Social media claims leave NGOs reeling

Sector regulators, the NGO Bureau and Uganda National NGO Forum, an independent and inclusive national platform for NGOs in the country, said they have taken note of the ongoing #UgandaNGOsExhibition and would collate all the feedback and commit to collectively discuss and address the concerns raised.

“As a sector that aspires to be transparent and publicly accountable, we are actively listening and documenting the numerous concerns,” the NGO Forum tweeted.

Started by Mr Jimmy Spire Ssentongo, a cartoonist and academic, the weeklong “Exhibition” campaign allows a moderator to put up a topical issue and invite the public to share their views in whatever format—text, pictures, videos, or audios—with a view to holding responsible institutions and individuals accountable.

The first exhibition on potholes painted grim pictures of the state of roads, especially in the capital Kampala, sending authorities into an overdrive to attempt to arrest the rot.

The culmination of this past week saw President Museveni order the Special Forces Command, a specialised regiment of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), to work with the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) to fix roads.

The President’s directive came almost a month after his son, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, inspected city roads in company of KCCA executive director Dorothy Kisaka, and undertook to give KCCA a hand in fixing the potholes.

After exhibitions carried out surgery on public healthcare, and peeled open the dismal working conditions of the men and women in the security forces, NGOs—who had applauded it all as part of wider public accountability—have found the sediments in the still waters dirtying everything in the pot.

Threats
Reactions on social media suggest many NGOs and individuals running them are not comfortable seeing revelations of gross corruption, nepotism, sexual harassment and impunity thrust into the public milieu.

There was an ominous warning to Ms Agather Atuhaire, a lawyer and journalist who is moderating the NGO exhibition, that she risked being “isolated in Kampala” for biting the hands that fed her.

The winner of the 2023 European Union Human Rights Defenders Award was also subjected to blackmails, including sexual ones. 

Last month, Mr Ssentongo was forced to apply the brakes in his social justice activism after reporting threats to his life. But Ms Atuhaire waved aside the threats and counter accusations and carried on with the exhibition. 

Ms Nancy Abwola, who identified herself as one “nurtured and working in the NGO sector”, said it was “absurd to hear stories of corruption, exploitation, abuse and human rights violations from a sector meant to set standards of human rights, good governance, transparency, and accountability.”

The exhibition heard that accountability would show that staffers are being paid Shs6m monthly, but one only receives Shs2m. Others spoke of sexual harassment, detailing organisations where a woman’s success was reportedly proportional to how higher up they were willing to lift their skirts in office.

“I worked for an NGO involved in sexual and reproductive health and rights of young people. The amount of shady work I witnessed in this organisation, I don’t think I can fully write it all down. These young people were targets for sexual harassment by the bosses… young girls were hot spots for male employees to sleep with,” said one.

Another, who previously worked with an NGO funded by the US aid agency USAID, said they had witnessed a culture rife with sex coercion, sexism and rape.

“I felt pressured to open my legs due to the epidemic of sexual innuendos I was receiving from senior management colleagues. It later transpired into being frustrated in my work when I declined and pushed out,” she revealed.

The scrutiny sent several NGOs into meetings, with some attempting to fight back by unleashing a salvo on the activists and those sharing the exposés.

“It’s good to know that conversations are happening in NGO WhatsApp groups and other fora regarding the voices from the #UgandaNGOsExhibition so far. I hope they focus more on how to clean up their critical sector, not how to silence critical voices. Show the will to be better,” tweeted Mr Ssentongo.

Lawyer and civil rights activist Godwin Toko said it was disappointing that some NGOs and individuals were expressing fear of being destroyed by the scrutiny, saying only criminals should fear the spotlight.

In a new age of civic accountability, the initiative to shed light on public affairs issues encourages constructive criticism and scales the heights of public scrutiny.

“Transparency and accountability are essential for the sector to maintain the legitimacy and moral authority of NGOs,” said Stuart Edward Amanya, a social media influencer,  adding, “By highlighting the discrepancies and challenges within the sector, you’re taking a step toward creating awareness and driving change. Sharing experiences and evidence can provide valuable insights and pave the way for necessary improvements.”

The NGO Forum said it was imperative to underscore that the NGO sector contributes significantly to the development and social wellbeing of Ugandans through complementing government service delivery and holding the state accountable.

“It’s good that the issues are coming from individuals within the NGOs themselves,” Mr Stephen Okello, the executive director of the NGO Bureau, said.

Thorns on roses
The challenge with such social media campaigns is that they elicit all sorts of commentary, including misinformation, blackmail and malice.

The leading activists—Mr Ssentongo, Ms Atuhaire and Mr Toko—have found themselves dealing with such issues and having to steer the discourse away from the footprints of smear campaigns.

“With allegations, there are legal implications. Even if true, once sued, you may not be able to prove beyond doubt and the consequences can be dire. I share the anonymised accounts to create alarm because in many ways, we can still tell who they are without inviting litigation,” Mr Ssentongo said.
Mr Okello prayed that the campaign is not abused. “I hope the individuals putting up the allegations have the evidence and are ready to cooperate once called upon.”

Ms Sarah Bireete, the executive director of the Centre for Constitutional Governance (CCG), said the exhibition is characterised by blackmail and character assassination mainly by former employees in the sector.

She added that it is likely to attract several defamation suits. Mr Bireete and CCG felt the full wrath of the exhibition. She was accused of practicing almost everything wrong she criticises President Museveni of doing—from nepotism to corruption.

“NGOs carry out annual audits and reports are available at the NGO Bureau. You can only poke holes by conducting forensic audits,” she told Monitor, adding that those making the allegations must provide evidence.

She added: “All our activities have been captured online since 2016 and our partners are aware of this. You can’t come to Twitter and claim that CCG forges accountability when partners witness activities happening live on Civic Space TV.”

Mr Andrew Karamagi, a human rights activist and coordinator at ActionAid, an international NGO, said the exhibition was a “novel brand of online activism” and one of the many ways through which the sector can be encouraged to introspect, reflect, evolve, build back better, and emerge stronger.

“Dinosaurs would still be in existence today if they had adapted their dietary, migratory, energy use and reproductive patterns to suit this constantly changing planet,” Mr Karamagi, who laughed off claims in the exhibition that he had illicitly amassed wealth in his NGO work, said.