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Dear Tingasiga:
One of the arguments by those who delighted in
the temporary closure of 93.3 KFM and the arrest of Daily Monitor
journalist and talk show host Andrew M. Mwenda, is that his expressed
views had had the potential to trigger war with neighbouring countries.
For example, in her column in the government-owned New Vision last
week, Maria Karooro-Okurut, the Woman MP for Bushenyi, claimed that
Mwenda's articles detailing Uganda's aborted plans to invade Rwanda might
have exacerbated the tensions between Kampala and Kigali.
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Andrew M.
Mwenda |
To buttress her argument, Karooro reminded her readers that the Rwandan
genocide had been incited by a hate radio station in Kigali. Presumably
the reader was expected to equate Mwenda's commentaries with the radio
rants of the Kigali men who urged Bahutu to "go-kill-the-cockroaches" [to
murder Batutsi] in 1994.
Karooro was wrong. The fact is that radio broadcasters and print
journalists do not start wars. They do not start genocide.
Wars are started by rulers and leaders, by men and women in control of
the weapons of violence, either because of outright greed for power or
territory, or because of failure to manage potential crises through
political means.
The Uganda-Tanzania war of 1978/79 was triggered Marshall Dr Idi Amin
Dada's fatal decision to invade Tanzania. Its genesis lay in the political
tensions that had arisen from Amin's overthrow of Dr Milton Obote's
government in 1971, and Tanzania's support for Obote and other groups that
threatened Amin's power.
The Uganda-Congo war of 1997 and 1998, the Uganda-Rwanda battles in
Kisangani and the Uganda-Sudan battles were all started by Gen. Yoweri
Kaguta Museveni and his counterparts or their armed surrogate, not by
scribes and radio commentators.
The unresolved tensions between
Uganda and Rwanda or more accurately, between Museveni and Rwandan
President Paul Kagame are not the product of journalists and
commentators. They are the handiwork of the rulers of Uganda and Rwanda
and their courtiers. Pointing out that Kagame and Museveni view each other
with utmost suspicion and barely disguised enmity does not amount to
inciting war between the two countries.
Mwenda's series on the alleged plans by Uganda to invade Rwanda were a
reporter's account of what he had learnt from his sources in Rwanda and
Uganda. While I have not sounded them out on this matter, I am fairly
certain that the Rwandan rulers learnt absolutely nothing new from
Mwenda's writings. They probably gave him some, if not most of the
information that he used in his articles.
To be sure, the claim
that Mwenda accusing the Uganda government of killing Col. John Garang,
the Sudanese Vice President, threatened to ignite violence against Uganda
was quite a stretch of the truth. The Sudanese were probably more incensed
by President Yoweri Museveni's visit to Yei, reportedly without the
knowledge of his counterpart in Khartoum, than Mwenda's angry declaration
that Uganda had killed Garang.
And so I repeat my contention that Mwenda's arrest and the closure of
93.3 KFM were completely unjustified and were a classic reaction of
anti-democrats to a man who had dared to point a finger at the king.
No anger
This does not mean that I condone Mwenda's
unverified allegations. I certainly discourage journalists and talk show
hosts from allowing themselves to get angry on air. However, I
unequivocally support their right to get angry.
Likewise, whether or not Mwenda got his facts wrong and whether or not
he indulged in unfounded speculation about the death of Garang is
completely irrelevant in as far as his human right to freely express
himself is concerned.
I promote thoroughness and fidelity to the truth. But that is not the
issue. To criminalise his faulty claims and his anger is to undermine his
right to be wrong. To suggest that his angry outbursts against Museveni
and the government are in the same category as the hate broadcasts that
have been banned on Canadian radio stations or the broadcasts of the
criminals who urged the Bahutu to murder Batutsi in the Rwandan genocide
of 1994, is similar to comparing poison with medicine.
Mwenda's angry statements threatened the ego and political fortunes of
Mr Museveni. They were not a call to arms.
If there is some good that
has come out of the Mwenda saga it is that he seems to have come out of
prison more courageous, but calmer in his manner.
Three days ago, Mwenda was a guest on Reporters Roundtable, a Voice of
America weekly radio programme where I am a regular panelist. This live
programme is hosted by Dr Shaka Ssali.
Positive changes
Three things struck me during the
show. First, Mwenda's manner of speaking has metamorphosed from a hurried,
breathless rapid fire style to a measured and reflective manner.
Second, he was unapologetic for speaking his mind, and celebrated his
luck for finding himself imprisoned with victims of the state whom he had
sought to interview for many months without any success.
Apparently he obtained enough material to write an essay that will
reveal all about the state's treatment of its prisoners.
Third, he
showed a humility that enhanced my respect for him. He was willing to
publicly acknowledge that his angry outburst had not served him well. It
said a lot about him as a professional and as a person.
If Mwenda continues to check his emotions and maintains his courage and
fidelity to the truth, he may very well become one of the finest
journalists in Africa. His arrest has catapulted him to an international
stardom that he would do well to utilise in the service of the truth and
freedom. Humbly, and with courage.
Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | 
