2. Isaiah 40:31; But
those who trust in
the lord will find
new strength. They
will soar high on
wings like Eagles.
They will run and
The Great Majestic Bald not grow weary.
Eagle-The National Bird They will walk and
of the United States of not faint.
America. It is a symbol
of Power, strength, and
thievery-as it does steal
sometimes.
Job 39:27-30; is it at your command
that the Eagle rises to the heights to
make its nest? It lives on the cliffs,
making its home on a distant, rocky
crag. From there it hunts its prey,
keeping watch with piercing eyes.
Its young gulp down blood. Where
there’s a carcass, there you will find
it.
2
3. CONTENTS
EAGLE ONE....................................................4
EAGLETWO....................................................5
From Third world to first world...........................7
The King Who Ruled Nothing.............................10
People Power....................................................12
2010-11 Tunisian Revolution............................13
The Main Problems Of Uganda..........................18
One Safe Option For Uganda..............................21
A Possible Coup D’etat......................................30
Contaminants of Nonviolent Campaigns.............34
EAGLE THREE...............................................41
Key Steps On The Path To A Nonviolent Revolution....42
Methods/Weapons Of Nonviolent Action...................42
The Methods Of Political Noncooperation..................47
INTRODUCING THE NONVIOLENT REVOLUTION.....54
Mission.................................................................55
Key steps on the path to the success of
NOREV-Uganda.....................................................56
Immediate demands...............................................57
Cause and Vision...................................................59
Guidelines of the struggle.......................................63
Reasons for the use of nonviolent strategy................65
3
4. EAGLE ONE
O
nce upon a time, there was a large mountainside, where
an eagle’s nest rested. The eagle’s nest contained four
eggs. One day an earthquake rocked the mountain caus-
ing one of the eggs to roll down the mountain, to a chicken farm,
located in the valley below. The chickens knew that they must
protect and care for the eagle’s egg, so an old hen volunteered
to nature and raise the large egg. One day, the egg hatched and
a beautiful eagle was born. Sadly, however, the eagle was raised
to be a chicken. Soon, the eagle believed he was nothing more
than a chicken.
The eagle loved his home and family, but his spirit cried out
for more. While playing a game, on the farm one day, the eagle
looked to the skies above and noticed a group of mighty Eagles
soaring in the skies. “Oh”, the eagle cried, “I wish I could soar
like those birds.” The chicken roared in laughter, “You cannot soar
with those birds! You are a chicken and chickens do not soar.”
The Eagle continued staring, at his real family up above, dream-
ing that he could be with them. Each time, the Eagle would let
his dreams be known, he was told it couldn’t be done and that is
what the Eagle learned to believe. The eagle, after time, stopped
dreaming and continued to live his life like chicken. Finally, after
a long life as a chicken, the Eagle passed away.
4
5. EAGLE TWO
A
Man was visiting a farmer one day and was surprised to
see a beautiful Eagle in the farmer’s chicken farm. “Why
in the world, asked the Man, have you got this Eagle living
in with the chicken?” “Well, answered the farmer, I found him
when he’s little and raised him there with the chickens. He doesn’t
know any better, he thinks he is a chicken.” The man was aston-
ished. The Eagle was pecking the grain and drinking from the
watering can. The Eagle kept his eyes on the ground and strutted
around in circles, looking every inch a big, over-sized chicken.
“Doesn’t he try to spread his wings and fly out there?” asked the
man. “No, said the farmer, and I doubt he ever will, he doesn’t
know what it means to fly.”
“Well,” said the man, “let me take him out and do a few experi-
ments with him.” The farmer agrees, but assured the man that
he was wasting his time. The man lifted the bird to the Top of
the chicken farm fence and said “Fly!” He pushed the reluctant
bird off the fence and fell to the ground in a pile of dusty fea-
tures. Next, the undaunted man took the ruffled chicken/Eagle
to the farmer’s hay loft and spread its wings before tossing it
high in the air with the command “FLY!”
5
6. The frightened bird shrieked and fell ungraciously to the barn-
yard where it resumed pecking the ground in search of its dinner.
The man again picked the eagle and decided to give it one more
chance in a more appropriate environment, away from the bad
example of chicken life style. He set the docile bird on the front
of his pick-up truck next to him and headed for the highest point
in the country. After a lengthy and sweaty climb to the crest of
the mountain with the bird tucked under his arm, he spoke gen-
tly to the golden bird. “Friend, he said, you were born to soar. It
is better that you die here today on the rocks below than live the
rest of your life being a chicken.” Having said these final words,
he lifted the Eagle up and once more commanded it to “FLY!” He
tossed it out in space and this time, much to his relief, it opened
its seven-foot wingspan and flew gracefully into the sky. It slow-
ly climbed in ever high spirals, riding unseen thermals of hot air
until it disappeared into the glare of the morning sun. The man
smiled and thought how happy he was with his days work.
Individuals, organizations, and even Nations have a dream to
realize. But sometimes they let their dreams die because they
have been told that it is impossible to achieve such a dream, or
the way they decide to behave makes it impossible for them to
achieve their dream, and sometimes they’re let down by their
leaders who once in power serve themselves and rule over the
people by brutal means. While other Nations like Singapore,
groups/organizations, and individuals achieve their dreams and
even supersede them.
6
7. FROM THIRD WORLD TO FIRST
( LEE KUAN YEW)
S
ingapore is an Island that was once colonized by the British.
After gaining internal self-government, Singapore became
part of Malaysia on 16th September 1963. The merger
was short-lived and Singapore separated from Malaysia on 07th
August 1965.
Under the leadership of Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore underwent
great transformation to come from ‘Third World to First’ in less
than three decades. Lee Kuan Yew led Singapore from 1959 to
1990 when he chose to step down so as to enable a stable lead-
ership renewal. As the co-founder and first Secretary General of
the People’s Action Party (PAP), he led the party to eight free and
fair democratic election victories from 1959 to 1990.
Other than its location, Lee Kuan Yew knew that since Singa-
pore had no mineral resource to dig from the ground, the only
resource that could be the basis for its economic development
and prosperity was its labor force. So Singapore hoped to com-
pete favorably in the global market by producing cheap labor
with technical skills that are unavailable elsewhere in the third
world.
With a combination of a mixed economy, availability of skilled
labor, an incorruptible bureaucracy, and political stability and
security Singapore was able to attract foreign industries. The
other key to Singapore’s development was the upgrading of in-
frastructure, streets, roads, and a World class Airport, and a
7
8. non-partisan well equipped professional armed force.
Most importantly, Lee Kuan Yew understood that the greatest
asset he had was the trust and confidence of the people of Singa-
pore which he was careful not to squander by corruption and mis-
government. This kept Singapore’s multilingual, multicultural,
and multi-religious society united. Although divided into several
races, Lee Kuan Yew believed that a fair and even-handed policy
would get the people live together and peacefully especially if
such hardships as unemployment were shared equally. Severe
unemployment and a housing crisis were solved by embarking
on a modernization programme that focused on establishing a
manufacturing industry, developing large public housing estates
and investing heavily on public education. And because of these
and many more, Singapore’s economy has grown by an average
of 9% each year since its independence in 1965. By the 1990s,
the country had become one of the world’s most prosperous
nations, with a highly developed free market economy, strong
International trading links, and the highest per capita gross do-
mestic product in Asia outside Japan.
All what Singapore did to prosper has been copied by African
leaders and it is on paper but what has failed is implementation.
Implementation has failed largely due to the corrupt nature of
most African leaders. Presidents in Africa tell the public that it’s
the public servants and accounting secretaries and their minis-
ters who are corrupt but they do nothing to punish them. For
foreign aid reception purposes all institutions to check theft of
public funds are legally put in place by African governments but
in actual sense do nothing apart from prosecuting the small and
weak and also persecuting those who have fallen-out with the
regime. Selective prosecution is nothing but persecution.
Lee Kuan yew explained why he was able to lead Singapore for
long and also be able to help it prosper. His answer was that he
8
9. never deceived the people of Singapore and that he never tolerat-
ed theft of public funds. Among other things he vaccinated cor-
ruption by strengthening public institutions, and also by putting
in place and enforcing the law to limit the amount of money used
in political campaigns. He said that once politicians use a lot of
money to come into office they have to find ways of getting back
that money and the only way to do so is through corrupt means.
When asked how a nation can put corruption under control, his
answer was that;
“corruption can be controlled to zero level only if the executive has
the will to do so and also by use of the Nation’s intelligence agen-
cies.” In Africa, the leaders are not willing to fight corruption.
They instead use the intelligence system of the Nation to oppress
political opponents and suffocate political freedoms so as con-
solidate themselves in power. But when inequalities become so
evident by the widened gap between the poor and rich, the peo-
ple have no option but regain their power by overthrowing the
parasitic dictatorship. That is the way things happened recently
in Tunisia and Egypt leaving Ben Ali and Mubarak ruling noth-
ing. Libya’s ‘king of kings’ has fallen and maybe others south of
the Sahara are on their out if they don’t save the situation when
still early. Dictators are so weak and not strong as they usually
make us believe.
9
10. THE KING WHO RULED
NOTHING
T
he king who ruled nothing is a whimsical parable about a
cruel King who ended up a lonely pauper when his sub-
jects stopped obeying his commands. It was published in
the October 2005 Issue of Global Bits, a news letter from New
Zealand.
Once upon a time there lived a cruel King who ruled with an iron
fist. He was the most powerful King in the world, with a power-
ful army and an abundance of gold. One day the General of his
army came to him with some rather bad news.
“Your lordship,” said the General, “my men are tired of war. They
are tired of bad food and mud and blood and they wish to come
back home. We have already conquered half the world and the
royal treasury is bursting with gold. The men think enough is
enough.”
