“Learn more, educate yourself, understand, know what’s happening” in Uganda in order to be helpful, says human rights attorney
Nicholas Opiyo, a Ugandan human rights attorney, spoke at the annual Stanford Global Studies student dinner on Wednesday, April 17 at the Stanford Faculty Club.
In his opening remarks, Opiyo confessed he was torn over whether he should be delivering a speech or following the news in Uganda, where the Supreme Court was just hours away from delivering a landmark ruling that would affect President Yoweri Museveni’s ability to seek reelection for the sixth consecutive time since 1986.
Once a “beacon of hope in the region,” Uganda has become increasingly autocratic over the past three decades under President Museveni’s rule. “What drives you then to do what you do if your country is autocratic? I’ve been asked this question far too many times,” he said. “The reason I do what I do is because of my history as a person and our future as a country.”
Opiyo grew up in northern Uganda at the height of the brutal conflict between the government and Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army. He witnessed senseless violence and grave human rights violations at the hands of both the rebel group and the Ugandan government. As a child, he knew he wanted to dedicate his life to the pursuit of justice for society’s oppressed and underprivileged populations by becoming a lawyer.
“I had the resolve that I should use my law degree and my skills as a lawyer to defend the rights of vulnerable people in my country,” he told the audience.
As an attorney and the founder of human rights organization Chapter Four Uganda, Opiyo has defended social media activists, members of the LGBTQ community, and others who face persecution. In 2014 he led the effort that successfully challenged Uganda’s notorious Anti-Homosexuality Act, and he was a key player in drafting and advocating for the law to criminalize torture.
“I strongly believe that, in spite of the troubling past and present repression in our country, the future is bright,” Opiyo noted. “The vast majority of our people are young people who are daring to dream about a new country — one of equal opportunity, respect of the rule of law, and human rights.”
An Uphill Battle
While he has achieved success in the courtroom, Opiyo works in a difficult, repressive climate. The government has increasingly restricted civic space and stifled freedom of speech and assembly. In addition, because every judicial officer has been appointed by President Museveni, the court system in Uganda is widely viewed as biased and unfair.
How does he maintain his faith in the law while working in this type of environment, Stanford Global Studies Director Jeremy M. Weinstein asked Opiyo. “In this broken system, there are moments of brightness. There are individuals in the system that will do what is right sometimes at huge expense,” he answered. “They keep me going.”
“I shudder to imagine what it could have been like but for the resilience of these individuals and other human rights defenders. These individual stories of hope … will aggregate and change our country.”
Opiyo uses the courts in Uganda creatively — to shape the public narrative around particular issues and to give a voice to victims. “Regardless of whether the courts are free and fair or not, we still see the four walls of the courthouse as a good space, as a springboard for what we can do in the country,” he added.
Fighting for Change
While he believes that change must take place in Uganda, Opiyo does not believe in using violence to do so. Having seen the devastating impact of war as a child, he does not wish to see another transfer of power marred by violence.
“I believe in confronting the regime head-on using all possible means except violence, and that’s why every day we go and litigate cases,” he said. “We go and do a lot of advocacy work with development partners in Uganda because we believe that those options can still work.”
Supporting Uganda
In the Q&A portion of the event, Opiyo answered questions from students across 14 SGS centers and programs about what Western countries can do to support those in Uganda who are agitating for change.
“Western countries that are partners to the Ugandan state in their economic, geopolitical interests or even security interests must be invested in democratic governance,” he said, affirming that he has a strong faith in democratic institutions because he believes they provide important safety valves for society.
Opiyo also believes Western countries should provide assistance to countries like Uganda without undermining the efforts of local activists. “Western powers must not be a replacement for local voice and activism because it’s their lived experience. It is what they know. It is what they live every day, so they know best how to approach it,” he explained.
He urged students to educate themselves about the region, listen to indigenous people, and understand the context of the situation in Uganda before proposing solutions. “Learn more, educate yourself, understand, know what’s happening because if you don’t know, you wouldn’t care. And if you care, you wouldn’t be unhelpful in doing what you’re doing,” he said.
He also reminded students to use their power to influence the U.S. government’s work in Uganda. “Ensure that you call your senator. Make sure that Uganda is discussed at the right places in government,” he added. “If you do that, and influence your state policy and response to the region, you’d have done us a lot of good.”
Parting Words
As the event came to a close, Weinstein said he was leaving with three emotions — honor, inspiration, and gratefulness. “The things that you just described … I wish were words that people here lived by. They’re really important words to be spoken out loud about the importance of listening, of recognizing where you have power and influence, and what it is you bring but also where expertise and knowledge really reside,” he said. “Those are important things to be said, not only in a university environment, but in Silicon Valley, in the United States, and everywhere.”
After three months as a visiting scholar at Stanford’s Center for African Studies, Opiyo said he is returning to Uganda with a renewed sense of energy and optimism. “I came here depressed. I was running away from the possibility of being arrested, and I go back to Uganda reenergized, but even more energized to see your interest in … these kinds of discussions, so thank you.”
The annual Stanford Global Studies student dinner was inaugurated to foster a sense of community among students and faculty from across the division’s 14 centers and programs. The dinner provides a forum in which students engage a range of influential and thoughtful leaders who are actively engrossed with issues of global importance.
Watch the video of the event via the Stanford Global Studies YouTube channel.
