Lest one brook misapprehension at nomothetic developments in Kampala, the government of Uganda must rightly attend to myriad problems that indeed do pose serious threat to the diverse and growing populace it represents.
Despite the country’s well-publicized success in reducing HIV/AIDS prevalence since the 1980s, Uganda continues to suffer among the highest rates of this and many other communicable diseases. So too does it face a growing burden of noncommunicable disease which has accompanied sometimes tepid and often uneven economic growth. On the security front, the successful campaign to evict warlord Joseph Kony’s militia has been tempered by the specter of civil war in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (to the north and west) and terrorist attacks in Tanzania and Kenya (to the south and east).
The Ugandan people should be commended for their ability to bear all forms of hardship with a steadfast “tofayo” (“don’t worry” in the Luganda language). At the least, they deserve a government that maintains a stalwart defense of basic human rights in light of innumerable hardships. They deserve political plays that champion personal freedom. They deserve investment plays that promise sustainable prosperity. They deserve Havel plays.
Václav Havel, the Czech playwright, leader, and humanist, was masterful in making the kind of moves that helped his country emerge from decades of unmet potential. As adept as he was at crafting theatrical plays, he was equally skilled at making political plays advancing human rights, democracy, and a pragmatic approach to sustainable development. These are the kind of plays the Ugandan people need.
(A bright equatorial day in Kampala and an idyllic early winter morning in Prague. Original Photos.)
Splendidly perched above an important inland waterway, Kampala can and should become to East Africa what Havel’s Prague became to Central Europe: a symbol of not only aesthetic beauty, but also freedom, peace, and prosperity. Development along this path is most effectively supported by the kinds of human rights guarantees that Havel advanced, from healthcare to economic rights to political freedoms.