“The men think?” screamed the King. “What do I care what the
men think? The men do not rule this Kingdom- I do. Hang the men
who will not fight.”
“I have your Highness. I’ve executed hundreds. But they still will
not fight anymore. Now the executioners are refusing to hang any
more soldiers.”
“Then hang the hangmen,” ordered the King.
“Me personally? I’m afraid I couldn’t do that. They are all close
personal friends.”
“Then I will have you hung. Guard! Seize him!” But try as he
might, the King could not find anyone willing to arrest the Gen-
eral. “I’ll kill you myself then,” screamed the furious King.
Just then the palace guard came in and announced that hundreds
10
11. of women and children were gathering outside the palace gates
and demanding that their men be allowed to come home from
wars.
“Tell them to go home,” said the King.
“We have,” said the guard. But they won’t leave.”
“Have them hung then.”
“We don’t have enough ropes.”
“Arrest them.”
“We don’t have enough dungeon space.”
“Then let them stay there until hell freezes over,” shrieked the
King.
“How will we get supplies into the palace, your Highness?” asked
the guard.
“We have plenty of supplies for now. All this disobedience has
made me hungry. Where is my lunch?”
“The cook has joined the people outside,” said the guard.
“Well, I still have my gold,” said the King. “Have the palace treas-
urer give a coin to everyone who will obey me.”
“The palace treasurer has joined the people outside as well,” said
the guard. And the rest of the staff is packing their bags.”
……………………. The King was forced to take all his gold and
move into a small village……. .
But still no one would obey him- not the neighborhood children
when he told them to get out of his garden, not even his own
dog. Day after day, the King would sit and count his gold that no
one would accept. Sometimes one of his former subjects would
come by and they would enjoy a game of chess, but unlike the
old days, they wouldn’t let the King win.
Meanwhile, the people in the Kingdom prospered in peace and
lived happily ever after.
11
12. PEOPLE POWER
T
he above story is a classic explanation of a successful non-
violent revolution. Out of intolerable conditions unarmed
Citizens rise-up against the seemingly all-powerful wealthy
dictatorship and within a short time and with the least cost to
human life and other resources the dictatorship is swept out of
power. Examples of this kind of successful struggle are many and
some of them include; Milosevic’s hold onto power was termi-
nated by people power in 2000; Suharto had ruled Indonesia for
32 years overseeing one of the most brutal and corrupt regime
in the world which was ended in 1998 by people power; the
Philippine nonviolent Revolution of 1986 led to the departure
of Ferdinand Marcos and the restoration of the country’s democ-
racy after ending his 20-year authoritarian, and severely oppres-
sive regime. It has been suggested that the Philippine revolution
subsequently became an inspiration for the revolutions of 1989
that contributed to ending of communist dictatorships in East
Europe. Mahatma Gandhi used nonviolent resistance to liberate
the Indian people from oppression and he succeeded; Martin
Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement used the same
strategy against racial discrimination in the United States of
America from 1950s to 1960s and succeeded. Jesus Christ used
nonviolence to liberate the human race which made Christian-
ity the strongest faith belief in the world even after his physical
departure from the earth. Nonviolent strategy is such a powerful
strategy. Man has always been looking for effective weapons and
strategy of waging war; first it was bow and arrow, then the gun
powder and its modern innovations until it has been discovered
that the best strategy of warfare in this global village is nonvio-
lent strategy. Of recent, we have witnessed people power throw
12
13. out of power some of the once powerful longtime dictatorships
in the world.
After 41 years of oppressive dictatorship, Gaddafi’s regime has
melted away due a combination of both violent and nonviolent
struggle leaving some of sons dead and others captured and the
rest of the family fleeing into exile.
2010-11 TUNISIAN REVOLUTION
A t the end of 2010 the world watched International TV chan-
nels with amazements at events as they were unfolding in
Tunisia where President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was under the
pressure of an intensive campaign of Civil Resistance, includ-
ing a series of street demonstrations. The events began on 17th
December 2010 sparked off by the self-immolation of the Twen-
ty-Six year old Mohamed Bouazizi and on 14th January 2011,
President Ben Ali resigned and fled to Saudi Arabia, ending his
23 years in power.
Mohamed Bouazizi had been the sole income earner in his ex-
tended family of eight. He had graduated from University and
after failing to get employment that matches his qualification he
decided to operate a purportedly unlicensed vegetable cart for
seven years in Sidi Bouzid which is 300km south of the capital
Tunis. On 17th December 2010 a policewoman confiscated his
cart and produce. Bouazizi, who had such an event happen to
him before, tried to pay the 10-dinar fine (a day’s wage, equiva-
lent to 7 USD). In response, the policewoman slapped him, spat
in his face, and insulted his deceased father, at 11:30 AM and
within an hour of the initial confrontation, Bouazizi returned to
the Head quarters, doused himself with a flammable liquid and
set himself on fire. Public outrage quickly grew over the incident,
leading to protests. This immolation and the subsequent heavy-
handed response by the police to peaceful marchers caused riots.
13
14. Bouazizi was subsequently transferred to a hospital near Tunis.
In an attempt to calm the situation, President Zine El Abidine
Ben Ali visited Bouazizi in hospital on 28th December 2010.
Bouazizi died on January 2011.
The demonstrations were precipitated by high unemployment,
food inflation, and corruption, lack of freedom of speech and
other political freedom, and poor living conditions. The protests
constituted the most dramatic wave of political and social unrest
in Tunisia in three decades and resulted in scores of deaths and
injuries, most of which were the result of action by police and
security forces against demonstrators. Police tried to obstruct
demonstrators by using tear gas on the hundreds of young protes-
tors but failed until it joined them leading to the President’s
resignation. Ben Ali along with his wife Leila and their three
children fled to Saudi Arabia on 14th January 2011, follow-
ing what has been called the Tunisian Revolution. The Interim
government asked Interpol to issue an arrest warrant, charging
him for money laundering and drug trafficking. He and his wife
were sentenced in absentia to 35 years in prison on 20th June
2011.
President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali had ruled Tunisia since 1987
with an iron fist. His government which had been criticized in
the media and NGOs was supported by the United States and
France. As a result, the initial reactions to Ben Ali’s abuses by
the United States and France were muted, and in most instances
of socio-political protests in the country, when they occurred
at all, rarely made major headlines. Any form of protests in the
country were previously successfully oppressed and kept silent
by the former regime and protesters would be jailed for such ac-
tions, as were for example, protests by hundreds of unemployed
demonstrators in 2008.
The success of the Tunisian Revolution inspired and set in mo-
tion similar actions throughout the Arab world; the Egyptian
revolution began after the events in Tunisia and also led to the
ousting of Egypt’s longtime President Hosni Mubarak who had
14
15. ruled the country from 1981 to February 2011; furthermore,
uprisings in Bahrain, Syria and Yemen and major protests have
also taken place in Algeria, Jordan, Morocco, and also Libya-
where a full-scale revolution broke out and saw Gaddaffi’s re-
gime melt away as well as elsewhere in the wider North Africa
and Middle East.
That is how nonviolent strategy sweeps dictatorships out of
power so fast and with the least cost to human life, environ-
ment, and other resources. Dictatorships are so superior at the
use of violent weapons; they have the money, coercive machin-
ery of the state, military hardware, ammunition, and means of
transport. Dictators are so weak when it comes to nonviolent
strategy because their injustices have alienated them from the
people and therefore remain with no genuine support. They use
money, intimidation, and brutal means to perpetuate themselves
in power but once the people get rid of their fear and withdraw
their consent then the world gets surprised at how weak the dic-
tatorship has been.
In their struggle to beat off the strength of the people they use
violent means which turns the tables against them and instead
strengthens the people’s resolve to fight on and also make the
dictator’s supporters sympathize with the resisters and con-
sequently support the nonviolent resisters. This is a Japanese
martial art of personal combat known as Ju-Jitsu. In traditional
Ju-Jitsu, the attacker’s violent thrust is not met with physical
blockage or counter thrust. Instead, the attacked person pulls
the opponent forward in the same direction the attacker has al-
ready started to strike. This causes the opponent to lose balance
and fall forward as a result of the acceleration of the force of the
attacker’s own forward thrust.
The above dictatorships who have been overthrown by people
power were at one time the pride of their people. The people
had confidence in them and entrusted their future in them but
instead these rulers betrayed the confidence and the love that
15
16. the people had for them. The rulers became dictatorial, bought
superior weapons and turned state machinery against their own
people, they became extremely corrupt and amassed wealth
while the people lived in poverty with their human rights and
freedoms, and other political freedoms abused. The people real-
ized that they obeyed wrong rulers and said; “enough is enough
with the monkey master.”
The “monkey master” fable:
Yu-li-zi says, “Some men in the world rule their people by tricks
and not by righteous principles. They are like the monkey master.
But as soon as their people become enlightened, their tricks no
longer work.”
In the feudal state of Chu an old man survived by keeping mon-
keys in his service. The people of Chu called him “Ju gong”
(Monkey Master).
Each morning, the old man would assemble the monkeys in his
court yard, and order the eldest one to lead the others to the
mountain to gather fruits from bushes and trees. It was the rule
that each monkey had to give one-tenth of his collection to the
old man. Those who failed to do so would be ruthlessly flogged.
All the monkeys suffered bitterly, but dared not complain.
One day, a small monkey asked other monkeys: “Did the old
man plant all the fruit trees and bushes?” The others said: “No,
they grew naturally.” The small monkey further asked: “Can’t we
take the fruits without the old man’s permission?” The others
replied: “Yes, we all can.” The small monkey continued: “Then,
why should we depend on the old man; why must we all serve
him?”
Before the small monkey was able to finish his statement, all the
monkeys suddenly became enlightened and awakened.
