The distinguished title of the most outstanding human rights defender 2023 has been given to cartoonist and scholar Dr. Jimmy Spire Ssentongo.
This occurred on Friday at a national symposium in Jinja as part of the International Day of Human Rights Defenders celebrations.
The resident judge of the Iganga High Court circuit, Justice David Ndikabona Batema, gave Ssentongo the award.
Among other things, Ssentongo’s amazing social media campaigns brought attention to important national concerns, including the health sector expo and the Kampala pothole exhibition.
During his remarks, Spire thanked human rights defenders for acknowledging his work. He mentioned that he ran social media campaigns to demand service delivery.
According to him, the lack of gatekeepers in the media sector has made social media more democratic.
“Since 2006, I have been advocating through mainstream media, but occasionally editors would censor my work or choose not to publish my cartoons. However, social media is a free space,” he stated.
Although social media has granted everyone the ability to behave as they choose, he continued, it has also aided in the implementation of advocacy because the restriction on these platforms is far less severe than in traditional media.
Having been rejuvenated, Spire promised to carry on with his activism, stating that this is the second award he has earned this year in the advocacy category.
However, the academician disclosed that he has been avoiding public areas because he is being followed by unidentified individuals who occasionally threaten him.
“My file is still at CID headquarters, where I was previously called in for encouraging sectarianism. I also get threats in the form of calls and messages, but I’m not going to give up on my human rights work,” he said.
Winfred Mugambwa won for Central Uganda, Joy Kyalimpa won for Western Uganda, William Okabo Achol won for Outstanding Human Rights Defender for Northern Uganda, and Peter Ogik won for Eastern Uganda.
Because they constantly face many obstacles at work, Robert Kirenga, Executive Director of the National Coalition for Human Rights Defenders, reiterated the necessity for Parliament to establish legislation protecting human rights defenders.
“We need the law to protect us because most human rights defenders are labeled anti-government and receive a lot of threats from state operatives, which is very challenging to us,” Kirenga stressed.
During his keynote speech, Justice David Batema invited Human Rights Defenders, who possess extensive knowledge of various aspects of life, including human rights, to engage in political discourse and offer informed perspectives on laws and policies.