“What’s on your mind?” That’s what Facebook asked me in the “Create Post” space!

So what was on my mind when I wrote on Facebook this morning?

Those of you who follow me on Facebook, where I and others have been posting several updates each day, will know that the answer is, sadly, UGANDA yet again.

The world has been so aware of Trump’s corrupt attempts to destroy democracy in the USA over the past four years, but who is aware of, and who cares about, the way in which Museveni has been destroying democracy in Uganda for many years in so many corrupt and evil ways?

Once again, Museveni rigged the Presidential elections which took place on 14th January 2021. Although international observers weren’t allowed in to Uganda to monitor the elections, many Ugandans have bravely collected and produced so much evidence which needs to be taken seriously.

Since the elections, violent repression by the police and military has increased greatly. Hundreds, if not more, have been beaten viciously,  imprisoned, tortured and killed in horrific ways while hundreds have simply “disappeared” without trace. Museveni’s security forces appear to have been given permission to do whatever they want to suppress the opposition by cracking down on anyone suspected of being  a supporter of Bobi Wine (Kyagulanyi), the candidate whom it seems certain did, in fact, win the Presidential Election. Even wearing a red shirt is dangerous.

I RECEIVED THIS PLEA today from a dear friend and courageous young woman who is a health worker living in Kampala, the capital of Uganda……..

“The situation in Uganda is not good at all. People are being killed silently and innocently. Right now, Museveni has made it clear that we who are using VPN* to access social media will rot in jail simply because we are exposing his bad characters. I use it with a lot of fear but because of the love I have for my country, I won’t stop using it.

“THE WORLD NEEDS TO KNOW THE TRUTH and COME and HELP.

“We are facing a lot of challenges as health workers, especially those who work within Kampala. The curfew was put at 9pm and this is putting our lives in danger. For example, my husband is doing his internship at Mulago Hospital. His duties end at 8pm. He then has to compile a report and hand over to the next person. By the time he is completed, it’s 9pm when there are no ‘taxis’ to make him reach home so he has to walk from Mulago to home which takes him about 4 hours. Yet the army is everywhere, kidnapping and killing people. This puts him at risk yet he has to work and save lives.

“A few days ago as he was coming back home, he met a motor cyclist. He thought he was a bodaboda** only to find out he was an army man who told him the truth, saying Museveni has now given them motorcycles to use as bodabodas and that’s how they are succeeding in kidnapping people. He told my husband he should not walk at night to avoid being a victim yet there is no way he can stop walking – he has to work…..”

*VPN is a Virtual Private Network which allows you to create a secure connection to another network over the Internet. VPNs can be used to access region-restricted websites, shield your browsing activity from prying eyes on public Wi-Fi and more.

**Bodabodas are licensed motorcycle “taxis” operating throughout Uganda to transport people.

LATER this morning, she wrote again:

“I for one am not free in my own country, seeing my brothers and sisters and parents being murdered because of the truth makes me regret being born in Uganda. Museveni has done more harm than good. I still wonder how one would say he is securing your future yet there is massive killing of innocent blood. In Uganda we are not free at all. We are in pain. We need change. I was born here when Museveni was ruling, grown-up here, married here, had all my three kids here, and have never seen any changes. It’s in Uganda where laws are made and never followed.

“Our sisters are working in Arab countries as slaves where they are mistreated and our government has never said a word – instead encourages the mistreatment simply because they are getting a lot of money from the Arabs. We have been given out as slaves. We need change. Museveni should stop killing us. We feel pain like any other person.

“We are also going through a lot of challenges working in hospitals without equipment, no accommodation, work overload, role strains, low salary, no transport. Our profession is never appreciated with high risks of hospital accidents and violence, poor hospital structures to mention but a few. We once worked with an organization on one of the islands (in Lake Victoria) dealing with orphans in a medical unit but our stay there was not so helpful since there wasn’t enough equipment to use. I remember one day my husband felt so bad after failing to save a life that he thought he could have saved, just because he didn’t have requirements to use. We started putting in the little money we had in order to be able to save lives. We did our best and by the time we left the island, people got real sad believing they would never have health workers like us. It was really too much for us to bear so we had to leave. We have always said a best hospital can even be under a tree as long as you have equipment to use. There is no need for better structures without equipment – that’s what we believe.”