Kampala: 9th October, 2020 marks the 58th anniversary since the British colonial masters handed over the Constitutional Instruments of Independence to Ugandans to run the state affairs of their country politically, economically and socially. In 58 years, a lot has happened and according to some political analysts, the harvests of 58 years still show that Uganda is not fully independent.
According to human rights activist, Sarah Bireete, people’s freedom is still not respected like how it was before independence. “People’s freedom is not respected. Ugandans are not independent because their freedoms have not been respected. Many people have been arrested and are waiting for justice, therefore you cannot tell such people that they live in an independent country. People have been put under safe houses, tortured and others killed but the perpetrators are free! And you tell me that Ugandans attained independence?” she wondered.
Bireete added that an increased number of young Ugandans going to Middle East looking for greener pastures is a clear example of modern day slavery which is definitely a sign of a country that is not independent.
In the same line the Principal of Makerere Business School (MUBS) Prof. Waswa Balunywa has also said that the spirit of colonialism is still governing Uganda. “We attained independence from the British to lead ourselves but they did not give us independence in the business and economics sectors of the country. They are the ones who decide what we must get, how we must do our businesses and what we must not do, that is why we have the IMF giving us policies to follow,” he said.
“That is why when you analyse our banking sector, apart from Centenary Bank, other banks are owned by foreigners, therefore they drive our economy basing on their foreign interests. If we had most of Banks owned by Ugandans, their policies would be focusing on a common Ugandan which is not the case with the banks at present.”
Patrick Amuriat Obo, the presidential flag bearer Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), also said that given the escalating percentage of loans from the West, Uganda is still in the hands of the colonialists. “Looking at our economy today with this big debt burden on us it reflects a big crisis on us. When you assess the poverty levels in this country and the over-reliance on the west, it is overwhelming for one to think that we are free and independent,” he said adding that the continued political persecutions by those in power since independence have continuously left the country in deep struggles of development.
