On the 9th day of December, I watched disturbing news concerning the scuffle between Uganda’s opposition leader and presidential candidate for the National Unity Platform, flag bearer Mr Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine, and security operatives, and I almost shed a tear at the lawlessness of men clad in this nation’s police uniform, wondering what could have gone wrong and how we had reached such ugly scenes in the blink of an eye.

Kyagulanyi, unlike other presidential candidates, was headed for a presidential campaign when he encountered mean-looking police officers manning roadblocks in an attempt to prevent him from accessing the venue ahead.

As frustrated as he was, in a video clip shared on NTV’s news of December 9, both at 7 PM and 9 PM, he kept urging his team “not to fight back” at those frustrating them. He showed his willingness to offer himself to them to transport him to the campaign venue, something they refused to honour.

Remember, he is entitled to equal yet just treatment like his fellow candidates, which he barely enjoys. My constitutional law teacher, Mrs Jackline Asiimwe, continuously lectures us about the only available means of government change, which are “either participating in an election or staging a coup.”

Even when Kyagulanyi has opted for the former, he has consistently suffered brutal arrests, denial of access to campaign venues, and detention without trial of his security team, contrary to the laws of the land. Violence is never a means of coercion or persuasion. The more he is subjected to such inhumane treatment, the more courageous, defiant, and popular he becomes.

Ideas are never bought off with intimidation and threats. This is akin to expecting a child who lost a parent due to drowning in a river to propose a debate motion titled “Water is better than fire.” To add on, even in such heated amateur debates in primary schools, neither opposers nor proposers strangle each other's necks simply because of different viewpoints.

Photo Credit: Bobi Wine, Twitter (NUP)