By Ambassador Henry Mayega

Attempts by Uganda’s metropolitan elite to down-play the astronomical achievements of women folk during the Yoweri Museveni administration are at worst laughable; nationals know that such de-calibration is the hand-work of hair-brained dregs in our midst whose pre-occupation it is to reverse them by the stroke of verbosity.

A daily of March 8, 2020, doubly the women’s day, carried a view point on its page ten in which the benighted author, Harrold Achemah, blindly said the women folk had achieved nothing in the last three decades and continued to gormlessly argue thus: “…after 34 years of misrule, the corrupt and … ruling clique believes that it can fool all Ugandans all the time” in apparent reference to this administration. The expanded political space since the plebiscite of 2005 is partly the reason why people elect to misrepresent the truth, Achemah inclusive. And it is my humble duty to craft this rejoinder.

First, both Uganda’s women folk and voters can’t believe such nefarious and witless arguments because nationals without jaundiced eyes know what the status of that gender was before 1986 and where it is now. Women, earlier and exclusively, belonged to the kitchen and inherited nothing after the demise of their spouses; in fact they themselves were, in a primitive practice, inherited by the male siblings of their departed spouses with or without the widows’ consent.

Through unprecedented and deliberate government interventions, women are now occupying more and bigger public offices moreover at equal pay as men; something that even eludes the western world currently. Has that author heard of this? And to fully appreciate the impact of this administration’s interventions to spur gender parity in Uganda, forget about the rough-hewn shenanigans of detractors, uplifting of Uganda’s women has seen them over the last three decades produce, for the first time, a vice president (Specioza Kazibwe), a speaker (Rebecca Kadaga), deputy chief justice (Laeticia Kikonyogo) etc.

And that’s not without a background; stories are abound regarding women taking part in the revolution that ushered in the Yoweri Museveni administration in 1986; that participatory putsch brought them to the decision making table, ended both the rampant raping of women by gun wielding security personnel, extra-judicial killings as well as widowing many of them because of the incessant insecurities that dogged Uganda for decades. Women, as a result, have been net beneficiaries of the peace, security and stability heralded by the Yoweri Museveni administration.

Secondly, those with a cognitive deficit have refuted these advancements on the basis of deep-seated hatred for this administration not because of substance in their arguments; that thoughtless approach leads them into comedy that is precisely the sort of incendiary diversion that in their view thwarts serious and truthful debate and reinforces the belief among the women gender that our gilded elite are out of touch with the reality.

They roam Uganda’s media houses spewing out inaccuracies and attempting, failingly, to delete those achievements inscribed indelibly in the hearts of Uganda’s women. That is the opposition’s Waterloo precisely because their deleterious actions accentuate women’s view that the former’s antithesis is aggressively hostile to enhanced gender parity.

Thirdly and clearly, a cursory look at additional accomplishments registered in the last three decades shows a sterling performance in creating gender parity and equity: according 1.5 points to girls on admission to public universities in the early 1990s increased their access and massification of higher education to the women folk, the establishment of women councils and providing for a slot on LC structures for them politically empowered women for the first time in large numbers and their voice was enhanced as a result, the political parties and organization’s act provides for at least 30% representation of women on party executives plus the provision by law for district women MPs all put together elevated the women folk a notch higher.

Elsewhere, unlike during previous regimes including colonial ones, this administration has committed to: promoting gender equality and empowerment by adopting the international convention on elimination of all forms of discrimination against women and enacting laws to promote women’s human rights. For example the national women’s council act (1993), the prohibition of female genital mutilation act(2010) and the local government act that establishes a democratic, political and gender sensitive environment in local governments.

The aggregation of all these steps and many others not mentioned here, for luck of space, has resulted into the astronomical gender balance and equity.

Ambassador Henry Mayega

Deputy Head of Mission

Uganda Embassy, Beijing, China

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Just last year, I had a very memorable journey to China, a place that I enjoyed and to date I think it’s one of those places one should go to before they depart from this sweet world .The most interesting thing in China is that even when you don’t speak their language you can still have fun, buy whatever you need and still feel at home.

A few months after I was back, Coronavirus was now the chorus and the only verse in the song being sung by everyone around the world.  It’s really disturbing every time I remember the good people that I met in China, the hospitality that I got at all the tourist sites that I visited which I think are now not functional, the good clean streets I walked on that are not very accessible currently because of the lock down , it’s very sad.

Everywhere around the world now, People are now living on misery streets, with misery homes and misery rooms  because of the scare brought by the scourge, it’s like we are not family that is having the same Red blood, everyone is an enemy if not a danger to one another because the World Health Organization now tells us to be a distance from one another, we can’t greet, hug and kiss as it has always been just because of this dangerous disastrous guest (CORONA) that has evaded the world.

It’s all misery East to West and South to North of the world, no one has been left behind in this, it has not isolated any nation, it has attacked us all like never before. No business, no flights, no tours, no work, working at home but who pays those that work at home, No night discos and now no one takes the beers and the waiters and waitresses who are paid per day will have to face the Music from this scourge, the sad verse of the sad song whose lyrics are a hard cough, body weaknesses, Fever, difficulty breathing and many other severe cases.

Its indeed an extraordinary time that I have personally never experienced from childhood, and people around our communities and our country are being asked to make sacrifices in the name of stopping the spread of this pandemic illness because it’s now our role as citizens to deal with it, because if we relax and fail to then we will be at a very great risk of facing the tough times when it finally arrives here in the pearl of Africa (Uganda)

It has not been easy for our comrades out there in those countries that are affected especially China, Wuhan where many of our Ugandan brothers and sisters are, nor will it be but it’s critical that we all stay calm and pull together as we deal with this pandemic. That means that we have to use this time to  support our own businesses(Buy Uganda,  Uganda) since some of the products got from China or any other countries are here and to deal with the current situation where travel bans have been put in place, lets trade from here, deal with others well and, in general, doing the best we can to set a good example of taking precautions serious as advised by the ministry of Health and all in all to take care of ourselves and abide by the guidelines that were put in place by the president of our dear country Uganda.

All Ugandans must know that this situation is temporary and it will continue to be until when it will be nowhere to be. Let us all just be patient and vigilant as we adjust to the new guidelines and orders that have been put in place by the president and the Ministry of Health for the good of our country. It’s already clear that this process and ban on discos, bars, Restaurants and schools from operating will have consequences to our economy but first things first, we have to be safe because life is so precious and cannot equal to anything.

Uganda as a country is based on civil liberties and the rights of individuals of which some of them are rights to movement of which the president has banned international flights from coming to Uganda, no access by passengers or vehicles coming to Uganda, and many other rights that have been halted because of the pandemic but this is just because of the bad times. It is very natural that some of the guidelines put in place limit on our freedoms. However, consider the big picture of COVID-19   a pandemic disease that already has had uncontrolled effects on societies such as China and very powerful countries like Italy.

Fellow Ugandans, now is the time to pull together as brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, friends and in-laws. There are many ways we can do our part as we deal with this public health crisis that has become a world threat. Perhaps most importantly, follow the advice of our health experts and the guidelines by the president. Wash your hands at all times wherever you go. Disinfect frequently touched surfaces in your home and office with sanitizers. Don’t cough or even sneeze in public, it’s very bad. Stay home when you can to avoid any social contact, and stay home if you are not feeling well. Together we shall all be healthy and live a batter life in the pearl of Africa.

Michael Woira

Uganda Media Centre

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