Welcome to the first installment of our profiles in courage series, “The Faces Behind Online Exhibitions” where we’ll be delving into the people powering the online exhibition scene in Uganda. And who better to kick off this merry parade than the one and only Agather Atuhaire!
Agather, self styled as the Big Boss at Agora Discourse and a Champion of Fairness on their website, is quite the jack of all trades. Catch her on Twitter and you’ll find a bio that reads like a laundry list: Daughter, Mama, Scribbler, Legal Eagle, and of course, Proudly Ugandan.
Hailing from Sheema District, Agather is a proud product of Makerere University. But don’t let her rural roots fool you; she’s got a knack for stirring up trouble with her trusty pen (or keyboard, in this digital age).
In her spare time (if she has any, that is), Agather moonlights as a freelance journalist, known for her penchant for digging up dirt and blowing whistles louder than a herd of elephants charging through the savanna.
Born around the time when Walkmans were still considered cutting edge technology (circa 1988, for those keeping score), Agather has made quite the name for herself by rattling the cages of corruption and incompetence. Her antics have even caught the eye of big shots like the EU ambassador and the US Secretary of State.
In June 2022, DefendDefenders crowned her as the human rights champion of the month. But that was just the beginning of her journey into the digital jungle.
She was a founder of Agora Discourse, a digital hub that sprouted in 2023, claiming to be the ultimate digital public square for stirring up activism, demanding public accountability, championing human rights, and chasing social justice. They thought, “Why not shake things up a bit?” Despite the jungle of NGOs already prowling the scene, Agora saw a gap and decided to leap into action.
They whipped up online exhibitions that hit harder than a Nsenene-fueled stomach ache. These exhibitions weren’t just for show; they were a proverbial slap in the face for the powers that be. Take, for example, the Uganda Pothole Exhibition. It wasn’t just a collection of craters; it was a masterpiece of despair, showcasing the sorry state of Uganda’s roads.
President Museveni, the big cheese himself, suddenly found the funds to fix those potholes. Coincidence? We think not. Agather and her online exhibitions were shaking things up so much that even the authorities couldn’t ignore them.
Agather first rattled the cages of Parliament with her exposé on luxury car spending in May 2023.
This time, she uncovered the scandalous purchase of not one, but two luxury rides for the Speaker and her sidekick, sorry, Deputy Speaker, at the staggering cost of Shs. 2.8 billion!
Now, you’d think with all the hustle and bustle going on in Uganda, our leaders might tighten their belts a bit, right? Wrong! Despite already having a pair of fancy cars each, they went ahead and splurged, breaking every rule in the book on government procurement. When the contracts committee refused to sign off on the deal, they just kicked them out and got some new contract committee members to rubber stamp it.
Naturally, this news didn’t sit well with the common citizen. I mean, here we are, tightening our belts so much they’re practically cutting off circulation, and they’re out there buying cars like it’s nobody’s business! Agather wasn’t having any of it. With her trusty Twitter account, she called out the hypocrisy.
But as they say, no good deed goes unpunished.
Agather found herself on the receiving end of some not so friendly attention. They threatened to “teach her a lesson,” whatever that means. And as if that wasn’t enough, they even considered throwing her in the clink! But lucky for her, they couldn’t find a decent excuse to do it.
Agather’s not your average Jane, though. Growing up in Sheema, she had a front row seat to the drama of her alcoholic dad and her poor mom bearing the brunt of it all. Determined not to let injustice run rampant, she took matters into her own hands. When Dad locked Mom out, Agather was there to play referee. And when he spent money on booze instead of books for her, she wasn’t afraid to call him out.
That rough upbringing lit a fire in Agather’s belly. She swore she’d never be at the mercy of anyone else. So, she hit the books, became a self-sufficient powerhouse, and vowed to fight for those who couldn’t fight for themselves.
Agather’s path to school wasn’t a walk in the park.
In her early schooling days, she trekked 7 kilometers to a school that accepted yams and bananas instead of cash for fees. Luckily, her big sis swooped in and got her into Alliance School Mbarara on a scholarship for kids with more in the brains than in the pockets like hers. There, she braved the academic terrain and completed high school.
Dreaming of law but stuck with the reality of finances, Agather settled for Journalism. Yet, her passion for justice kept blazing. So, after snagging a degree in Journalism and Communication, she circled back to Makerere University for a Bachelor of Laws. But the drama didn’t stop there.
During her legal journey, Agather uncovered some sketchy stuff in the system at Law School. Imagine, half the class failing the same course? Fishy, right? She wasn’t having it. Her questions raised eyebrows, marking her as a rebel in a sea of conformity.
Off to the Law Development Centre (LDC) for the bar course, Agather’s peers warned her: “Watch out for your big mouth!” It was like telling a monkey to avoid ripe bananas—impossible!
Then came the graduation fiasco of 2021. Instead of handing out results, LDC dropped a list like it was a gossip column—passed, failed a bit, failed completely. Agather found herself in the gray zone. Something smelled off.