On the same night, watching that the old man had fallen asleep,
the monkeys tore down all the barricades of the stockade in
which they were confined, and destroyed the stockade entirely.
16
17. They also took the fruits the old man had in storage, brought all
with them to the woods, and never returned. The old man finally
died of starvation.
LIBERATION HAD BEEN ACHIEVED simply by the monkeys’
withdraw of their consent from their master.
17
18. THE MAIN PROBLEMS OF
UGANDA
B
efore we examine the problems of Uganda let us look at
the ‘Ten Point Programme’ which was designed to guide
the actions of the leadership and people of Uganda so as
to overcome her problems. Below is the ten point programme;-
1- Restoration of democracy
2- Restoration of security of persons and property
3- Consolidation of National Unity and elimination of all
forms of sectarianism
4- Defending and consolidating National Independence
5- Building an independent, integrated and self-sustaining
national economy
6- Restoration and improvement of social services and reha-
bilitation of war-ravaged areas
7- Elimination of corruption and misuse of power
8- Redressing errors that have resulted in the dislocation of
some sections of the population
9- Co-operation with other African countries
10- Following an economic strategy of a mixed economy
The ‘Ten point programme’ became Uganda’s ideology which
would help her overcome the main problems facing the African
continent.
18
19. In 1986, President Museveni had said that;
“the problem of Africa in general and in Uganda in particular is
not the people but leaders who want to overstay in power.”
That said, like most African countries, Uganda’s natural progress
was obstructed by slave trade and most importantly by colonial-
ism. However, as President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni wrote in
his book, “SOWING THE MUSTARD SEED” the main problem
facing African countries including Uganda is two. Man in the de-
veloped countries of Europe, North America, and more recently
South East Asia, has been able to free himself of these two age-
old bottlenecks so as to realize his full human worthy. Due to low
levels of scientific progress resulting from poor quality educa-
tion, the first problem is the domination of man by nature where
in Africa man has faced the wrath of drought, floods, diseases
and pestilences, slow means of locomotion, impenetrable forests,
vector insects among others- all of which has made it impossible
for Africans to prosper. The second problem is the oppression of
Man by man in the form of feudalism, slavery, colonialism, and
dictatorship.
The only way to overcome these problems is respecting the ten
point programme and most especially respecting democracy.
With this, others will follow like; provision of quality health, ed-
ucation, quality housing, development infrastructure, and sub-
sequently solve the problem of lawlessness and unemployment,
and the elimination of poverty.
This ideology was conceived as a result of looking back to our
past where our post-independence political history has been
characterized by the following phases below, this is according to
Museveni;-
- Ideological confusion; a period from 1962 to 1966, where
the guide to which political party one must belong to was the
tribe and religion one belonged to and not the programme of that
party.
19
20. - Dictatorship; periods, by Obote between 1966 and 1971,
by Amin between 1971 and 1979, and again by Obote between
1980 and 1985, and by the Okellos, briefly, from July 1985 to
January 1986
- Liberation phase; where elements of the intelligentsia and
the peasants organized a massive armed liberation movement,
first of all quietly under Idi Amin, but more openly and inde-
pendently since 1981. This eventually resulted in the defeat of
the dictatorship.
However, some people think that by the erosion of the ‘Ten Point
Programme,’ today as a country we are experiencing a combina-
tion of; ideological confusion, dictatorship, and a struggle for
self-liberation and this time through other means, nonviolent re-
sistance. It is a sad story but there seems to be light at the end
of the tunnel.
A combination of the three phases can best be explained by
the BBC story I read on Internet on, 08th August 2011 titled;
“Would Uganda’s Museveni recognize his former self?” In his
book; the author says, back in 1986: “The problem of Africa in
general and in Uganda in particular is not the people but leaders
who want to overstay in power.” And who wrote it? The current
President, Yoweri Museveni, who has been in the job for 25
years……………. “The government will not admit it, but all is not
well in Uganda right now. Food and fuel prices have gone through
the roof and seizing an opportunity to hurt the government, the
opposition called walk-to-work protests, a cunning way of get-
ting around the ban on demonstrations, as the president has seen
enough evidence of their impact in the Arab world………………
Ugandans watched the evening news and were horrified. The sight
of plain clothes policemen smashing the politician’s car windows
and spraying him with chemicals before dumping him on the back
of a truck was the tipping point. Angered by what people con-
demned as police brutality, riots erupted. Out came the army and
the tear gas and the bullets.” At the beginning of the story there
are certain revelations that summarize this regime’s brutality
and arrogance. “President Museveni used to be seen as very much
20
21. in touch with the people and almost everyone agrees he did a fan-
tastic job for the country for the part of his time in office. But now
with increased reliance on the military, the signs are not good.”
A worried retired Supreme Court judge, George Kanyeihamba is
quoted in this BBC story as saying that; “……..the very issues
of injustices that led to Yoweri Museveni taking up arms were
coming back.” He said; “Some Ugandans have said that if the
Yoweri Museveni of 1986 were to meet the Museveni of today
they would fight- they would shoot each other.
ONE SAFE OPTION FOR
UGANDA
Politicians are like diapers. They both need changing regularly
and for the same reasons.
For Uganda to avoid any bad political situation or the kind of
situation that occurred in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Philip-
pines, and Indonesia; President Museveni must re-instate term
limits in the 1995 constitution and then call for early elections
without him contesting. It is necessary that he appears to initiate
or support the amendment process. Otherwise, as things seem
to be moving, he and his family and the country are headed for
the worst. People do not forgive easily. See what is happening to
the former presidents of Tunisia and Egypt, humiliation! Zine El
Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia is in exile and he has been sentenced
in absentia to 35 years in prison; Mubarak is in court for charg-
es ranging from corruption to ordering the killing of nonviolent
demonstrators; Milosevic died in prison, Suharto died while fac-
ing corruption charges after being forced out of the Indonesian
Presidency which he had occupied for 32 years; Ferdinand Mar-
cos of Philippines was exiled by people power after two decades
of brutal dictatorship. The once mighty Gaddafi is out, his fam-
ily in exile, and some of his sons killed during the war while the
21
22. other has been captured. The list is long.
In Uganda, almost all former presidents were forced out of pow-
er with two of them dying in exile. We have never experienced
any peaceful transfer of power from one president to another.
Even the hope that we had was blown away when president Mu-
seveni scrapped term limits from the 1995 constitution to allow
himself rule for life.
With the blocked constitutional means of transfer of power,
Uganda is likely to experience a coup d’état, a civil war, or a
nonviolent revolution, or even a foreign invasion which will be
welcome by the people as it is the only chance left for them to
get rid of the dictatorship. A coup d’état, and a nonviolent revo-
lution are the two most possible political events that are most
likely to happen in Uganda any time from today and no one must
be made to believe that these two phenomenon are impossible.
There are so much possible because the ground has been pre-
pared and it’s so fertile and the seeds have already been sown.
MUSEVEN IS VULNERABLE AND FINISHED
Societies held together by fear and repression may offer the il-
lusion of stability for a time, but they are built upon fault lines
that will eventually tear asunder.
Barack Obama
The National Resistance Movement under the leadership of Yow-
eri Kaguta Museveni was grown out of the power of the gun.
First, by Museveni and a few of his colleagues carrying out pro-
vocative clandestine guerrilla operations against the Idi Amin
regime; then by Front for National Salvation (FRONASA) which
was an armed movement aimed at ousting Idi Amin out of pow-
er; again in 1981, fighting a guerrilla war against an elected gov-
ernment of the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) which was won
and brought Museveni to power in 1986 who until today- 24th
August 2011 remains the President of the Republic of Uganda.
Museveni and the NRM have held onto power by use of military
22
23. power. Since coming to power in 1986, Museveni has defeated
more than 20 guerrilla forces that have tried to oust him out of
power. He is superior at the use of the gun and the gun is the
only ideology he understands. However, his search for power
and his struggle to consolidate it has led to massive loss of life
and property, stagnated economic development, and therefore
leading to biting poverty, and uncertain political future for this
country. It is strongly believed and Museveni himself admitted it
in his book, ‘sowing the mustard seed,’ that his clandestine guer-
rilla operations against the Amin regime provoked Amin to kill
Ugandans. Also Obote soldiers behaved the way they behaved in
Buganda because it was a war zone where the major Museveni
guerrilla operations took place. The people of Eastern Uganda,
Northern Uganda, and South western Uganda have suffered war
since 1986 as a result of Museveni’s struggle to consolidate his
hold onto power. This country has sacrificed so much blood just
to allow Museveni rule.
Today the opposition is trying to oust Museveni from power by
use of an Egyptian and Tunisian style nonviolent action after a
sham election which many view as the “2011 PURCHASED
MANDATE” that gave ‘MR.ATM’ a new mandate to rule this
country for another five years which if completed he would have
ruled this country for 30 years. The NRM regime has respond-
ed to the nonviolent protests by brutally beating, spraying tear
gas and other chemicals, imprisoning, injuring and killing in-
nocent Ugandans including women and children. The state has
deployed on the streets of all major urban centers of the country
with the police, military, and military hardware ready for war
against its own citizens. The state response to the actions of the
nonviolent actionists has alienated it from some of its support-
ers and increasingly strengthening the resolve and wisdom of
the resisters which is an indication that the mighty gun wielding
regime is falling apart due to the pressure exerted on it by the
nonviolent actionist and soon or later a song will be sang…….
HE IS FINISHED……………HE IS FINISHED…………HE IS
23
24. FINISHED………just like how it was sang in 2000 after the fall
of the mighty Milosevic. The NRM regime is so weak especially
when it comes to fighting a nonviolent war and below is what
makes it more vulnerable.
