Open Letter to the President

Greetings Your Excellency,

I’m fairly confident you’ll read this letter in the evening so I’ll just go ahead and say good evening. I’m sending it in the morning but I know you’re such a busy person and probably won’t get to your mail until much later. And because it is a Monday, I know this will be one of the last things you do before you sign out for the day. So good evening Your Excellency.

My reason for writing this letter was originally simple – I wanted to ask a question or two and perhaps suggest one or two things but as I began to write it, I realised that the reason might be more complex than that. But don’t worry, I’ll explain shortly.

I watched your speech the other day and as is always the case when I watch your speeches, I learnt quite a lot. You’re a very knowledgeable man and the people who benefit up-close from your wisdom daily are the luckiest human beings. I hope they’re aware and they don’t take it for granted.

You said many wise things during your speech.

You were right about the issue of the environment. I think now, more than ever before, we as a nation need to rethink the way we relate to the environment. The environment has a way of fighting back when human beings disrupt it and most times when the fightback happens, we are the losers. Unfortunately, many rich Ugandans are taking advantage of their positions of privilege to mess up the environment. I am happy you expressed your dissatisfaction about the same and I was glad to hear that you are planning to act with an iron arm against people who are ruining our environment.

You were also right on the issue of agriculture. For a nation for whom agriculture is still the backbone of the economy, we need more young people engaging in it. We have decent weather, our soils are fertile and there is a ready market. One sad reality however is that many young people (myself included), have invested in agriculture and gotten burned terribly. There are so many sad tales of young people who have tried to diversify their income earning by investing in agriculture and unlike the wealthy people who can afford losses now and again, the young people don’t have that luxury. When a young person painfully forks out UGX 2,000,000 to invest in maize and only gets proceeds of UGX 340,000 it discourages them from ever trying it again. There are hundreds of similar stories floating around and I can tell you that it is not for lack of trying but many young people are greatly disillusioned about agriculture. Something drastic needs to happen and it needs to happen quickly but from where I am standing, young people have invested in and been disappointed by agriculture.

There was another issue that you hinted at, albeit briefly, that I wanted to visit. News reached your desk that some young Ugandans are planning to march to parliament on July 23rd to protest the astronomical levels of corruption in Uganda. Recent revelations have been made about the levels of corruption going on in this country that it has shocked many of us. Since you’re the fountain of honour, we look to you for guidance regarding such issues. I refuse to believe that you condone corruption so I am fairly certain it is happening behind your back and without your knowledge.

From what I am hearing, the police have intelligence that some people want to use the planned march to disrupt businesses. Whatever reasons such people have, I can not be behind them one single bit – and no sane citizen can or should. It’s just that, even though I am no expert in intelligence, it somewhat confuses me that the police do not have the capacity or mandate to identify and weed out characters who want to disrupt city life but have the capacity and mandate to stop anyone from peacefully demonstrating. Seeing as you are a person who loves to uphold the Constitution, I’d like to suggest that you let these people have their peaceful demonstration as provided for by the Constitution but you task the police and other security organs to make sure no disruption of city life or business happens. This, I believe is 100% possible. I don’t think there can ever be a scenario where criminals overpower police. Impossible!

Your Excellency, we are at a very trying time in our history – a time when the levels of corruption are so high that it is costing every Ugandan at least UGX 200,000. (According to stats from the IGG’s office) You’ve recently mentioned that you’re intent on fighting corruption and I see no reason why you would not support a peaceful demonstration against the same. If anything, it would be nice to see you support the demonstration and call for Ugandans to complain publicly about corruption. People think you aid and abet corruption. Giving this peaceful demonstration a go-ahead would be the ultimate show of support for the fight against corruption. That would be the greatest sign from you that you are serious about fighting corruption. As it is right now, all the corrupt people in Government are happy that you’re against the peaceful demonstration and they will most likely be thanking their gods because you seem to be protecting them. And as I already said, I hate to think that you’re on the side of the corrupt and not on the side of the people.

