Democracy without borders is the way to go

Makerere University research fellow, Dr Stella Nyanzi in the dock at Buganda Road Court on November 7, 2018. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Currently, there are political prisoners being held, tortured and murdered for simply standing up against hegemonic rulers.

  • In Uganda, feminist-political activist Dr Stella Nyanzi has been repeatedly harassed, arrested and detained, simply for daring to speak against authority.

  • Tanzania is also hitting hard on dissidents as Halima Mdee, the leader of the main opposition’s women wing was recently arrested.
  • It’s deeply agonising that anyone who dares to speak up against injustice is endangered.

A majority of African states are heightening their clampdown on democratic space by brutally going after dissidents.

This is due to the rise in citizen-led movements broadening democratic space by owning people’s voices while states still remain insistent on total hegemony.

Some great examples are what happened in Zimbabwe under ‘This Flag’ and Togo ‘Faure Must Go’, where states used violence to shut down citizens.

In East Africa specifically, this hegemonic rule continues to cripple citizen engagement with states as criminalising of free speech is unceasing.

Currently, there are political prisoners being held, tortured and murdered for simply standing up against hegemonic rulers.

'ANGERING RULERS'

These are people whose crime is questioning authority so boldly that it makes the rulers angry.

For instance, in Uganda, feminist-political activist Dr Stella Nyanzi has been repeatedly harassed, arrested and detained, simply for daring to speak against authority.

In Rwanda, opposition politicians called for justice following the death of spokesperson Anselme Mutuyimana whose body was found dumped in a forest under unclear circumstances.

Reports, according to witnesses, stated that he died of strangulation, a technique of killing that has grown common in Rwanda and in murders of Rwandan dissidents abroad.

Tanzania is also hitting hard on dissidents as Halima Mdee, the leader of the main opposition’s women wing, Member of Parliament and lawyer was recently arrested.

Magufuli’s robust approach to governance and anti-corruption drive has brought certain benefits.

However, at the same time, the country’s reputation for relative press freedom, democratic discourse and stability have been severely undermined.

Many people are afraid to speak out, while researchers and journalists’ jobs have been made much harder.

Lastly, Kenya isn’t left behind with its civilian crackdown that’s five decades old.

Right from 1976 when Philomena Chelagat Mutai was prosecuted and jailed for two-and-a-half years for being adamant about land rights.

She paid highly for questioning authority plus beyond serving jail time, she lived for three years in forced exile in Tanzania and upon her return, she got rigged out of politics and later died in solitude.

RECENT CASES

In recent history, a badly mutilated body of Mr Meshack Yebei was found 40km from his home in 2015.

Yebei was a key defence witness for the Kenyan ICC case who was abducted in Eldoret.

A similar harrowing incident occurred in 2016 when lawyer Willie Kimani, his client Mr Mwenda and their taxi driver Mr Muiruri were reported to have been kidnapped after leaving Mavoko law courts.

Mr Kimani was by then representing Mr Mwenda in a complaint made against a police officer.

A week later, their three bodies were retrieved from river Athi, badly tortured and decomposing.

As if that’s not enough, courageous Meru University student SG Evans Njoroge was shot dead at close range in 2018 in a demonstration supporting students’ rights against fee increment an incident of horror and disturbing reality.

It’s deeply agonising that anyone who dares to speak up against injustice is endangered.

It’s dreadful how states cannibalise then dispose of courageous people with regimes growing exceedingly intolerant.

We should rethink regional solidarities and fortify institutions protecting democratic freedoms now more than ever.

We must begin discussing what democracy without borders means to us. Because in the end, we all know what happens when people get tired of being ruled by trepidation.

The writer is a policy analyst.