The “sacred promise” for East African citizens with the ambition of the East African Community leading Africa with its ambitious Vision 2050, is quickly being eroded by a reckless, fearful, power-hungry political leadership.
Recent East African political actions against its citizens are worrying. I would like to go as far back as possible because Uganda has been terrorising its citizens for decades now, as recently narrated in a “Poems from Prison – We Refuse to Be Victims” by Sam Mugumya, a Ugandan jailed in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Prison Militaire de Ndolo for eight years, arrested while seeking asylum.
East African citizens have become a pawn in the game of power politics, where the military has moved from its barracks and is being used to harass, arrest and kill East Africans. The military, ordinarily meant to “defend its nation against external threats and ensure internal security, enhance the safety of the nation’s social, economic, and political institutions against threats from other independent states” has moved in against its own citizenry.
In June and July 2024, Kenya unleashed its military into the streets, where many patriotic Kenyans were murdered in cold blood, as recently confirmed by a BBC documentary. In November 2024, Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye was abducted in Nairobi, apparently by military officers, though civilian. He was later found in a Ugandan military prison.
In Tanzania, CHADEMA opposition leaders have been harassed and arrested, the party banned from participating in the upcoming October elections and leader Tundu Lissu charged with treason. Tanzania unleashed its military on Kenyan human rights defender Boniface Mwangi and Ugandan advocate Agather Atuhaire. Tanzania also shamelessly deported party leader Martha Karua and Emeritus Chief Justice Dr Willy Mutunga, among others.
