I first heard about Vincent Naramba in a piece by Jackee Budesta Batanda, a Ugandan human rights journalist who is currently a Neuffer Fellow at M.I.T.
Mr. Naramba, a grass-roots political activist from the slums of Kampala, was inspired by the works of Gene Sharp, the so-called “Clausewitz of non-violent war.” On his website Mr. Naramba is calling for an ‘Arab spring’ like uprising in Uganda to overturn the regime of Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled since 1996.
In recent years Museveni has become much less the new-wave reformer, his earlier incarnation, and more the intolerant strongman. He has angered human-rights advocates across the globe because of his persecution of Uganda’s gay community and his ties to the American “Fellowship” group, an organization of fundamentalist American Christians with a virulent anti-homosexual platform. The recent Presidential elections in Uganda were also so poorly run that many Ugandans question whether they are still living in a democracy.
In the case of Mr. Nzaramba, his crime was publishing a book entitled “People Power – Battle the Mighty General,” which calls for a non-violent regime change in Uganda and the removal of Museveni from office. For his efforts Mr. Nzaramba was arrested and jailed for a week and copies of his book were seized by the security forces. However, for Ugandans with internet access that is not a deterrent as the book is available online.
Like his neighbor to the south, Robert Mugabe, President Museveni is retreating into a hall of conspiracy mirrors and the double-edged sword of a protective military. His image has so changed that a recent BBC opinion piece asked whether the radical young reformer who came to power in the 90’s would even recognize the Museveni of today.
One person interviewed for the piece, a former Supreme Court Justice, George Kanyeihamba, put it most succinctly by speculating:
“Some Ugandans have said that if the Yoweri Museveni of 1986 were to meet the Museveni of today they would fight on sight – they would shoot each other.”