“The Achilles’ heel”
A myth from classical Greece illustrates well the vulnerability
of the supposedly invulnerable against the warrior Achilles, no
blow would injure and no sword would penetrate his skin. When
still a baby, Achilles’ mother had supposedly dipped him into
the waters of the magical river Styx, resulting in the protection
of his body apart from the heel which his mother touched while
dipping him. When Achilles was a grown man he appeared to
all to be invulnerable to enemies’ weapons. However, in the bat-
tle against Troy, instructed by one who knew the weakness, an
enemy soldier aimed his arrow at Achilles’ unprotected heel, the
one spot where he could be injured. The strike proved fatal. Still
today, the phrase “Achilles heel” refers to the vulnerable part of
a person, plan, or an institution at which if attacked there is no
protection.
‘From dictatorship to democracy’
Gene Sharp.
- A combination of political and economic challenges, and
Museveni’s overstay in power has weakened the NRM regime.
These problems will only increase so long as Museveni clings
onto power until he will be swept by these problems. The coun-
try is facing high rates of unemployment, an ever increasing cost
of living characterized by high inflation, poor medical services,
poor education, corruption, a lack of democracy, poor economic
infrastructure, and a continuously degrading environment among
others. Unemployment can only be solved with the provision of a
globally competitive high quality education that attracts genuine
investors. Even, genuine investors cannot invest in an uncertain
environment like Uganda where even the President’s campaign
24
25. adverts confirm that there is no peace without him. In the face
of local and International TV and radio; the world is told that
the only pillar of stability in Uganda is the mortal man Yoweri
Kaguta Museveni and that without him the country is headed
for disaster. The same President openly says that there are many
thieves in his government. No sane investor can ever dream of
investing in a country where at the departure of one mortal vi-
sionary man his fortune is no more. Secondly, a sane investor
cannot invest in a country infested with corruption where he can
lose his fortune just because a judge is bribed and rules a case
in favor of the powerful and rich who pays him more. Investors
are not willing to hire expensive skilled employees from other
countries and that is why they invest where cheap and skilled
labor is available leaving other factors constant like availability
of electricity, political stability and security, modern health fa-
cilities, modern transport infrastructure and recreation centers
among others. So without all these the economy will continue to
decay until the people decide to say that enough is enough with
a thieving regime. Museveni’s overstay has made his regime lose
touch with reality, the common people and their needs, and in
the process it has become so arrogant. The regime thinks that by
the use of the gun, voting rigging and buying, and by bribing key
civil society leaders it can still cling onto power. Gone are those
days when such monkey tricks worked. This is a dot.com era
where people from one corner of the world easily communicate
and know the life and situation of other people in the other far
corner of the world. Increased interaction through education,
travel, cable TV networks, radio, and other mass and social me-
dia like the Internet has made access to information easy such
that events happening anywhere in the world can inspire and be
replicated elsewhere.
- The strength of NRM was in its ideology, the ten point
programme, which is fast eroding at a faster pace like a run-
away train which one cannot jump off or stop. The cancer of
corruption and misuse of power is so visible to the extent that
almost all would-be clean cadres are the dirtiest. It’s filthier at
25
26. the top than at lower ends. The egg is broken and therefore open
to flies. This has made the regime vulnerable in that the people
have lost confidence in it. Individuals in the regime do not care
about the people they serve, they only care about themselves.
It’s ‘For God and my stomach.’ It’s no longer “For God and my
Country.” In this way; everything is rotting from health, infra-
structure, education, agriculture, security of person and prop-
erty to democracy. Political mandates are purchased leading to
an ever increasing poverty in the midst of extreme wealth. The
security of the country is at stake since the masses especially the
youth are many and poor due to high rates of unemployment and
no longer trust their leaders. The people don’t trust their leaders
especially when it comes to purchasing military soft and hard-
ware which is supposed to protect the people and their property.
The people know for sure that if the government claims to have
bought such equipment at US$ 740 million, then US $ 300
million must have remained in the pockets of the powerful who
initiated the purchase. Even what is claimed to be protected,
for example oil, people don’t think they have a stake because
they believe that such discovered resources are owned by the
rulers. Such a sense breeds unpatriotic tendencies to the extent
that even when a country is threatened by an external power
people will only be happy that the invader will help overthrow
a thieving dictatorship without putting into consideration the
consequences of foreign occupation. Corruption has made every
single principle in the ten point programme irrelevant and use-
less. There is no democracy to talk of apart from regular vote rig-
ging and buying from corruption money which in itself increases
corruption. Corruption has increased poverty amidst the wealth
of the few which makes the current security of person and prop-
erty illusionary. Poor people kill each with iron bars for survival.
Tribalism is coming back in its worst form because other tribes
look at others as the ones benefiting from regime, a recipe for
genocide. Corruption has led to poor service delivery including
education and health service which are the backbone of the Na-
tion. A sick and poorly educated people cannot feed and defend
26
27. itself in this modern Hi-tech era.
-The regime has become so centralized in that those with actual
power are few. Major decisions are made by few and with many
decisions to make, mistakes of judgment, policy, and action is
likely to occur. Because of this centralization, ministers and oth-
er agents of the regime fearful of displeasing their superiors are
not reporting accurately or complete information needed by the
‘big man’ to make decisions. Evidence of this incorrect reporting
is when Besigye’s car was smashed by one infamous police of-
ficer, Arinaitwe, where the Internal Affairs Ministers incorrectly
told the President and the public that Besigye had a hammer
in his car when actually NTV Uganda showed that the hammer
was used by state agents and in the process it fell into Besigye’s
car injuring his foot. Unfortunately, the President told this lie to
the Nation and the International community while appearing on
NTV Kenya. That means that there are many other things they
report incorrectly just to please the old man so that they can
in turn keep their jobs. Should the regime now decide to avoid
these dangers and decentralizes controls of real power and deci-
sion making, its control over the central levers of power may be
further eroded. In either way, the regime is vulnerable.
- Intellectuals, students, business people, the poor, and
professionals have become restless due to poor living and work-
ings conditions amidst the extreme wealth of the corrupt; re-
strictions imposed, and repression. These people and the general
public are increasingly becoming apathetic, skeptical, and even
hostile to the regime. With time this will lead to withdraw of the
cooperation of people, groups, and institutions needed to oper-
ate the system. Actually, this has already started where people
are no longer intimidated by the regime. An example is when the
business people closed shop for two days, the lawyers closed for
some days, the taxi drivers for closed for two days, then some
teachers among others. Next time it will be the police and the
army to mutiny due to poor pay and poor living conditions.
27
28. - Due to overstay in power and without a clear way of suc-
cession, internal institutional conflicts and personal rivalries and
hostilities have come to the surface and are more likely to esca-
late and harm, and even go as far as disrupting the operation of
the system. There are also frustrated individuals who understand
and have served the system and dropped leaving other few in-
dividuals seemingly from the same regions as the President Stiil
enjoying the spoils. These people are frustrated but their other
colleagues who have just entered the dining room have over time
observed the way things turn-out to those who are ‘used.’ These
individuals are not in actual sense in the system, they are just
there for survival and if well utilized they are likely to assist
in turning tables against their employers. They have seen what
happened to Bukenya and others how they have been treated as
sanitary pads or if you like to say it clearly, “condoms.” This also
applies to the urban poor NRM peasants who have benefited
nothing from the system yet they see their users swimming in
ill-gotten wealth. These poor guys are at the dining table but
not dinners. They are remembered during election time. So even
when the system collapses they have nothing to lose if only their
security is guaranteed. Also there are those who have served the
system but not rewarded yet they see others from the other side
being bought at a high cost. The NRM primaries have also left a
deeply divided party due a number of factors but most especially
internal vote rigging. It is said that the bitterest person is not he
who has lost his job but the one who feels cheated. So those who
were cheated are so bitter at the regime and can do anything to
cause its down fall.
- In short, the NRM regime is most likely to collapse under
the weight of its accumulated excesses including the bad laws
that it’s proposing.
Unfavourable economic conditions, interacting with political
factors will very soon lead to a sort of the ‘Arab spring’ or even
a coup d’état. Life is becoming expensive and commodity prices
are likely to increase. Sources of the dollar are limited; drought
28
29. is becoming severe making the productivity of the country low.
So even when tax on some commodities is waived to allow cheap
commodities to enter the country, the demand for the dollar
will be higher than its supply making it expensive and therefore
expensive imports. The situation will be made worse when the
same rich corrupt people in the regime enter business and seek
monopoly by any means and then set a profit maximizing price
making life more expensive. The government will be weakened
due to the fact that there will be limited source of income, for ex-
ample, tax from petroleum products. There will be social unrest
with which the president will respond by increasing police and
military deployment. Because the police and the army go to the
same market as any other ordinary Ugandan, they will start rob-
bing people just like Obote soldiers did and people will get fed-
up and rise up against the regime, the army and the police will
have no option but to join the people’s struggle, after all they
don’t all share in the wealth of their corrupt senior officers. The
worst will come, God forbid, when a senior opposition leader is
shot dead deliberately or accidently.
Deliberate assassination of say, Besigye, will be done by a clique
with great fear of him. They will assassinate him for fear that
should he capture power he might prosecute them for crimes
committed during their stay in power. Others just despise him
and have their own lust for power, so the act of assassinating
him will be aimed at provoking more unrest and violence which
will be enough reason for them to carry-out a coup d’état against
the regime they serve. They will appear as ‘saviors’ of the Nation
and people will welcome them. This is possible because the army
seems to be the only some-how strong independent institution in
Uganda. All other institutions are weak to oppose a coup d’état.
So nonviolent strategists must educate the people that a coup
is not a solution to Uganda’s problems and that should a coup
be carried out in the midst of a nonviolent struggle it must be
quickly and openly and strongly opposed.
