My father, Reverend/Canon Samwiri Kashambuzi, as first born male and Anglican minister has had responsibilities for uniting people and resolving disputes in a mutually satisfactory manner. We have a relatively large extended family with members belonging to different faiths largely Protestants and Catholics. Although a Protestant and minister, his faith and profession did not influence how he treated members of the family that belong to another faith even during difficult religious times. The first lesson I learned from my father is that religion should not divide people. As a result religion has not influenced the way I treat people socially and professionally.
When I returned from exile in 1980, I started business in my home area of Rujumbura in southwest Uganda partly in acknowledgement of community support as I grew up and to help the development of the area. Since father was going to be the overall manager (we call him Chairman) in my absence at work far away from home, I discussed with him about selection of managers. He advised that we should pick the best regardless of their religion or ethnicity. Consequently, we picked a Catholic and a Mukiga to construct my family and first house in Rukungiri town although we had qualified people in our family. My father felt they lacked experience for the type of building we had in mind.
When relatives and some Protestants complained after the contract had been awarded, he brought them together and we explained carefully why we took that decision. They argued that we should insist that the contractor should hire them. My father reasoned and convincingly that we shouldn’t tie the contractor’s hands. Instead those that needed jobs should apply in the normal way and be considered on merit. They concurred. From this lesson, I have hired the best managers: a Catholic who manages my tree plantation and a Muslim who manages my ranch.
The second lesson I learned from my father is that we should always extend a helping hand to those in need even to people we don’t know because he reasoned all human being are children of one Creator. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, people from Kabale area of former Kigezi district were resettled in different parts of Uganda including in Ruhinda sub-county of Kigezi district where we lived.
Because motorized transport was limited, people walked and spent nights preferably at churches. Father instructed us that when they arrived, no matter what time of day or night, we should help them as much as possible whether he was in or out. He further instructed that we should never ask their faith or their tribe. We should just treat them as fellow human beings as we would like to be treated by others.
In my career mainly at the University and United Nations where many people from different backgrounds meet, as supervisor I treated them as fellow human beings. I also made sure to the extent possible especially when I was stationed in New York that I received Ugandans well that came for conferences, including having a meal or drink together or giving them a copy of one of my books for free. I have distributed to Ugandans free of charge many copies of my ten books.
Before and during formation of UDU, I advised that while merit should be the criterion for selecting officers or participants in meetings we should not forget the demographic makeup of our membership. During Ugandan demonstrations at State Department in USA, United Nations in New York and Boston we made sure there was demographic balance when meeting with officials. For example, during the Voice of America interview when Ugandans demonstrated in Washington DC, we made sure through consultations among women that a woman representative was interviewed and she gave a gender perspective. The tape of that interview is posted at www.kashambuzi.com.
During the formation of UDU in July 2011, the first decision we took before elections of office bearers was to agree that there must be gender and youth representatives. These representatives are responsible for national gender and youth issues.
My father believes in uniting people and keeping families together. I used to hear him saying he was rushing to some place because there was a feud within the family, between families or among community members. Sometimes he would invite them to come to the church. He would begin the discussion with a prayer. He would then patiently listen to all views. He never allowed anybody to dominate the discussion. In some cultures, women are not given a chance to express their opinions. Father would give opportunity to everyone. Father also avoided as much as possible rushing people into conclusions or telling them what to do. He would sometimes convene meetings several times until a consensus emerged and everyone felt ready to reconcile. I learned at least two lessons.
First, I learned that whatever disputes people may have on a particular issue, it is cost effective to work together. While stationed in Lusaka, Zambia, before the Amin regime was toppled, Ugandans were divided on how to do it. I recall a moment when I invited some Ugandans for dinner at our residence. Some told me they would come only if so and so were not there because they couldn’t stand one another politically and by extension socially. Through patient and delicate consultations, I was able to convince some Ugandans that working together was much better than separately. Out of this discussion we created Uganda Unity Group (UUG) a multi-ethnic and multi-religious body taking the four regions and gender concerns into account. The group was admitted at the Moshi conference and one of our delegates was appointed a minister of state.
