On August 16, 2017, a group of youth, members of some Civil Society Organisation (CSOs), local and national leaders joined us at Hotel Triangle to launch ‘Uganda for All’ discussions, a platform whose major aim is to make sure that all Ugandans share the national cake equally and to also allow them have the freedom to fully express themselves as per the Constitution.
It turns out most Ugandans are not aware of their rights and responsibilities as citizens of this country. We therefore organize dialogues in which we host members of the public and speakers from different sections of our society to freely share ideas and information on the different social, economic and political issues at hand in the country.
Part of the importance of our platform is giving the electorate information that allows it to exercise its political choice. “If voters are to make an informed choice at the polling station, then an active exercise of the freedom[of expression] is essential …,’ the UN Technical Team on the Malawi Referendum of 1993, which chose between a single and multi-party system, stated.
So, freedom of speech is no doubt the very foundation of every democratic society, for without free discussion, particularly on political issues, no public education or enlightenment, an ingredient so essential for the proper functioning and execution of the processes of responsible government, is possible.
Indeed, as youth under the umbrella of Uganda for All, we understand that real democracy and freedom of speech are tightly intertwined; freedom of speech enables each individual to crystallize his or her autonomous opinion in the decision-making process, something vital in a democratic state and Uganda for All is acting as a platform for Ugandans to freely express themselves and also to showcase great knowledge on how to transform the country.
On our very first day, we hosted the State Minister of Finance (General Duties) David Bahati and other discussants representing various forums and just last week we hosted Professor Augustus Nuwagaba and in his submission democracy was the main point of discussion though a very good number of media houses and social media have now totally changed his message to suit their agendas.
As organizers of these dialogues, we strongly disregard the social media hearsay alleging that Prof. Nuwagaba said that it’s only dictatorship that can change Uganda economically and lead to its development.
Michael Woira
Media Relations
Uganda for All
