Iga Zinunula Sam
Sheikh Hasina ‘disappeared in the night’, fleeing into exile after weeks of protests by the Bangladeshi people. This was this last August. At 76, she had been Prime minister of her country from June 1996 to July 2001 and then again from January 2009 till her toppling, a total of more than twenty years. Hundreds of protestors lost their lives, the security battling to quell the riots, in futility.
Within hours of her departure, her residence was broken into by the angry protestors. In June-July, Kenya saw several weeks of protests by the so-called Gen Zs demanding better fiscal equity. Rapidly, the tempo increased, the temperature rose, the crowds multiplied and the ‘sanctity’ of parliament was breached and the youths took the Speaker’s Mace. Dozens were killed. The voices rang out, ‘Ruto must go.’ ‘Ruto must go.’ Ruto, the new Kenyan president, was barely halfway through his first term in office. Where Hasina fled, Ruto recanted and apologised.
In Uganda, emboldened by what they were seeing in Kenya, one can argue, activists mobilised, mostly on cyberspace, and readied to take the physical walk to Parliament building to protest what they saw as gross corruption in the august house. The virtual life and activity did not translate into many ‘boots on the ground’, the security on the streets was tough and the few protestors who turned up were soon roughed up and whisked away. It all fizzled out. At almost 80 then and in office for over 38 years, the president, Museveni, had warned that he wouldn’t have any of it. Indeed, he did not. Things continued, normal as before.
A similar occurrence in the United Kingdom; a message went out into cyberspace alleging that the tragic murder of three young girls in Southport was by an immigrant and of colour. It was a false allegation but the message rapidly grew wings of its own and people with sinister beliefs and apparently long-anguished hearts, set out on missions to ‘avenge their own’ against the ‘aliens’. A thousand were arrested. Many are facing court trials. Phone in hand, data on the phone,
a brain in the head, the young people of today cross boundaries in the millions every second in the cyber world.
The world seems embroiled in clashes; one leading to another. However,
what could these portend and what could be done to avert these situations?
They gather information, learn and teach each other, network and mobilise, responding to various causes: Lack of meaningful employment. Grand corruption and poor governance. Poor social services. Immigration. Social injustices like gender-based violence. Across India, doctors have been on strike and thousands of people joined them in protests after their colleague, a post- graduate medical student was raped and murdered in a hospital in Kolkata.
The question is, what does it all portend? Will things get better or not? Will the rulers respond appropriately or will they shoot to kill? And if they shoot to kill, how many will die before the crowds will relent or the rulers flee? Is it inevitable that more information accessed by citizens will result in these clashes? What can be done to nip these situations in the bud? Does it call for stricter policing and heavier military deployment, or more civic engagement?
‘In various places, ‘Think Tanks’ conduct research, develop papers/essays and earnestly debate and pursue particular themes and topics and engage civilly with the rulers, and end up with actionable resolutions in synchrony with their governments. In Uganda, there was a time barazas, bimeeza, were the popular channels of quite energetic exchange. Now, cyberspaces rock the world and it is the young people that tie the knots that form the webs that can catch us all on the street. Younger and newer like Ruto or older and more ancient like Biya, the rulers have to step up and translate into real reality, what the youngsters are conceiving in cyberspace.
