and reckless abandon. Only those who are ignorant of this fact make the inaccurate assessment that it is belittling to consume malwa even though it is more popular among the lower income earners of our society. This is a beverage that has managed to bring out one of the more impressive management capabilities of our people. Every malwa group, as we must be aware is pretty well organised. They have a chairman, secretary, treasurer, chief whip etc etc. These officers have well defined duties in enforcing the individual constitutions of their groups. At the daily sittings, as the members of those groups call their gatherings, a quorum is realised on or about the expected time. An agenda for the day’s discussion is normally introduced by the chair, who then allows each and every member of the group an opportunity to contribute. It is all done in a democratic and transparent way without discrimination. The spirit of freedom of speech and thought is very much alive in the malwa groups whether the issue being discussed is weighty or frivolous. An attack on malwa groupings should be understood in light of what is happening in the country’s politics It is in times when the country, as now, is dangerously being edged towards tyranny, when those at the helm are frightened of principled disagreement that trampling on the willing opposition and removing the spirit of free speech and thought becomes a rather attractive proposition. In times like this we cannot be astonished by allegations that the Hotel Africana group are confusing or “stampeding the people”. It is not surprising because the only reason they are being labelled is because they are rightly plotting to mobilise the country against this devious “third term project” of President Yoweri Museveni,. No amount of below-the-belt barks from government’s attack dogs can in these circumstances shock and awe the liberals. In fact, those who cannot contemplate that others are free to think must interest themselves in the provisions of Article 29 of the 1995 constitution. There they will learn that the freedom to speak, express oneself and associate with whomsoever one so wishes, is inherently guaranteed. Even the state, which yearns for the omniscient characteristic, cannot legally proscribe that right because it is not granted by the state. Of the various forms of tyranny, the sort that seeks to suffocate free thought and speech must be resisted with greater force because once a regime is allowed to control the minds of men, the men are helpless. The fact that Mr Kategaya, Mr Bidandi Ssali and Ms Miria Matembe, who were clearly sacked for resisting the third term project are being accused of betraying President Museveni, has to be considered in context. Appreciate this fact from the reasons the three advanced for differing irreconcilably with Mr Museveni on the third term project. They all said they are in opposition for the sake of the country’s political growth. With their eyes set on such lofty heights, it becomes far-fetched to say they betrayed somebody. Now, because President Museveni will not be caught swallowing intoxicating liquids, it is likely that he happily shares Mr Rwomushana’s aversion to malwa. In this sense, using the malwa metaphor to disparage the “betrayers” fits perfectly in his new political vision where “contradictions” will be quickly “clarified” with a sacking. It is inconceivable then that the spirit of freely exchanging of ideas and thoughts, which thrives in the ubiquitous malwa drinking clubs across the country, can be tolerated in a National Resistance Movement (NRM) party that has shed all pretences to being democratic. In the NRM, it appears that the chairman prefers to lay down the law, allowing the members to only argue about the general principals shortly before they approve his will. It is also instructive that this particular metaphor was applied because it exposes the arrogance that has been silent within the NRM but now rears its head without shame. The party has finally betrayed a long suspected character trait — the fact that it holds ordinary, hard working Ugandans in such low esteem it sees nothing wrong in spitting on the very food on which they feed. To the party, the people are there to be used and then be derided when they can no longer serve any useful purpose. This was the principle of utilitarianism that Arthur H. Koestler dwelt on with such clarity in his masterpiece, Darkness At Noon. Mr Koestler explained how the Stalinist regime in the fallen Soviet Union exploited its cadres and when they had outlived their usefulness, it got rid of them. How much more clearer can we deliver the message that those who hate progress and transition, are gathering on the horizon? Contact 077 501436 |
© 2003 The Monitor Publications
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