Why Ugandans must expose corruption using social media

By Jimmy Senteza

Endemic graft in public and private offices constitutes acts of economic terrorism tantamount to treason as I elaborated in my last article.

However, this is not an official government stance on this malpractice; rather it is one I pose for two particular reasons.

First is the need to articulate the severity of the harm inflicted upon the masses as a result of this pervasive phenomenon in our society making it, in my mind, the most profound crisis our nation faces today.

This was the gist of the previous article. Secondly, by viewing graft this way, as a cancer that ultimately eats at all of us and seeing the ineptness with which it has been dealt with over the years should hopefully make us appreciate why it is incumbent upon each one of us to fight it if we genuinely hope to rid our nation of it. By doing some of the things I suggest below and perhaps others, we (Ugandans) will be rising up and exercising our constitutional mandate “to combat corruption and misuse or wastage of public property” (Article 17(i)).

The sentiment of ‘I am my brother’s keeper’ has long been practiced by our communities and has been relied upon as a mechanism of maintaining law and order within communities throughout Africa for ages.

That a community will gang up on and likely penalize one of their own caught stealing food from other people’s gardens, or that an elder who finds a younger person from their community involved in some mischievous act can reprimand, report, or even apprehend and take them to their homestead are civic feats not unheard of. These ways ensured that individuals in our societies kept each other in check and ascertained their peaceful coexistence and use of communal resources. It may seem as if civilisation has undermined our ability as a nation to become “our brother’s” or let’s say neighbour’s keeper.

Contrary to this, however, we have been given a huge boost in these abilities and the potency of the collective individual effort in advancing societal order in this modern era due to advances in technology is more lethal than it has ever been.

To the extent that we can covertly, efficiently, capture and at lightning speed disseminate still, audio and video information within Uganda and globally, we have the capability in palm of our hands to effectively turn into our neighbours’ keepers as foot soldiers for this cause. The choice is literally ours.

The technology in the palm of our hands must be deployed by all Ugandans in the spirit of nationalism to put a stop once and for all to the menace of corruption. Three illustrations demonstrate the might of smartphones, mass media, and social networking.

In 2007, a little known Senator from the State of Illinois in the US took to an unconventional approach to the path to US presidency, using social media to raise campaign contributions and boost his candidacy.

Even though he was much frowned upon by his senior and more experienced competitors, he carried the first democratic primary, then that of his party’s candidate for presidency and eventually Obama became the first African American US president and will have led the country for two terms at the end of his tenure.

Recently, the Arab Spring was a landmark revolution that effectively employed social media among other strategies in its sustained resistance, beginning in Tunisia spilling into Arab League nations and toppling presidents on its way.

Finally, back at home most recall a recent saga in which a socialite’s nude photos went viral in a span of days compelling our ethics outfit to contemplate legal sanctions.

Here is the plan of attack in very simple terms: If you are privy to information (physical or you can obtain a video or an audio copy) that you suspect involves misuse of public funds, use your smartphone to capture it and ask a trusted friend to help you disseminate it anonymously.

If you observe a neighbour public servant accumulate unprecedented amounts of wealth in a suspiciously short span of time (prime land, buildings, businesses, etc), obtain footage and with a short description fire it off into the virtual world. If you suddenly notice ridiculous amounts of money flow in and out of a public official’s bank account or you observe questionable assignment of public funds to relatives, friends, etc., be vigilant, obtain and share footage anonymously.

If you are a reluctant collaborator in a graft undertaking, you have an opportunity to deploy you handset to gather and share evidence that will free you from being involved again.

Even if the exposed individual threatens legal action on your employer, the burden is now squarely on them to explain the exposed information which I doubt they would be inclined to do.

It is important to recognise that in every incidence of graft, there always is a disgruntled but knowledgeable party to the illicit deal. Manifestations of this effort abound and by taking this monitoring stance, the perpetrators of graft will think twice before acting and be wary of collaborating in massive rings. The price of committing the practice will skyrocket making it prohibitive. All we will be doing as vigilant citizens is acting as our neighbours’ keeper once again in line with our constitutional mandate.

Most importantly, the mass media can play a significant buttressing role in this effort. Newspapers and TV stations run weekly sections featuring items such as Dr. Love, Auntie Money, Toto. I implore the media to designate a weekly section or time on TV to feature the information above that exposes graft. Provide your readers and viewers an online link or email address and you will be bombarded with this information as long as their privacy is kept.

Fellow Ugandans, let us all start this revolution today so that we can hope to rid our nation of its worst nemesis in our lifetime. For God and My Country.

The writer is Associate Professor of Finance Chair Department of Economics and Finance College of Business and Public Administration at Drake University, US