The recent viral video from the Invisible Children, which purports to have as its goal the capture of the Ugandan rebel leader, Joseph Kony, has instead achieved an ironic feat - making Kony a sympathetic figure, a good guy. Since the video was launched, all kinds of critiques against the producer of the video and the Invisible Children organization have cropped up. Critiques range from the usual suspects of misguided aid to Africa to the perpetuation of colonialist mentality. Some claim that the video paints a picture of Uganda and Africa that is not correct - that the continent is a desperate place in need of aid. For others, the video gets its facts wrong - it claims that Uganda is in central Africa and gives the errorneous impression that Kony is still in Uganda. Even a government minister from Uganda has come out of the woodwork to say that Uganda, which is dependent on aid for about half of its budget, is a stable, developing country like any other stable, developing country. Some of the criticisms have had to do with how the Invicible Children organization uses its money, even though this organization has been around for quite a while without attracting such widespread condemnation as appears to be the case now. Its films about the atrocities being commintted by Kony's group in Uganda has been screened on many campuses in the United States, including campuses in which I have taught, without much disapproval.
In all this, one fails to get the impression that Kony is a person who has committed heineous atrocities. The video appears to have shifted the gaze of the world away from the criminal to the person who, however inadequately, was attempting to bring more light on these atrocities. And this is always how things are often confused when it comes to Africa. It is a fact that Kony has currently not be accounted for - if he had, the United States would not have sent soldiers to track him down. Even the government of Uganda can itself not account for Kony even though it has been receiving money from the United States for its war on terror. The claim by a Ugandan government minister that the Kony issue is passe is highly inaccurate. In fact, no one should trust a Ugandan government minister's assessment of the situation in Uganda. The regime of Yoweri Museveni is a dictatorship that will carry out all kinds of machinations to keep itself in power. If anyone is currently benefitting from this slight of hand which has turned Kony into the good guy and a person who is bringing his atrocities to light into the bad guy, it is the Ugandan government which often benefits from the suffering of its people - remember the money it receives from the United States for its war on terror. Thus, even though the Ugandan government cannot account for Kony, they act as if his days of destabilizing Uganda is over because he appears not to be in Uganda anymore. As a matter of fact, it is not known for a fact that Kony is not in Uganda because the Uganda government itself is unable to police its own boundaries. It is also not known for sure whether Kony is dead or alive. Even if it is correct that Kony is no longer in Uganda (some say he is now roaming freely in the DRC and CAR), does that make him any less dangerous? Have African lives become so unimportant that many apparently intelligent people around the world would defend Kony over those trying to bring him to book? Yes, the matter is not as simple as depicted in the video, but is it wrong to want to catch Kony and bring him to book? I am tired of all these self-righteous people, both Africans and non-Africans, who think they are the only ones with worthwhile insights about the continent, yet are doing nothing to make things better. I would err on the side of wanting to catch Kony rather than lump my lot with all those who have been so quiet about him. Let the video go viral as long as the issue of the capture of Kony is not yet clear and the stability of portions of Uganda, DRC and CAR is still an issue. Kony and the Ugandan government who have been unable to catch him to this day are the bad guys here, not the people are are attempting to bring Kony to book.
In all this, one fails to get the impression that Kony is a person who has committed heineous atrocities. The video appears to have shifted the gaze of the world away from the criminal to the person who, however inadequately, was attempting to bring more light on these atrocities. And this is always how things are often confused when it comes to Africa. It is a fact that Kony has currently not be accounted for - if he had, the United States would not have sent soldiers to track him down. Even the government of Uganda can itself not account for Kony even though it has been receiving money from the United States for its war on terror. The claim by a Ugandan government minister that the Kony issue is passe is highly inaccurate. In fact, no one should trust a Ugandan government minister's assessment of the situation in Uganda. The regime of Yoweri Museveni is a dictatorship that will carry out all kinds of machinations to keep itself in power. If anyone is currently benefitting from this slight of hand which has turned Kony into the good guy and a person who is bringing his atrocities to light into the bad guy, it is the Ugandan government which often benefits from the suffering of its people - remember the money it receives from the United States for its war on terror. Thus, even though the Ugandan government cannot account for Kony, they act as if his days of destabilizing Uganda is over because he appears not to be in Uganda anymore. As a matter of fact, it is not known for a fact that Kony is not in Uganda because the Uganda government itself is unable to police its own boundaries. It is also not known for sure whether Kony is dead or alive. Even if it is correct that Kony is no longer in Uganda (some say he is now roaming freely in the DRC and CAR), does that make him any less dangerous? Have African lives become so unimportant that many apparently intelligent people around the world would defend Kony over those trying to bring him to book? Yes, the matter is not as simple as depicted in the video, but is it wrong to want to catch Kony and bring him to book? I am tired of all these self-righteous people, both Africans and non-Africans, who think they are the only ones with worthwhile insights about the continent, yet are doing nothing to make things better. I would err on the side of wanting to catch Kony rather than lump my lot with all those who have been so quiet about him. Let the video go viral as long as the issue of the capture of Kony is not yet clear and the stability of portions of Uganda, DRC and CAR is still an issue. Kony and the Ugandan government who have been unable to catch him to this day are the bad guys here, not the people are are attempting to bring Kony to book.
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