To understand some of these fearless souls of my time (Dr Stella Nyanzi, Afande Kirumira, now Kakwenza Rukirabashaija), I always return to that revolutionary Eritrean adage that contrasts lions and dogs while talking about living under any authority. The Eritreans have this adage: “It is better to die like a lion, than live like a dog.”
See, while Mzungu dogs live comfortable lives with decent accommodation, and processed foods, our local mongrels are conditioned to cold verandas, bones and leftovers. Sometimes, human excrement! Ouch. Either way, be they Mzungu or local dogs, they remain dogs—and will eat vomit if their masters were away.
Like all other meat-eating animals, dogs have been gifted with power, speed, and strong teeth. But they never realise their potential, and thus never enjoy the beautiful wild like the other animals of their kind – content with the little they get from their masters. Lions, on the other hand, being without need for provider-masters, do not eat grass, bones or leftovers.
Theirs is a life of beauty, freedom, fresh meat, and luxury. They could die young, of course, – just like the dogs – but they die having lived a life of freedom and dignity.
I have written before that Afande Kirumira, Stella Nyanzi, and now novelist Kakwenza Rukirabashaija are the heroes of our time refusing to live our stupid dog-lives and have chosen the seemingly dangerous but liberated life of lions.
One may ask, what is the point of living a long, painful and ignominious dog’s life – eating vomit, hopeless futures, no medicines in hospitals, sleeping in the cold, with cries and tears coming from everywhere you turn – yet being surrounded by plenty?
See, our oppressors never understand that there comes a time when their victims are more determined to confront their bollocks than they are willing to kill them. A time comes when the bodies human beings carry mean so little than the souls inside them: too many deaths, too much pain, too much suffering, and many differed and dead dreams.
These many frustrations and bleak futures make resisting – at whatever cost – more meaningful than trying to sketch a painful existence.
Many lowbrow commentators have charged at Nyanzi, Kirumira and now Rukira for being “reckless” about their lives while confronting some really bad and dangerous people. They risk death!
But look, many politically “careful” “non-offensive” “non-reckless” people have died from avoidable things such as malaria, road accidents or maternal mortality.
Sadly, these politically-careful or simply apolitical people died from the lack of oxygen, or some tablets at a national referral hospital. Why? Because the money for those was stolen by the bad and dangerous people they feared. One can actually say, they died from their political carefulness – fearing to upset those who actually stole the monies that would have saved their lives!
It is my contention that Afande Kirumira’s death—as happened for his political positions—is actually better than that of a road accident, malaria or Covid-19 patient, who passed on at Mulago hospital because of the lack of oxygen, power blackout or when doctors went on an industrial strike. Technically, the same things killed them. But while Kirumira died standing up against these dark forces, those other patients died from their political carefulness.
See, even in death, Afande Kirumira has remained with us, inspiring generations. Quite often, Ugandans find confidence in one of his most famous quips on death and life in Museveni’s Uganda: “when you speak you die; when you do not speak, you die; so, better speak and die when the message has reached the people. I act as the messiah,” Kirumira famously said. He would die without turning on his words – and remains with us to this day.
In Museveni’s Uganda, the mess starts and ends with Museveni himself. Thus, to remedy the situation, the object of attack has to be Museveni and his co-conspirators. Unable to remove them, active citizens have chosen to make them feel bad; cause them immense mental pain, and embarrassment.
As Kakwenza has showed us – just as Stella Nyanzi has often demonstrated – words have power, and actually hurt our oppressors really bad.
It was the same in the colonial time. With the right packaging, words can move mountains. They may not be as efficient or sufficient as to make the oppressors change course. But they hurt them so bad, and make them do terrible things, not only to the attackers, but also to themselves. In a country where resisting is the only meaningful way of living – and not living like dogs –Kakwenza, Nyanzi and Kirumira are our new heroes and points of inspiration.
yusufkajura@gmail.com
The author is a political theorist based at Makerere University.
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