Emails ignored, petitions sent, and social media ablaze, Agather rallied the troops. They weren’t just fighting for degrees; they were battling the beast of injustice lurking within LDC’s halls.
And guess what? Their noise got results. Scripts were scrutinized, inconsistencies exposed, and justice served—albeit a couple of months late. They may have missed the graduation party, but at least they got their transcripts—proof that perseverance pays off, like coaxing honey from a beehive.
For Agather, it wasn’t just about her diploma; it was about standing up to the bullies in the bureaucracy. Her takeaway? If you don’t call out the wrongs, they’ll keep on rolling.
When asked about why she thinks justice is as scarce as hen’s teeth for many, even those who should be waving their empowerment flags high, Agather spills the beans.
According to her, one big hurdle is the price tag attached to justice. Sometimes, it’s as plain as day – cash money. But other times, it’s a sneakier beast, hiding in the shadows of social and political games. You know, those bigwigs who think they’re untouchable just because they’re cozy with the big shots.
She points out that these injustice perpetrators love to play hide and seek behind their fancy titles and bureaucratic mazes. They slap penalties left and right on anyone brave enough to call them out. Sometimes it’s a pink slip, other times it’s a career roadblock taller than Mount Rwenzori.
But Agather doesn’t just throw shade; she’s all about sparking change. She’s like that voice in the wilderness, shouting, “Hey, let’s not just sit around and twiddle our thumbs!” She believes every little act of goodness counts, echoing the words of Desmond Tutu. Yep, it’s all about doing your bit, no matter how small, because when you add up all those little drops of goodness, you get a flood that can sweep away even the most stubborn injustices.
So, next time you see Agather Atuhairwe pop up on your timeline, know that she’s not just tweeting for the fun of it; she’s out there, armed with her keyboard, ready to take on the world, one injustice at a time.
According to the Global Press Journal, Agather is not just any scribbler but a freelance storyteller who’s worked her pen across pages in big name papers like Independent Magazine, The Daily Monitor, and even National Geographic. She’s also graced the airwaves of NBS Television and NTV, analyzing newsy bits on “Fourth Estate” like a pro.
The tale took a twist when Agather decided to ditch ink for pixels. She found solace in the realm of social media, particularly Twitter. Why, you ask? Well, because in this digital age, tweets fly faster than gossip at a village well. In Uganda, if you want to be heard, you better tweet it out! She realized that social media is the way to go if you want your message to hit harder.
Starting her journey back in university days, Agather took her first step into the wild world of journalism. But then she took a detour, as if dodging a pothole, to study law. “A change of pace,” she thought. Yet, destiny had its laugh, pulling her back into the ink-stained arms of journalism. “There’s something about wielding a pen that just calls to you,” she’d muse.
But it’s not all sunshine and eating rolex in Agather’s world.
She’s faced more hurdles than a boda boda on a muddy road. Living in a country she feels is part dictatorship, part chaos, Agather’s had her fair share of run-ins with the powers that be. When she was dishing out the dirt on “Fourth Estate,” she found herself being followed more than a herd of goats following their shepherd.
And there were the threats! Publishing juicy tidbits about Parliament’s spending habits? That’s like poking a sleeping lion with a stick! Suddenly, Agather found herself dodging more calls than a politician during election season. The government was after her, or at least that’s what her friends said as they warned her to lay low.
But Agather says she is not the type to back down from a fight. Even when faced with threats that would make the average person quiver like a wet goat, Agather stands tall, knowing that her words hold more power than a presidential decree.
What does Press Freedom mean to you?
Well, according to Agather Atuhaire, it’s like a game of hide and seek. Sometimes you hold back, sometimes you let loose, and sometimes you find yourself tiptoeing around like a cat burglar in the night. In the land of Ugandan journalism, it’s not just about reporting, it’s about dodging bullets—both metaphorical and sometimes, alas, literal.
In Agather’s opinion, the future of journalism looks as sunny as a rainy season in Kampala. Press freedom is taking a nosedive, journalists are fleeing faster than a gazelle from a lion, and newsrooms are like islands adrift in a sea of government adverts.
For all this Agather has a plan!
She believes in an active citizenry, people who don’t just sit back and munch on roasted maize but demand answers when journalists are treated like scapegoats at a traditional wedding.
But beware, not all topics are fair game in Ugandan journalism. Mentioning the first lady can be as dangerous as swimming in crocodile infested waters—just ask poor Gertrude Tumusiime Uwitware, who vanished faster than a Rolex at a street food festival after crossing that line. And don’t even think about whispering about the first son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, unless you want your newspaper office to be shut tighter than a gorilla’s grip.
Despite the challenges, Agather still stands tall like a Rwenzori peak. She’s not just any journalist; she’s a force to be reckoned with. Her work in exposing corruption is like a breath of fresh air in a taxi stuck in Kampala traffic—much needed and greatly appreciated. So much so that she’s bagged awards like a pro golfer bags birdies.
In 2023, she scooped up the EU Human Rights Defenders’ Award and just recently, she was rubbing shoulders with the bigwigs in Washington, snagging the International Women of Courage Award.