The second lesson helped me when I was chairing UN meetings that brought different UN agencies and/or African regional organizations together. The principle I employed as my father did was to listen very carefully to what was being said, giving everyone a chance to speak. In summarizing debates, I would begin with areas where I felt a consensus had been reached. Once that was resolved, I would then ask for guidance on how to proceed on areas where there was no consensus. I realized that when you conduct meetings that way rather than issuing instructions from the chair participants felt they were in charge of their meeting. It was possible, though not always, to resolve contentious issues.
However, I also noticed that there were occasions when my father had to take charge and identify the root cause of the problem at the risk of offending some participants in the meeting. He believed and still does that unless you get to the root cause of the problem there won’t be a solution. I used to see or hear him confronting some members of his church for wrong doing and point out what had gone wrong and who was responsible. There would be heated debates. I would hear him saying that he was telling the truth based on facts he had gathered. Because he told the truth, he ended up weathering the storm.
When he retired as Archdeacon of the Church of Uganda at the end of a long career, he was praised as a role model who treated everyone justly and called a spade a spade when circumstances dictated so. He has been in retirement for quite some time but his former parishioners still visit him and thank him for what he did especially building schools.
Finally, many times people have told me privately that my father is an honest man and he was not corrupt. He drew a distinction between what belonged to the church and what was his. Metaphorically, he drew a yellow line that separated church property and his and couldn’t cross it. Further, when he doesn’t like something he will tell you exactly why. One time he rejected a reassignment and gave reasons that everyone concurred with and was given another duty station.
I have followed my father in getting to the root cause of problems, pointing out who is responsible. I am not afraid to deal with sensitive or controversial issues provided I use facts. The intention is not to hurt feelings but to change behavior and get things back on the right track. For example, I have pointed out what I think NRM-Tutsi led government is doing wrong at home and in neighboring countries. That doesn’t mean I don’t like Tutsi people. I would like to work with them in the next government.
I have also strongly argued against military governments or military commanders becoming Uganda head of state, not because I am against soldiers but because I believe that is not where their comparative advantage resides. I have criticized President Museveni for appointing people to ministries and embassies that they are not qualified for. Why appoint medical doctors as ministers of finance, foreign affairs, agriculture etc. First their life becomes difficult because they are operating in a strange environment and the country suffers because they are not likely to produce the desired results. Then they are in constant conflict with professionals who feel should be occupying top jobs.
Another area where I have expressed strong views is on corruption. I believe very strongly that government officials who steal public money should have the money returned in full with interest and be prosecuted. None even the head of state should be above the law. That is why I have been demanding an explanation about where over $30 billion donations to Uganda have gone because there is virtually nothing to show for it. I am happy that the development partners have decided to act. And it is hoped that all will act and collectively because money has been stolen from every donor. And hopefully they will get to the bottom of the problem including who is responsible in a transparent manner. Nobody should be above the law.
I also believe sincerely that Uganda belongs to all Ugandans and should be treated justly. The next government should promote economic growth, equity and sustainable development for all. I don’t believe in Robinhood principle of robbing the rich and giving to the poor. Rather, I believe that all Ugandans should be given equal opportunity through food and nutrition security, universal and quality education and healthcare so that they have energy to learn and acquire skills that enable them to compete in the labor market.
The government role is to create the right environment including law and order, provision of infrastructure and institution and administration of justice so that for instance contracts are respected and private initiatives promoted. There have to be safety nets to help those for no fault of theirs are down so they can get up and walk again.
I want to let those who may have been offended by some of my writings to know that no disrespect or hurting feelings has been intended. I am merely as a human being trying to offer suggestions to improve Uganda’s political economy so that everyone in present and future generations has a comfortable place to live in. Ugandans and other interested parties should judge me on my ability to serve and nothing else. I believe that patriotism, commitment, experience and character matter a great deal in selecting leaders. Leaders should put country first and underscore the sovereignty of the people. Governments exist to serve the people and when they fail as NRM surely has they should be removed. Given the level of the current challenges, Uganda needs a transitional government of all stakeholders to prepare for free and fair multiparty elections. To be fair those who serve in the transitional government shouldn’t participate in the next elections.
Above all, Uganda needs a leader that is bold with broad knowledge and confidence to handle the serious challenges before us. There is no room for students to learn on the job and gain experience when they are retiring. Leaders must come with experience as reflected in their profiles. People who hide their profiles or keep their views to themselves to avoid controversy shouldn’t even be allowed to contest any elective office.
I want to take this moment to thank my father for not only feeding me but also for teaching me how to fish.
Eric