29
30. A POSSIBLE COUP D’ETAT
U
ganda has a history of coup d’état where the military
has on several occasions overthrown legitimate civilian
governments. Coup planners execute a coup after sens-
ing that should they be successful they will be welcomed and
supported by the people.
Reasons why Uganda is vulnerable to a military coup d’état;-
- There is presence of unfavorable economic conditions in-
teracting with political factors.
- The roots of democratic political systems are so shallow
and have been eroded. The government is seen as illegitimate,
and there is wide spread dissatisfaction with its performance. It
has been charged with incompetence, corruption characterized
by selective prosecution, arrogance and indecisiveness in times
of crisis.
- Confidence in the capacity of democratic procedures to
change government is lacking.
- The civil non-state institutions of society- voluntary insti-
tutions, religious bodies, trade unions; and others are so much
penetrated by the state, divided and weakened. Therefore, there
are no independent groups or institutions capable of opposing
seizure of state apparatus.
Let’s look at this scenario and how it might play out leading to
a coup d’état.
Let’s assume that inspired by events in Tunisia, Egypt, and
Libya a demonstration against Mabira give-away breaks out, or
anything else breaks out and is met with police and military
brutality as usual and in the process it becomes violent leading
to massive loss of life and property and eventually spreading to
other parts of the country; the situation gets out of control for
30
31. some days, the police and military gets overwhelmed, demoral-
ized, worn-out, starts to drag their feet and considering to join
the masses. To save their positions and wealth combined with
their lust for power and domination, the only chance the Gener-
als have is to carry-out a coup d’état to appear as ‘saviors’ who
have come to restore order. The President may try to execute a
self coup as well so as to allow him rule by decree in the name of
restoring order. Some generals who lust for power and scarred of
change and prosecution for crimes committed during their rule
may engineer a coup by deliberately creating social and political
unrest by assassinating a prominent opposition politician, say,
Besigye, God forbid. As a result of the unrest and when they
see that the president has totally lost legitimacy in the eyes of
society and the International community including the military
and police, they may come in to ‘save’ the situation. The coup
executers are likely to appoint a Muganda persecuted politician
like former Vice President Gilbert Bukenya to be President since
he will be welcomed by the Baganda. He is a catholic, a religion
with majority following, and a muganda which is a strong vocal
tribe in central Uganda that has come to hate Museveni.
People will welcome this move even when Bukenya once served
Museveni. Everyone believes he was just used and later perse-
cuted because of his interest in Mbabazi and in particular Mu-
seveni’s job. In this case, the urban Baganda decide and I guess
that is why President Museveni addresses them on the Luganda
speaking entertaining TV station every time there is a political
problem that may lead to his exit. The peasants cannot stop coup
even when they appear to support the regime, they just support
whatever new thing comes.
The reality is that rural peasants cannot and have never initi-
ated political change in this country since colonial time. Change
is always imposed on them. One might argue that the Luweero
war was a peasants’ making. It is true that the rural peasants
helped the war succeed by providing food, hiding guerrillas and
31
32. allowing their sons and daughters to join the rebellion. But the
clear truth is that the war was imposed on to them by politicians
and soldiers fighting for power and they had no option but to
join the rebellion mostly because of the uncivilized reaction to
the rebellion by the then government soldiers who made peas-
ants their enemies in their pursuit to destroy the guerrillas. Even
now, peasants have no say in the running of this country apart
from perpetuating a corrupt regime by selling it votes. They ini-
tiated no change during the brutal dictatorship of Amin, Obote,
and Okellos but rejoiced each time one of them was overthrown.
Even now, they are waiting to rejoice.
However, Uganda must never welcome a coup d’état at any one
time. It must be quickly opposed by a nonviolent strategy. When
welcomed, a coup will only bring in a clique that is more op-
pressive than the fallen regime. It will be the same individuals
in the past regime that will continue to commit atrocities against
citizens in the name of peace.
Therefore, if Uganda wants to permanently rid itself of dictator-
ships and/or any other form of oppression, it must get empow-
ered and carry itself to freedom through a nonviolent struggle.
At present people of Uganda living under severe oppression due
to dictatorship have few adequate choices as to how they can
liberate themselves. The only option is the use of nonviolent
strategy because;-
- A popular election to bring about the major change re-
quired for more democratic and free political society is not avail-
able. The election is rigged, or its results is falsified or ignored.
- Violent rebellion, including guerrilla warfare and terror-
ism, will produces crushing repression, massive casualties and
defeat. By placing confidence in violent means, one has chosen
the very type of struggle with which the oppressor nearly al-
ways has superiority. Dictators are equipped to apply violence
overwhelmingly. The dictator almost has superiority in military
hardware, ammunition, coercive machinery of the state, money,
transportation, and the size of military forces. Despite bravery,
32
33. the oppressed resisters are a no match. Should guerrillas suc-
ceed, the resulting new regime is likely to be more dictatorial
than its predecessor due to the centralizing impact of the ex-
panded military forces and the weakening or destruction of the
society’s independent groups and institutions during the strug-
gle- bodies that are vital in establishing and maintaining a demo-
cratic society.
- Coup d’état may fail, or simply install new individuals or
clique in the old positions.
- Gradual evolution may take decades, and may be halted
or reversed, perhaps more than once.
Due to the desire for greater freedom, some Ugandans have lost
confidence that they can liberate themselves. They seem to place
their hopes in strong foreign military intervention. That option
has grave disadvantages as well;
- In most cases foreign states tolerate, or have even posi-
tively assisted the dictatorship in order to advance their own
economic or political interests.
- A foreign government may use the problem of a dictator-
ship in another country as an excuse for military intervention
that is actually intended to achieve different, les noble objec-
tives.
- Even if a foreign government initially has altruistic mo-
tives to intervene in such cases, as the conflict develops the
intervening government is likely to discover that other more self
serving objectives are becoming open to them. These may in-
clude; control of economic resources or establishment of military
bases.
- Foreign states may become actively involved for positive
purposes only if and when the internal resistance movement has
already began shaking the dictatorship, having thereby focused
International attention on the brutal nature of the regime.
- A foreign government with enough military capacity to
remove a strong system of oppression in another country is usu-
33
34. ally powerful enough later to impose its own objectives. This can
happen even when the objectives are unwanted by the “liber-
ated” population.
This does not mean that a nonviolent movement does not have
to seek external assistance. International pressure exerted onto
the dictatorship can be useful. However, such external support
comes only to a powerful internal resistance movement. Interna-
tional economic boycotts, embargo, the breaking of diplomatic
relations, expulsion from International organization, condemna-
tion by United Nations bodies, and the like can assist greatly.
Therefore, the Uganda nonviolent revolutionary movement must
take the above issues seriously.
In conclusion, if Ugandans fail to get term limits back into the
1995 constitution the only option they have is to wage a nonvio-
lent war against the dictatorial regime. The reasons for a nonvio-
lent revolution have already been given and the only question is
that; “Is it possible to overthrow this regime by a nonviolent strat-
egy?” This is possible only and only if the opposition resisters
are organized and well equipped with nonviolent weapons and
also endeavor to train the people nonviolent strategies so as to
have a better understanding of their application. They must be
ready to sacrifice and undertake the risks involved. They must
also be aware of and avoid the main contaminants of a nonvio-
lent resistance movement.
CONTAMINANTS OF NONVIOLENT CAMPAIGNS
The opposition must understand and avoid anything that might
contaminate the nonviolent struggle. These are things that might
make the struggle impure, unclean or corrupt by contact. In his
book, On Strategic Nonviolent Conflict, Robert L. Helvey lists
them as below;
He starts by saying that; “Just as water contaminates the fuel
34
35. used in our cars-small amounts can cause the engine to misfire
and sputter, and greater amounts can stop the engine from run-
ning at all- nonviolent movements can also have contaminants
that make them inefficient or even destroy them.”
- Violence as a contaminant. Opposition violence toward
the government or its supporters authorized or not, can be a
serious contaminant to the success of a nonviolent struggle. A
single act of violence may provide government with a convenient
rationale for brutal retaliation against whatever target or targets
within the opposition movement it purports to hold directly or
indirectly responsible. Opposition violence may also have unin-
tended effect of undermining public confidence and participation
in a movement whose very existence is premised upon achieving
its objectives through nonviolent strategy and tactics.
- Appearance of disunity as a contaminant. The strength
of a “People’s Movement” requires the active participation of
“the people.” And oppressed people are attracted to movements
for change when they perceive these movements reflecting the
aspirations of the people and when they view the leadership as
being capable of guiding the movement to victory. Rational peo-
ple will not risk their lives and livelihoods by joining a political
movement to oppose a tyrant if that movement lacks a clear pur-
pose and strategy for achieving victory. Disunity between and
among coalition members within a democratic movement can
result in a loss of trust and confidence in the movement’s ability
to achieve political reforms. Organizational infighting sometimes
is the work of government agents who infiltrate the organization.
One of the most effective ways to promote and maintain unity
within a movement is to keep the objectives of the struggle to
the bare minimum. It must also be apparent to all that achieving
these objectives will benefit all members of society, including
many that now support the opponent. Disunity is bad because
it leads to stagnation and backsliding of the liberation process.
Disunity has been a characteristic of the Ugandan opposition.
The character of the opposition before and during election cam-
35
36. paigns and maybe even after can only be summarized in this
short story of;
“The Greedy man and the Envious man”
A greedy and an envious man met a king. The King said to them,
“One of you may ask something of me and I will give it to him,
provided I give twice much to the other.” The envious man did not
want to ask first for he was envious of his companion who would
receive twice as much, and the greedy man did not want to ask
first since he wanted everything that was to be had. Finally the
greedy one pressed the envious one to be the first to make the
request. So the envious person asked the King to pluck out one
of his eyes. In this, he anticipated that the king will pluck out
the two eyes of the greedy man.
