Uganda: 'Those From Among You' Versus 'Bobi Wine - the People's President'

On July 27, 'Those From Among You,' a documentary series on the five-year bush war that catapulted the ruling regime to power, premiered in Kampala.

On July 28, another documentary premiered in the USA, far away from the confines of Uganda - 'Bobi Wine: The People's President.' Such delightful serendipity.

Directed by the First Daughter, Natasha Kainembabazi Museveni Karugire, 'Those From Among You' tells the story of the guerilla war through a series of interviews from those who were at the heart of the struggle -- the struggle of their generation against tyrannical regimes.

Passionate about Africans telling their own stories, Kainembabazi stressed this story is especially important for Uganda's young people that they may understand Uganda's past to appreciate Uganda today and, therefore, the work ahead.

Directed by a Ugandan-born Englishman Christopher Sharp and a Ugandan filmmaker, Moses Bwayo, 'Bobi Wine: The People's President' has received raving reviews internationally. The documentary follows Robert Kyagulanyi/Bobi Wine from 2017 to 2021, capturing some of the most exhilarating and harrowing moments of Bobi Wine's political metamorphosis from musician to a leading opposition figure.

The president's daughter captures the heroic sacrifices of her father's generation - she presents the story of the liberators - those who fought. Outside Uganda, Bwayo gives voice to the children of the liberated, those who were fought for.

The late African literary giant, Chinua Achebe in his novel, Anthills of the Savannah, quotes an African proverb, "Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter."

Achebe, in a 1994 interview with the Paris Review literary magazine, stressed, "It's not one man's job. It's not one person's job. But it is something we have to do, so that the story of the hunt will also reflect the agony, the travail -- the bravery, even, of the lions."

To the hunter who hunted his animal, Uganda, 1986 is the sun-kissed year when Uganda opened the door to good things. Today, 'Those From Among You' have us (and therafa, themselves) tottering on the edge as we stare down the barrel of a precarious political transition.

When we sleep our sleep of apathy, we dream of a Uganda that works for all of us - where all our stories have a voice. A voice that will not render us disappeared, tortured and maimed for we dared to hold an opinion that disagreed with the hunter's narrative.

In her 2009 blockbuster TED talk on the danger of a single story, Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, warns, "The consequence of the single story is this: It robs people of dignity. It makes our recognition of our equal humanity difficult. It emphasizes how we are different rather than how we are similar."

Thus, what rich privilege for Ugandans that alongside 'Those From Among You' is 'Bobi Wine: The People's President'! The juxtaposition enables us to question Those From Among You why they have made passing on the baton of peace to the next generation a lethal dalliance.

Daily Monitor columnist Musaazi Namiti in October 2022 wrote that the Bobi Wine documentary lays bare the inexcusable human rights record of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) regime. Inexcusable because Those From Among You sacrificed blood and tears to beat back human rights atrocities and bad governance of yesteryears.

As the children of the liberators passionately and rightly so narrate the story of those who fought foras - will the narrative address the mission creep of the NRM regime? Close to 40 years in power, mired in corruption, dysfunctional governance, poor service delivery, and human rights violations - will Those From Among You climb down from their perches of privilege and face us? 'Those From Among You' is told in eight episodes.

We wait eagerly - will it ask the hard and uncomfortable questions about the NRM's failures and missed opportunities? The episodes are available on YouTube and select local television stations.

Can we boldly hope for a local premiere of the Bobi Wine documentary? That all depends on the brand of tear gas you prefer to imbibe flavoured with a tinge of live bullets. Bobi Wine, since his meteoric rise, has been banned from holding music concerts since 2017.

That which was his mainstay has become a privilege reserved for praise singers. In an interview with moveablefest.com, Bwayo talked about the violence he witnessed while shadowing Bobi Wine, "...I really didn't know how violent it could get. There was violence even at the beginning. They had thrown grenades in his compound at some point. They shot [Bobi's] driver. He was tortured. But as we continued to get into the film, the violence got even more heightened..."

Bwayo eventually sought asylum abroad after being shot at and arrested. Speaking at the July 27 premiere, Security minister and bush war veteran Jim Muhwezi urged the bazzukulu to watch 'Those From Among You.' He charged them to guard

the peace his generation of guerilla fighters ushered in to ensure the mistakes of the past are not repeated.

As the children of the liberators and the children of the liberated harness their respective narratives - in between those varied stories is the whole truth that will liberate us. Chinua Achebe's words remain timeless: "Every generation must recognize and embrace the task it is peculiarly designed by history and by providence to reform."

smugmountain@gmail.com

The writer is a tayaad muzzukulu

Uganda: 'Those From Among You' Versus 'Bobi Wine - the People's President'

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