You, as the president, should be able to support any anti-corruption initiatives that the people come up with. When you mentioned that those planning to demonstrate should contact Edith Nakalema, head of the State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SH-ACU), I was somewhat taken aback because as you might or might not be aware, a good number of those involved in that anti-corruption initiative are perpetrators of corruption themselves so the anti-corruption walk was an absolute mockery of the fight against corruption. If anything, since the walk, a lot more corruption has happened in this great nation. I know many Ugandans, myself included, who hate the disruption of city life and because of that, we are more than willing to offer ourselves to make sure the demonstration is peaceful. We are more than happy to identify and hand over any individuals we come across who have ulterior motives as we peacefully protest. Because of how much corruption has negatively impacted us as a nation (some of us on a more personal level) we feel like it would be the grandest of gestures from you to let the people go about the peaceful demonstration and if any individuals show any signs of wanting to disrupt peace, they be dealt with accordingly.

As I said, we are happy to be the eyes and ears of the police in this upcoming peaceful demonstration and we’re willing to work with security organs to ensure that any characters that attempt to disrupt the life and work of others are immediately weeded out. The bottom line is we would want the corrupt people to see that we are tired and this we can do through the peaceful demonstration.

The speeches you give about Corruption are well-intentioned but they often fall short because the corrupt people feel insulated. After all, they imagine you are fighting corruption alone, without the support of the people. This peaceful demonstration would show them that we, the people, are very much a part of the fight and we are ready to expose all of them.

This peaceful demonstration could also be an opportunity for Your Excellency, to see that Ugandans are a peace-loving people and for the world to see how much of a peaceful nation we are – despite all our shortcomings.

I, therefore, come before you with the humblest of appeals to seek that you ask the police not to torture, tear gas or arrest the citizens when they show up to peacefully protest. These people the police want to torture are innocent Ugandans who feel unheard and unseen. These are innocent Ugandans who over the years have never had the opportunity to show their dissatisfaction or bitterness towards corruption. These are people who have lost livelihoods, property, opportunities and even lives to corruption. To want to muffle these innocent citizens is not only unfortunate but also sad.

You’ve always maintained that Ugandans are a peaceful people and in that, I agree with you. But how can we be a peaceful people when we can’t even be allowed to peacefully demonstrate? It goes against all logic that we are being held hostage by news that there might be a few characters who are anything but peaceful. As I said, I am no expert in intelligence but I’d like to think that if the police have credible information that some people want to disrupt affairs, that intelligence should have led them to some names and perhaps planned activity. As long as there is evidence, they have every right to detain those people, just let the rest of us peace-loving Ugandans exercise our right to peacefully demonstrate. That is all I ask for, on behalf of all the other Ugandans who are tired of corruption.

We, the taxpayers, are losing almost UGX 9 Trillion to corruption every year – that’s about 44% of local gov’t revenue. That’s a scary figure, Your Excellency. The corruption happening in the Executive, Judiciary and Parliament has reached unprecedented levels and when the citizens want to peacefully demonstrate against it, you should support them. If anything, Your Excellency, you should join the peaceful protests to as to send a clear and unequivocal message to the corrupt class that you will not tolerate their anti-patriotic stunts. You have recently said that you are taking the fight to the next level, I would like to think that this should and can be the first step in the right direction.

When the people decide that they want to have a peaceful protest, the police should be happy to give them security and protection and make sure their peaceful protest goes according to the agreed plan. That, in my opinion, is the mandate of the police. If a time comes when the police confidently say that they won’t let the people peacefully demonstrate because they fear that there are characters who want to hijack the peaceful protests, I think that will be the ultimate failure of the police.

Finally, as I wrap up, there is a reference that I think you might relate to.

During your speech on 20th July, you shared a very interesting story about your life as a herdsman. When you were herding your father’s cows in the 1950s, you once forgot about the cows and they ended up causing problems to a neighbour’s garden of millet. That was not the last day the cows were herded, was it? Just because there is a risk of the cows wandering off into a garden does not mean you keep the cows at home. You continue to herd them with care and caution to make sure they don’t wander into a neighbour’s garden. The solution to the risk of cows potentially entering a garden they aren’t supposed to enter is not to stop the cows from herding or slaughtering all the cows. The solution is to keep a watchful eye over them and any cows that wander off are immediately brought back to the herd. Let your humble citizens peacefully protest corruption and let the police offer security and guidance so that activity is not disrupted. I beg of you.

Think about it, Your Excellency.

For now, I remain your humble muzukulu,

Bernard Ewalu Olupot