Jewish parable,
The seven deadly sins,
Solomon Schimmel, 1992
- Perception of exclusiveness as a contaminant. Policies and/
or statements that may be perceived or limiting participation in a
political struggle can lead to hostility or apathy by the excluded
groups. Tribal sentiments must be avoided. The real issues such
as corruption, incompetence and the gradual movement toward
dictatorship will be submerged beneath the divisive rhetoric of
race and class. Almost all demonstrations that have occurred
in Kampala have been characterized by tribal sentiments; these
scare and alienate an important section of people. There has also
been a show of hatred for the armed forces instead of trying to
win them over just like the Tunisians and Egyptians did. During
the 1789 French revolution General Lafayette helped the revolu-
tion succeed when he and his forces joined the people.
- Active participation of military forces in a political strug-
gle as a contaminant. Once the military takes sides in a domestic
political struggle, even for the most democratic cause, the like-
lihood of its being committed to the armed struggle against a
major segment of the population increases, and with it, increases
36
37. the possibility of civil war or a coup d’état. Neither of these pos-
sibilities benefits the people nor do they strengthen a nonviolent
movement. Should the military seize control of the government
on the pretense of providing a transition, unless it is attacked im-
mediately, that transition could last for years or even decades. If
some of the senior officers personally feel strongly about taking
sides, they should resign and pursue their political ideology as
individuals within the political faction that suits them.
- Other contaminants include; presence of foreign national
within a democratic movement, organizational structure ill-suit-
ed for nonviolent conflict.
A nonviolent struggle is not an easy one; it takes a lot of thinking,
planning, and implementation tasks. It is like any other political
struggle, not simple. Nonviolent strategists must be prepared
to create awareness and stick to the use of nonviolent weapons
against the dictatorship.
Most importantly, nonviolent strategists must understand that
this strategy is not risk free, casualties, and even martyrs must be
expected. But efforts must be made to minimize casualties. This
type of struggle sweeps dictators faster than any other means
of struggle and with fewer casualties than can be the case with
armed/ violent struggles.
If it is well understood and applied by the people it can minimize
the cost of National defense. A country can move to less costly
means of National defense, that is, civilian based defense against
coup d’état, or any other form of internal oppression, and for-
eign aggression.
Otherwise, nonviolent resisters in Uganda seem to be on track
and the Museveni regime seems to be at its weakest point espe-
cially when it comes to nonviolent combat. It is not as strong as
it wants us to believe. It is on its deathbed and the only uncertain
thing about it is how costly its funeral will be. It’s vulnerable!
The nonviolent resisters must not fear but make use of oppres-
sive or brutal acts by the regime as a recruiting tool for the non-
37
38. violent movement.
Preparations must be made to put in place a more democratic
system after the fall of the dictatorship.
In fighting a dictatorship, a nonviolent movement must first of
all determine whether they wish simply to condemn the oppres-
sion and protest against the system. Or, do they wish actually
to end the oppression, and replace it with a system of greater
freedom, democracy, and justice?
THE FOUR MECHANISM OF CHANGE
There are four mechanisms through which a nonviolent struggle
delivers change and there are as below;
1. CONVERSION.
2. ACCOMMODATION
3. NONVIOLENT COERCION
4. DISINTERGRATION
Conversion; the dictatorship may come to accept the resisters’
aims. Though cases of conversion in nonviolent action do some-
times happen, they are rare, and in most conflicts this does not
occur at all or at least not on a significant scale. This sometimes
occurs when the dictatorship is emotionally moved by the suf-
fering repression imposed on courageous nonviolent resisters or
when the dictatorship is rationally persuaded that the resisters’
cause is just.
Accommodation; is a mechanism of change in which the dic-
tatorship resolve, while it still has a choice, to agree to a compro-
mise and grant certain demands of the nonviolent resisters. Ac-
commodations occurs when the dictatorship has neither changed
its views nor been nonviolently coerced, but has concluded that
a compromise settlement is desirable. Many strikes are settled in
this manner, for example, with both sides attaining some of their
objectives but neither achieving all it wanted. A government may
perceive such a settlement to have some positive benefits such as
38
39. defusing tension, creating an impression of “fairness,” or polish-
ing the International image of the regime. It is important, there-
fore, that great care be exercised in selecting the issues on which
a settlement by accommodation is acceptable. A struggle to bring
down a dictatorship is not one of these.
Nonviolent coercion; mass noncooperation and defiance can
also change social and political situations, especially power re-
lationships, that the dictator’s ability to control the economic,
social, and political processes of government and the society is
in fact taken away. The dictator’s military force may become so
unreliable that they no longer simply obey orders or drag their
feet to repress resisters. Although the dictator’s leaders remain
in their positions, and adhere to their original goals, their ability
to act effectively has been taken away.
Disintegration; the regime simply falls to pieces. In some extreme
situations, the conditions producing nonviolent coercion are car-
ried still further and the dictator’s leadership in fact loses all the
ability to act and their own structure of power collapses. The
resisters’ self-direction, noncooperation, and defiance become
so complete that the dictatorship now lacks even a semblance
of control over them. The dictatorship’s bureaucracy refuses to
obey its own leadership. The dictator’s troops and police mutiny,
and his usual supporters or population repudiate their former
leadership, denying that they have any right to rule at all. Hence
their former assistance and obedience fall away. The system col-
lapses completely that the dictatorship does not even have suf-
ficient power to surrender. The regime falls into pieces.
39
41. EAGLE THREE
E
agles are the most long-lived bird in the world. By the time
they reach 40 years old, their claws will start to age, los-
ing their effectiveness and making it hard for them to catch
their prey. The life-span of an eagle is up to 70 years old.
But in order to live this long, it must make the toughest deci-
sions at 40. At 40, its beak is too long and curvy that reaches its
chest. Its wings, full of long, thickened feathers, are too heavy
for easy flying. The Eagle is left with two choices:-
1) Do nothing and awaits its death; or
2) Go through a painful period of transformation and re-
newal- the rebirth of an Eagle.
For 150 days, it first trains itself to fly beyond the high moun-
tains, build and live in its nest and cease all flying activities. It
then begins to knock its beak against granite rocks till the beak
is completely removed. When a new beak is grown, the eagle
will use it to remove all its claws and wait quietly for new ones
to be fully grown. When the new claws are fully grown the Eagle
will use them to remove all its feathers, one by one. Five months
later, when its new feathers are fully grown, it will soar in the
sky again with renewed strength and is able to live for the next
30 years.
41
42. Eagle Nations must undergo this painful process of self re-
newal and transformation if they are to have a successful future.
REVOLUTION!!!!!!!!!!!!
KEY STEPS ON THE PATH TO A NONVIOLENT
REVOLUTION
- Develop a strategy for winning freedom and a vision of
the society you want.
- Overcome fear by small acts of resistance.
- Use colours and symbols to demonstrate unity of resist-
ance.
- Learn from historical examples of the successes of nonvio-
lent movements.
- Use nonviolent weapons.
- Identify the dictatorship’s pillars of support and develop
a strategy for undermining each.
- Use oppressive or brutal acts by the regime as a recruiting
tool for your movement.
- Isolate or remove from the movement people who use or
advocate violence.
METHODS/WEAPONS OF NONVIOLENT ACTION
In his book, “From dictatorship to democracy,” Gene Sharp out-
lines these 198 weapons of nonviolent action.
