Protests should have purpose, direction

OPINION

Recently, most of the international news has been dominated by images and commentary about the protests in the US, which were triggered by the broad-daylight suffocation of an unarmed black man on the streets by uniformed police. 

The whole episode was so revolting to the human conscience hence the protests. Bear in mind that this was not the first killing of an unarmed black man by a white man (or white policeman). These protests have grown so exponentially that COVID-19 pandemic has been pushed to the back burner.

There are a couple of things that, as Ugandans — whether ordinary citizens, law enforcement personnel or leaders can learn and ought to be alive to in the conduct of our affairs. 

First is that the "ultimate trigger" for very massive protests by the citizenry will not necessarily be an egregious and gigantic act or omission. Even an otherwise ‘usual' reaction to a simple offence might just rub the people the wrong way and light the spark for public protest.

Many of us have witnessed the reaction — usually from law enforcement — to certain actions by certain individuals and recoiled in horror at the apparent excesses displayed. Even as supporters and well-wishers of the Government (the true ‘Silent Majority'), some of the actions leave a bad taste. There should always be more humane ways of addressing situations and in the process avoid unintended adverse consequences; and militaristic and other strong-arm methods should be exercised only when the circumstances are clearly deserving. I am always asking myself, why did the policeman not lift his knee off the neck of George Floyd? Why didn't the other policemen at the scene intervene and yank him off the suspect who complained that he could not breathe?  

Secondly, we must also recognise that in every otherwise well-intentioned peaceful gathering, there are always some individuals who will harbour motives of inciting and instigating violence. From the American protests this has manifested itself where the bazungu infiltrate the peaceful protesters to destroy property and even engage in looting. 

Personally, I was encouraged to see the blacks intervening and stopping the whites from engaging in actions that had the potential to taint the purpose of the protests. An important lesson here is that protest leaders and indeed those that join the cause and participate in the protests must always try as much as possible to police each other and avoid overreaching into otherwise criminal conduct.

Thirdly, it should not be unseemly and shocking for the law enforcers to join in public protests, as has been demonstrated in US, moreover while in uniform. Many police officers and other law enforcement people freely joined the protesters and marched together.

They laid down their riot-quelling gear and the excitement among the protesters was unmistakable. This did not mean that those officers had ceased to be in law enforcement, but rather that they also recognised the injustices that certain rotten apples within their ranks unjustifiably visited upon the African Americans and other minority communities. 

Fourthly, community organising is a strong and powerful tool through which to pursue social justice. The leaders of these organisations have been at the forefront in mobilising their members to join the protests. It has not been your usual daytime and vocal politicians even speaking at the protest gatherings, but rather the community organisers and other otherwise ordinary people. 

Fifthly, we must disabuse our minds of the notion that participation in (legitimate) protest is an activity for the lower class. We should be able to overcome bias and prejudice when we are confronted with reprehensible events that shake us to the core as human beings.

Sixthly, not every protest must be led by your favourite politician. The cause with which you identify or the positive values which you espouse and champion should cultivate you enough to mobilise yourself and probably a critical mass of the population to call for change, be it social, economic or otherwise.  

In Uganda, to my mind, we, unfortunately, have an "all or nothing" attitude to everything and this causes problems. For example, if I mobilise to protest for a cause then I will want to conduct my protest in the busiest centres of Kampala yet I could hold the same protest (and with all the necessary media coverage) in another part of the city. Then when law enforcement intervenes to re-direct the march then the protesters turn volatile and the whole situation becomes chaotic. This is unnecessary. Re-direction of a protest route should not be viewed as an impediment to the right to protest. 

Again, protests serve a purpose and are not merely conducted to occasion disruption of other people's businesses and livelihoods or merely to engage the security forces in running battles. They cannot, therefore, be an aimless and rudderless vehicle to settle (usually political) scores.

celebrations that attended the nullification of certain provisions of the Public Order Management Act ought not to be viewed as a blanket waiver to conduct protest marches wantonly and irresponsibly. I strongly believe that prior engagement with law enforcement — not to seek their permission, obviously — but to co-ordinate the planning of the time, route, place of final congregation, etc. serve a useful purpose. 

This country belongs to all of us. We intend to live here alongside you for all the time. It, therefore, serves no legitimate purpose when we choose to destroy our own neighbourhoods and businesses in the name of exercising our right to protest. We might not get the constitutional balance right tomorrow, but I long for a Uganda where the right to protest will be freely and responsibly exercised. 

The writer is a senior partner with Okua & Associates Advocates