The Sine Qua Non of Uganda's Heroism

As with any fancy-named scheme coming out of the NRM government, there is the ever creative Museveni behind it. And so on the heels of the Martyrs’ Day—a day in remembrance of a mass murder—there is the Heroes’ Day, effectively, a day in which the NRM congratulates itself. For all intents and purposes, it is about celebrating violent, mostly, men. The list of those “honored” speaks for itself. The subtle message is: have a gun to enforce your will and you might become a hero too. Is that the message we want to give to the youth and leaders of tomorrow?

The oft-quoted NRM one-liner: We are not here by accident. If violence is the message, it is neither by accident that we have spurts of violent outrages: a soldier goes on a shooting spree, a husband stabs a wife for ownership of a house, a husband forces a wife to suckle a dog, a jealous fiend splashes acid on the face of another, ad infinitum.

Heroes’ Day is the creation of a violent mind. On his list he will not have those who gave support from such places as Nairobi or London. He just doesn’t see the vital connections of those out-of-bush king makers who were equally violent by intent. But, Aaah! He would contrive and fabricate a long-ago violent tribal king into his hero list. As the great fabricator, he would assert that the NRA was “inspired” by the “heroism” of Kabalega. Give me a break. Of course, now the Luoness of Kabalega’s ancestry is unmentionable as it was done in the Luoing of another great tribe that was beginning to be a crab in the groin. The heroism of Kabalega is simply meant to garner some Bunyoro votes.

And so, his heroes are not my heroes—neither should they be yours. Our heroes are the doctors, the nurses, the teachers and other workers who work for pittance. The mothers and fathers who sacrifice the little they have to raise families are our heroes.