THE METHOD OF NONVIOLENT PROTEST AND
PERSUASION FORMAL STATEMENTS
1. Public speeches
2. Letters of opposition or support
3. Declarations by organizations and institutions
4. Signed public statements
5. Declarations of indictment and intentions
6. Group or mass petitions
42
43. COMMUNICATION WITH A WIDER AUDIENCE
7. Slogans, caricatures, and symbols
8. Banners, posters, and displayed communications
9. Leaflets, pamphlets, and books
10. Newspapers and journals
11. Records, radio, and Television
12. Skywriting and Earth writing
GROUP REPRESENTATIONS
13. Deputations
14. Mock awards and mock birthday parties for prominent
people in government, military, police among others
15. Group lobbying
16. Picketing
17. Mock elections
SYMBOLIC PUBLIC ACTS
18. Display of flags and symbolic colors
19. Wearing of symbols
20. Prayer and worship
21. Delivering symbolic objects
22. Protest disrobing, and public declarations of abstaining
23. Destruction of own property
24. Symbolic lights
25. Display of portraits
26. Paint as protest
27. New signs and names
28. Symbolic sounds
29. Symbolic reclamation
30. Rude gestures
43
44. PRESSURES ON INDIVIDUALS
31. “Haunting” officials
32. Taunting officials
33. Fraternization
34. Vigils
DRAMA AND MUSIC
35. Humorous skits and pranks
36. Performance of plays and music
37. Singing
PROCESSIONS
38. Marches
39. Parades
40. Religious processions
41. Pilgrimages
42. Motorcades
HONORING THE DEAD
43. Political mourning
44. Mock funerals
45. Demonstrative funerals
46. Homage at burial places
PUBLIC ASSEMBLIES
47. Assemblies of protest and support
48. Protest meetings
49. Camouflaged meetings of protests
50. Teach-ins
44
45. WITHDRAW AND RENUNCIATION
51. Walk-outs
52. Silence
53. Renouncing honors
54. Turning one’s back
THE METHOD OF NONCOOPERATION
OSTRACISM OF PERSONS
55. Social boycotts
56. Lysistratic non-action
57. Excommunication
58. Selective social boycott
59. Interdict
NONCOOPERATION WITH SOCIAL EVENTS, CUSTOMS, AND
INSTITUTIONS
60. Suspension of social and sports activities
61. Boycott of social affairs
62. Student strikes
63. Social disobedience
64. Withdraw from social institutions
WITHDRAW FROM THE SOCIAL SYSTEM
65. Stay-at-home
66. Total personal noncooperation
67. Flight of workers
68. Sanctuary
69. Collective disappearance
70. Protest emigration (hijrat)
45
46. THE METHODS OF ECONOMIC NONCOOPERATION
(1) ECONOMIC BOYCOTTS
ACTION BY CONSUMER
71. Consumers’ boycott
72. Non-consumption of boycotted goods
73. Policy of austerity
74. Rent withholding
75. Refusal to rent
76. National consumers’ boycott
77. International consumers’ boycott
ACTION BY WORKERS AND PRODUCERS
78. Worker men’s boycott
79. Producers’ boycott
ACTION BY MIDDLEMEN
80. Suppliers’ and handlers’ boycott
ACTION BY OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT
81. Traders’ boycott
82. Refusal to let or sell property
83. Lockout
84. Merchants’ “general strike”
85. Refusal of industrial assistance
ACTIONS BY HOLDERS OF FINANCIAL RESOURCES
86. Withdraw of bank deposits
87. Refusal to pay fees, dues, and assessments
88. Refusal to pay debt and interest
89. Severance of funds and credit
90. Revenue refusal
46
47. 91. Refusal of government’s money
ACTION BY GOVERNMENTS
92. Domestic embargo
93. Blacklisting of traders
94. International sellers’ embargo
95. International buyers’ embargo
96. International trade embargo
THE METHODS OF ECONOMIC NONCOOPERATION
(2) STRIKE
SYMBOLIC STRIKES
97. Protest strike
98. Quickie walkout (Lightning strike)
AGRICULTURAL STRIKES
99. Peasant strike
100. Farm workers’ strike
STRIKES BY SPECIAL GROUPS
101. Refusal of impressed labor
102. Prisoners’ strike
103. Craft strike
104. Professional strike
ORDINARY INDUSTRIAL STRIKES
105. Establishment strike
106. Industry strike
107. Sympathetic strike
RESTRICTED STRIKES
108. Detailed strike
109. Bumper strike
110. Slowdown strike
47
48. 111. Working-to-rule strike
112. Reporting “sick” (sick-in)
113. Strike by resignation
114. Limited strike
115. Selective strike
MULTI-INDUSTRY STRIKES
116. Generalized strike
117. General strike
COMBINATION OF STRIKES AND ECONOMIC
CLOSURES
118. Hartal
119. Economic shut down
THE METHODS OF POLITICAL NONCOOPERATION
REJECTION OF AUTHORITY
120. Withholding or withdraw of allegiance
121. Refusal of public support
122. Literature and speeches advocating resistance
CITIZENS’ NONCOOPERATION WITH GOVERNMENT
123. Boycott of legislative bodies
124. Boycott of elections
125. Boycott of government employment and positions
126. Boycott of government departments, agencies and other
bodies
127. Withdrawal from government educational institutions
128. Boycott of government-supported organizations
129. Refusal of assistance to enforcement agents
130. Removal of own signs and place marks
131. Refusal to accept appointed officials
48
49. 132. Refusal to dissolve existing institutions
CITIZENS’ ALTERNATIVES TO OBEDIENCE
133. Reluctant and slow compliance
134. Non-obedience in absence of direct supervision
135. Popular non-obedience
136. Disguised disobedience
137. Refusal of an assemblage or meeting to disperse
138. Sit down
139. Noncooperation with conscription and deportation
140. Hiding, escape and false identities
141. Civil disobedience of “illegitimate” laws
ACTION BY GOVERNMENT PERSONNEL
142. Selective refusal of assistance by government aides
143. Blocking of lines of command and information
144. Stalling and obstruction
145. General administrative noncooperation
146. Judicial noncooperation
147. Deliberate inefficiency and selective noncooperation by
enforcement agents
148. Mutiny
DOMESTIC GOVERNMENT ACTION
149. Quasi-legal evasions and delays
150. Noncooperation by constituent governmental units
INTERNATIONAL GOVERNMENT ACTION
151. Changes in diplomatic and other representation
152. Delay and cancellation of diplomatic events
153. Withholding of diplomatic recognition
154. Severance of diplomatic relations
155. Withdraw from International organizations
156. Refusal of membership in International bodies
157. Expulsion from International organizations
49
50. THE METHODS OF NONVIOLENT INTERVENTIONS
PSYCHOLOGICAL INTERVENTION
158. Self-exposure to the elements
159. The fast;
a) Fast of moral pressure
b) Hunger strike
c) Satyagrahic fast
160. Reverse trial
161. Nonviolent harassment
PHYSICAL INTERVENTION
162. Sit-in
163. Stand-in
164. Ride-in
165. Wade-in
166. Mill-in
167. Pray-in
168. Nonviolent raids
169. Nonviolent air raids
170. Nonviolent invasion
171. Nonviolent interjection
172. Nonviolent obstruction
173. Nonviolent occupation
SOCIAL INTERVENTION
174. Establishing new social patterns
175. Overloading of facilities
176. Stall-in
177. Speak-in
178. Guerrilla theater
179. Alternative social institution
180. Alternative communication system
50
51. ECONOMIC INTERVENTION
181. Reverse strike
182. Stay-in strike
183. Nonviolent land seizure
184. Defiance blockades
185. Politically motivated counterfeiting
186. Preclusive purchasing
187. Seizure of assets
188. Dumping
189. Selective patronage
190. Alternative markets
191. Alternative transportation systems
192. Alternative economic institutions
POLITICAL INTERVENTION
193. Overloading of administrative systems
194. Disclosing of identities of secret agents
195. Seeking imprisonment
196. Civil disobedience of “neutral” laws
197. Work-on without collaboration
198. Dual sovereignty and parallel government
51
52. For a better understanding of nonviolent struggle contact the
Albert Einstein Institution on;-
The Albert Einstein Institution
427 Newbury Street
Boston, MA 02115-1802, USA.
TEL: USA + 617-247-4882
FAX USA +617 247-4035
Email: Einstein@igc.org
Website: www.aeinstein.org
NOTE:
Nzaramba Sebakwiye Vicent, the author of this docu-
ment, is not a member of the Albert Einstein Institution
but his mission is Albert Einstein Institution’s Mission.
THE ALBERT EINSTEIN INSTITUTION MISSION
STATEMENT
The mission of the Albert Einstein Institution is to advocate/
advance the world wide study and strategic use of nonviolent
action in conflict.
The institution is committed to;
- defending democratic freedoms and institutions,
- opposing oppression, dictatorship, and genocide; and
- Reducing the reliance on violence as an instrument of
policy.
52
55. MISSION
NOREV-Uganda is a nonviolent Revolutionary movement
with a mission to;-
- To mobilize all Ugandans regardless of their religion,
tribe, and political affiliation to fight and destroy dictator-
ship, and other forms of oppression, and restore genuine
democracy
- Defend democratic freedoms and institutions,
- And reducing reliance on violence as an instrument of
liberation in Uganda.
The mission shall be pursued in the following ways;-
- Mobilize Ugandans to fight the dictatorship through pub-
lications, lectures on nonviolent action, and the media
- By use of nonviolent strategy and its weapons
- By carrying out research on the methods of nonviolent ac-
tion and their past use in diverse conflicts and sharing the
results with the general public
- Consulting with groups in conflict about strategic poten-
tial of nonviolent action against the Uganda dictatorship.
55
56. KEY STEPS ON THE PATH TO THE SUCCESS OF NOREV-
Uganda
- We shall develop a strategy for winning freedom and a
vision of the society we want. To avoid penetration and
confusion the strategic team shall not exceed 10 people
and in some cases for particular issue they shall not ex-
ceed 5 people.
- We shall overcome fear and recruit the general public by
engaging ourselves in small acts of resistance. For exam-
ple, by calling onto the public to wear clothing or bands
with our symbol, by wearing specific colors of cloth bands
as a way of communicating to the regime that we demand
the resignation and immediate prosecution of particular
individuals, and restoration of term limits, by calling on
humorous but serious actions like sex bans on weekends
among others. We shall choose from the 198 Gene Sharp
weapons of nonviolent action.
- We shall use non-divisive colors, liberation songs, slogans
and symbols to demonstrate unity of resistance.
- We shall continue to study and learn from historical ex-
amples of the successes of nonviolent movements. For
example, Tunisia, Egypt, Serbia, Philippines, Indonesia,
Madagascar
- We shall only use nonviolent weapons. And in this case,
we shall oppose, fight and defeat any coup attempt by the
same method we use to fight the dictatorship.
- We shall identify the dictatorship’s pillars of support and
develop a strategy for undermining each. For example,
the civil society organizations like religious institutions,
intellectuals, the army and police, NRM Members of Par-
liament, students, poor urban NRM supporters and the
youth in Universities and secondary schools, among oth-
ers
56
57. - We must use oppressive or brutal acts by the regime as a
recruiting tool for our movement.
- We must isolate or remove from the movement people
who use or advocate violence.
IMMEDIATE DEMANDS
Below are the demands of this nonviolent revolutionary move-
ment.
1) We demand the immediate resignation and prosecution of
the Prime Minister of the Republic of Uganda Mr. John
Patrick Amaama Mbabazi for his role in the Temangalo,
dirty oil dealings, and CHOGM corruption scandals. He
must be cleared by a competent court of law and not by
the Inspector General of Government (IGG) who is his
former assistant and personal friend. Hajji Hassan Basaj-
jabalaba and others involved in institutional corruption
must be prosecuted and immediately refund public mon-
ey. We are totally against selective prosecution which is
another form of political persecution.
2) We demand the immediate restoration of Presidential term
limits and the resignation of the President and his govern-
ment. He must not contest in any other election. How-
ever, we call for immunity to prosecution clause to be put
in the 1995 constitution for the person of the President
for crimes committed during his/her Presidency.
