Musa Bobo

It is selfish to think the whole country is safe because you and your close family are. You cannot ignore Uganda's deeper political instability just because acknowledging it means admitting your business may lose customers for a few months, since the people who would use your product or service are being kept from entering the country. Look around Uganda and you will see heightened insecurity and a growing lack of constitutionalism, both signs of instability. You cannot guarantee that justice will follow if someone's life is taken, or that the law will protect you when you need it. That is the highest level of insecurity. And it is being led by men in the army, including the CDF, who is willing to use the state's monopoly on violence against his own citizens. As Ugandans, we must work together across our economic and social divides to build a country that functions. That means not only protecting our friends, our families and our small circles, but fighting for everyone.

The urgency of this moment cannot be overstated. A specific demographic has robbed a large share of Ugandans of the right to participate in the politics of their country, to shape what it looks like, and to decide what must be prioritized. And the demographic being left out is the largest in Uganda. 83% of Uganda's population is 40 or younger. Yet our politics is controlled by a group that makes up less than 20%. Even within that 20%, not everyone participates. Less than 1% shapes what this country looks like. For 40 years, they have led this country down the drain. We need a Uganda where our cities don't flood after every rain. Where you don't need to come from a specific tribe to get a job. Where you can speak up without worrying that you'll be picked up and jailed the next day. We want a Uganda where, from the day you're born, your own country is not fighting your success. Where success is guaranteed if you work hard and play by the rules. We are now at a critical point of transition. The family that has led us for 40 years, and the same person at its head, wants to keep ruling us for how many more decades? Faces may change, but the spirit remains the same. That is what we are trying to prevent. That is the urgency of the hour.