I had been teaching Constitutional
law for a while when it dawned upon me that we could not talk about constitutionalism
in Uganda without critically thinking about the situation in Northern Uganda. This
was prior to the aborted 2008 Juba Peace Talks between the Government of Uganda
and the Lord’s Resistance Army. (By the way, the leaders of the negotiating
teams were both Old Boys of my alma mater Busoga College Mwiri but then I digress).
While most of Uganda was relatively peaceful at that time, (with the only
threat being the air raids by Sudan and a quickly repulsed Lakwena rebel
invasion that had reached Eastern Uganda), the Northern question remained a
glaring reminder that all was not well in my beloved nation.
It was at that time that I was
considering deeply about pursuing doctoral studies in law. I became restless
about finding a solution to the plight of my brethren from Northern Uganda and
this opened up the world of intense suffering and pain to me.[1]
You see, having been raised in central Uganda, my interaction with Northern
Uganda was always influenced by what I read from the media, save for a brief
interaction with one of my former law students who was healing from wounds he
had received after rebels ambushed the vehicle he was travelling in. Teaching the
law generally however, and Constitutional law in particular, made me realise
deeper that we need to find lasting solutions to the situation in Northern
Uganda.
Dear Reader, the story of
Uganda, like many former colonies, was one built as a result of blood and iron (if I am to borrow from the famous
words of Prussian Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck). Though immensely beautiful and
gifted by nature, the Ugandan state is a fragile nation that was forged (as former political
stalwart Grace Ibingira would later
write in his book), from war, compromise and unfair deals.[2]
Fast forward, the northern Ugandan situation stood out (and still does to a
large extent) as a problem that is both historical, (read colonial) as well as due to other human errors, omissions or
decisions. It was on this background that my journey ended up in a deeper investigation
of the fields of international criminal law, transitional justice and other
alternatives to tackling war crimes and crimes against humanity on the one
hand, as well as bringing lasting/sustainable peace on the other.[3]
Without getting into so much
detail, one of the solutions that was proposed to the Northern Uganda situation
was the call for a national for truthand reconciliation process. Some of the people resisted this call for fear
of opening up old wounds that would be very difficult to heal. I think this was
an error of judgement on their part. I have read some snippets of the book written
by my former lecturer Apollo Makubuya on how the situation in the lost counties was poorly dealt with.
Many years down the road, the matter has never been successfully managed. It continues
to fester just as the thorny issues of land ownership keep rearing their heads.
It is obvious that we cannot keep pushing matters under the carpet. They need to
be dealt with in the same way as salt or iodine is used to treat wounds lest
they fester and cause sepsis leading to amputations. What happened in Kasese in 2016, in Kayunga in 2009, the call for the Nile Republic, are all mere
symptoms of the bigger problem. They are the tip of the iceberg.
In the same breath, the recent
killing of a young man at Quality Supermarket has sparked a social media furore
about issues of tribe, privilege and class struggles among others. At the
bottom of all these debates is the crucial call for an honest conversation
amongst the populace that can be well managed by a well constituted Truth and Reconciliation
process. Whereas it might sound inconveniencing for others, we owe ourselves, our
posterity, our neighbouring countries and our friends, a better nation than we are
living in. We ignore this call at our own peril. Let us talk.
[1] I
appreciate the useful information that was availed to me at that time by
Nicholas Opio and Charles Dalton Opwonya who are sons of the soil. Their knowledge
and honest conversations helped me understand the complexities of Northern
Uganda better.
[2]
There are very many books one can read on this subject. Authors like Samwiri Karugire,
,
Phares Mutibwa, Oloka Onyango, Apollo Makubuya and others have done a good job
to record the history of our nation.
[3] Refugee Law Project Working Paper No. 15 - Whose justice?: Perceptions of Uganda's Amnesty Act 2000
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