3) A transitional government must be put in place to run
the Country which must then appoint a competent judi-
cial commission of inquiry to investigate and recommend
the prosecution of all those suspected to have committed
crimes such as abuse of human rights including murder
and torture, and corruption among others within a period
57
58. of six months. The transitional government will amend
electoral laws including a law that puts a limit to cam-
paign expenditure so as to eliminate political corruption;
put in place an independent electoral commission that
will conduct all National general elections.
Note:
- The transitional government must lead the country for
a nonrenewable term not exceeding 12 months (Twelve
Months).
The head and cabinet members of the transitional gov-
ernment must not contest for any political position after
the expiration of their term of office not until after five
years.
- All persons convicted of political crimes including corrup-
tion must never hold any public office including contest-
ing for any political positions.
4) We demand the immediate dropping of all fabricated
charges made against political activists and the release of
all demonstrators and all political prisoners.
5) We demand that government must cease to deny Ugan-
dans their right to peaceful demonstration. And in this,
attempts to enacting a law to deny bail to demonstrators
must stop immediately.
6) Attempts by the President to give away Mabira forest and
other forests must stop immediately.
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59. CAUSE AND VISION
The cause and vision of this nonviolent revolutionary movement
is summarized in this statement.
Exodus 3:7-8; Then the Lord told him, “I have certainly seen the
oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of dis-
tress of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffer-
ing. So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the
Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and
spacious land. It is a land flowing with Milk and honey…..”
Matthew 5:17; “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did
not come to abolish the Law of Moses or the writings of the
prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.”
Cause
Our struggle is against;-
1) Dictatorship
2) Corruption
3) Poverty
4) Unemployment
5) Poor living conditions
6) High cost of living
7) Sectarianism
8) Economic, social, and political oppression
59
60. Ugandans had placed their future in President Museveni and his
NRM political organization but today many people think that if
President Museveni of 1986 were to meet the Museveni of today
they would fight- they would actually kill each other. He has lost
touch with the common people and reality. He has learnt and
forgot nothing. Two issues here urgently need to be emphasized
during our struggle;-
1) Restoration of term limits in the 1995 Uganda consti-
tution. In 1986, President Museveni clearly stated that;
“the problem of Africa in general and in Uganda in par-
ticular is not the people but leaders who want to overstay
in power.” As we write, he has since ruled this country for
25 years and has just purchased another 5 year mandate
which if completed he would have ruled Uganda for 30
years. Worse still, there is no indication of his retirement
ever since he raped the constitution to allow him rule for
life. His decision to cling onto power has led his regime
to deliver diminishing returns, undoing all the good and
leading to the suffering of Ugandans. His rule is charac-
terized by the same issues which took him to the bush to
fight a guerrilla war. Therefore, it is our duty to fight for
the restoration of term limits in the 1995.
2) Corruption. There seems to be a deliberate policy to make
Ugandans poor because Machiavellian politics dictates
that for one to rule people for as longer as he wants he
must make them poor but appear to support them but not
to strengthen them. He must not allow any semblance of
equality. However, “he must enrich a few and make them
a privileged class with respect to both property and sub-
jects; so that around him will be those with whose sup-
port he may maintain himself in power, and whose ambi-
tions, thanks to him, may be realized. As to the rest they
will be compelled to bear a yoke which nothing but force
60
61. will ever be able to make them endure. Between force and
those to whom it is applied a balance will thus be set up,
and the standing of every man, each in his own order, will
be consolidated.” Secondly, for a person to rule a multi-
cultural society like Uganda he has to constantly bribe in-
dividual prominent personalities, promote divisions, and
weaken the strength of institutions. This is because force/
brutal means alone cannot consolidate his power.
A desire to cling onto power and corruption have lead to the
following evils in our society;-
- Political corruption and a sham democracy characterized
by vote buying and rigging, political persecution in form
of intimidation, torture, imprisonment, murder, and selec-
tive prosecution
- Poverty
- Unemployment and high cost of living.
- Sectarianism
- Poor service delivery especially in the health, education,
Judicial sectors among other
- Poor development infrastructure
- Weakened public and civil institutions
- Insecurity and political instability
- Poor living conditions
- High cost of living
Uncertainty created by corruption and overstay in power has
prevented genuine investors to consider Uganda as an invest-
ment destination. No investor will invest in a country whose
61
62. stability depends on one visionary mortal man. Things are made
worse when during election campaigns, in the face of the Inter-
national news media; the President and the ruling NRM cam-
paign advertisements emphasize the fact that should President
Museveni lose there will neither be peace nor political stability
in the country. Recently on a visit to neighboring Rwanda, the
President confessed that his government is full of thieves and
he went ahead to credit President Kagame for his zero tolerance
to corruption. In effect he was directing investors to Rwanda;
and secondly, he passed a vote of no confidence in himself. Dur-
ing the 2011 Presidential campaigns the President traversed the
country confessing the corruptness of his government but he
went ahead to appointed Prime Minister, a man whom so many
people believe to be corrupt. He appointed him because of his
loyalty to him forgetting that by the fact that he is corrupt he is
an enemy of the NRM ideology. Maybe he is a loyal partner in
crime.
Without tangible investments, a country will experience high
rate of unemployment and poverty. A poor people will never
live at peace with each other. They in most cases take a sectar-
ian path especially when they see their few rulers perceived to
come from the same region, tribe, rather from the same family
extremely rich. The frustrated poor tend to shift their frustration
toward the poor and powerless that come from the same region
or speaks the same language as their powerful oppressors. This
sectarian path is a threat to National security and political stabil-
ity. To sum it all, corruption and overstay in power is first class
treason to one’s country and such a person must be forced out
of power and face justice for the great suffering he brought to
his own people.
62
63. VISION
Just like Jesus Christ said, this nonviolent revolutionary move-
ment has not come to abolish the laws or the good policies of this
government but we have come to help restore, improve, and ac-
complish their purpose. We all know that before the amendment
of Article 106 on Presidential term limits Uganda was moving
in a relatively right direction guided by the 1995 constitution
of the Republic of Uganda, and the NRM Ten point programme.
Other challenges would be solved with peaceful and democratic
change of government.
GUIDELINES OF THE STRUGGLE
1) Only nonviolent weapons shall be used during the strug-
gle. We shall disassociate, isolate, expose, and guard
against any; individual, groups, state agents and civil and
political organizations that resort to or advance the use of
violence in the name of advancing the cause of this non-
violent revolutionary movement.
2) Even in the face of extreme police and military brutal-
ity we must restrain ourselves from abusing and insulting
them. We must instead show them love and discipline
and call upon them to restrain themselves from carrying
out the brutal orders of the regime. These policemen and
women in uniform are our brothers and sisters who do not
come from mars or any other foreign country but from our
villages and facing the same economic, social and political
hardships as ourselves or even worse. It is fear that makes
them to carry out brutal orders. Therefore, it is our duty
to show them the light and also help them get rid of fear.
63
64. 3) There shall be no use of songs, symbols, slogans, obscene
language, and colors that are divisive because this is an
all inclusive self-liberation movement. It is by mobilizing
the society as a whole that victory shall be made possible-
“PEOPLE POWER.” In short, we are a non-denomination-
al and non-sectarian revolutionary movement.
4) We shall work with all individuals, groups, civil and po-
litical parties/ organizations including some progressive
members of the ruling National Resistance Movement
(NRM) so longer as they support and work to advance our
demands, cause and vision, and also ready to work within
these guidelines.
5) No member of this revolutionary movement shall support
or work towards the success of a coup d’état. Instead any
coup attempt must be swiftly fought and defeated by the
same methods being used to fight the dictatorship.
6) Once in motion, the struggle must not stop unless when all
our demands are met. Even when the coordinating com-
mittee members are compromised and decide to jump off
the revolution they must be left to crash and revolution
continues. This revolution must be like a run-away-train
or a sloping truck that has lost its brakes in that one can-
not stop it or jump off, or else he/she crashes.
7) The coordinating committee will be responsible for co-
ordinating and communicating strategies, methods, and
tactics to be used by regional leaders of the nonviolent
activities. However, the use of methods and tactics shall
vary with time and space; and in this case field and local
revolutionary leaders will decide on which move to take
without consulting or waiting for communication from the
coordinating committee provided they stick to the use of
nonviolent weapons.
64
65. REASONS FOR THE USE OF NONVIOLENT
STRATEGY
We have adopted the method of Nonviolent Action because of
the following reasons below;-
- Nonviolent Action mobilizes and empowers the popula-
tion as a whole to fight and defeat the dictatorship includ-
ing future dictatorships, and other forms of oppressions
- Though not risk free, it is a means of struggle that mini-
mizes causalities, and other costs of war. Post-dictatorship
society remains relatively united.
- We cannot wait for an election to get rid of the dictator-
ship because a popular election to bring about the major
change required for more democratic and free political
society is not available. The election is bought and rigged,
or its results is falsified or ignored.
- Violent rebellion, including guerrilla warfare and terror-
ism, will produces crushing repression, suffering to the
population, massive casualties and defeat. By placing con-
fidence in violent means, one would have chosen the very
type of struggle with which the oppressor nearly always
has superiority. The dictatorship is well equipped to apply
violence overwhelmingly. The dictator almost has superi-
ority in military hardware, ammunition, coercive machin-
ery of the state, money, transportation, and the size of
military forces. Despite our bravery, we are a no match.
We do not even support guerrillas, because should they
succeed, the resulting new regime is likely to be more
dictatorial than its predecessor due to the centralizing im-
pact of the expanded military forces and the weakening
or destruction of the society’s independent groups and
institutions during the struggle- bodies that are vital in
establishing and maintaining a democratic society.
65
