Reflections on my journey as a columnist

It will soon be five years since I started writing a weekly column for Sunday Monitor. Compared to senior colleagues, Alan Tacca and Dr Muniini Mulera, I am the equivalent of a P5 pupil when they have already graduated from university. That is comparatively a humbling experience.
I have little to boast of except for fact that, as of June 25, I have done 391 opinions and secondly as a result of the opportunity Monitor Publications offered me in 2012, I have made many “friends” online and a few opponents.
Talking about online opponents, there is a guy called “Augustine” who has posted blatant lies about me online ostensibly as “feedback”. I don’t think Augustine is his real name, but like all liars and cowards, he hides his true identity! As a victim of ignorance and poverty of the mind, I forgive him.
Cowardly attacks on columnists remind me of a comment Dr Mulera made in his opinion of May 30 to mark the 20th anniversary of ‘Letter to a Kampala Friend’ which I read regularly. In a piece titled: ‘Twenty years of writing and murdering the English language’ Mulera spoke for most columnists and certainly for me where he observed candidly that:
“My outlook has earned me a lot of hate mail from both the supporters and opponents of the rulers. A column that reflects my personal thoughts and tentative opinions often becomes a trigger for insults directed at my person and my family.”
In this regard, my son Christian Acemah told me of situations where he was either warmly welcomed or given a cold shoulder once the persons he encountered learnt that his dad was your columnist! He told me of the case of a Ugandan diplomat based at our Embassy in Washington DC who was hostile to him as soon as they were introduced. Well, such are occupational hazards. I have advised the young man to take it easy.
Dr Mulera continues, “Some react to a column’s headline without bothering to read the content,” but his comment which struck a chord with me is where he wrote: “Some relatives and old friends have turned their backs on me, evidently afraid to associate with an ‘enemy of the State.’ Their fear has been very easy to understand.”
It took me a while to understand why people I thought were friends would all of a sudden not answer my telephone calls or not show up for appointments for a drink or not reply to my messages. When I read Dr Mulera’s opinion of May 30 it rang a bell and opened my eyes, but who is an enemy of the State?
Well, definitely not Dr Mulera, Alan Tacca, Bernard Tabaire, Harold Acemah or other MPL columnists who, in good faith, write frank, pertinent, unpleasant, but truthful opinions on critical and topical issues of interest to Ugandans. Yes, we often call a spade a spade to the chagrin of Uganda’s political elite, many of whom are afraid and uncomfortable to associate with us.
At a personal level, the name my parents gave me has served me well and prepared me for any eventuality, including rejection by friends and relatives. You see, my name Acemah literally means “I am the only one left” which reminds me of Prophet Elijah’s tribulations after his battle with 450 prophets of Baal, recorded in 1 Kings Chapters 18 and 19.
In his despair, Elijah who had more or less given up lamented to God: “I am the only one left – and they are trying to kill me!” 1 Kings 19:10 (GNB)
God assured Elijah that he was not alone, but there were at least 7,000 people alive in Israel “who are loyal to (God) and who have not bowed to Baal or kissed his idol”.
Like Elijah, I am not alone. God is with me, always!
The enemies of Uganda are those who have shed or caused unnecessary shedding of innocent blood of Ugandans to advance a personal or tribal agenda. Like Cain who shed the blood of his brother Abel, they are haunted by the blood of thousands of Ugandans crying to God from the ground for justice and closure!
The enemies of Uganda are those who have shamelessly exploited, impoverished and tortured Ugandans. The enemies of wananchi are those self-styled liberators, heroes and pan-Africanists who have plundered the resources of Uganda and some neighbouring countries with impunity! The enemies of Uganda are those who have sown seeds of discord and divided Ugandans along ethnic, regional and religious lines!
The enemies of Uganda are pathological liars who have taken wananchi for a ride for years by making empty promises. The enemies of the people are persons who actively participate in and condone endemic and systemic corruption in Uganda. The enemies of Uganda are those who have mortgaged our country and sold Uganda’s precious assets for peanuts. The enemies of Uganda are people who practise witchcraft and desecrate our national motto: For God and my Country!
Ugandans must neither give up hope nor give in to blackmail, despair and intimidation. This is our country and we have every right to the resources which God has generously given to all citizens of Uganda. It is the duty of a responsible government to ensure that the gifts of God are shared fairly and equitably among all Ugandans. May the Lord have mercy!

Mr Acemah is a political scientist, consultant and a retired career diplomat. [email protected]