Monitor | Africa their infancy in terms of rigorous empirical study. The case of Kony 2012 illustrates the promise of the former and the potential for disillusionment with the latter. Most would agree that pursuing Kony to serve the interests of international justice resulting from populist activism in social media is a positive development, as is the will to bring peace to war-torn Somalia. Using African proxies like Uganda to achieve this, possibly at the expense of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law for its citizens however, is much messier.
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documentary filmmakers of Invisible Children who seek to raise awareness with the best of intentions. But whether or not the Ugandan army and their American backers are the heroes of this narrative is much more difficult to discern. The world has yet to see the longer-term result of American military intervention in Africa. The situation facing Washington is a daunting one as the quagmire in nearby Somalia has no end in sight.
Kony 2012 was a smashing success in terms of accomplishing what its makers set out to do-raise awareness of the atrocities of Joseph Kony’s LRA. It is indeed high time that the plight of conflict-affected victims in Central Africa matters to policymakers. The question is whether or not this concern will extend past the narrow issue of the Kony manhunt. Even providing Kony and his followers are wiped out, other perpetrators of violence against the vulnerable populations in this remote region remain-not the least of which are forces armed and trained by American taxpayers. If the world has now woken up to the horrors of Joseph Kony and are determined to stop him and those like him-good. Let’s hope they stay aware of the bigger picture and demand larger systemic issues are addressedincluding accountability for a worsening human rights situation within Uganda as a direct result of their comparatively powerful military, used as the Ugandan President’s personal regime-protection force, according to critics. No Easy Solution There are no easy solutions. It should be kept in mind that Joseph Kony is the villain in this story, and not the
President of Uganda Yoweri Kaguta Museveni
A recent London conference on Somalia hosted by the UK Government highlighted the fact that too many actors stand to benefit from the current chaotic situation there, making effective reforms problematic. Events in the Central African jungle to the east are no better. So long as Museveni and his allies in Washington benefit from the status quo, it remains unlikely that improvements will occur for the affected peoples of this regional hot spot as it continues to burn. But as one former UN officer put it, ...sometimes the way to put out the fire is simply to stop buying gasoline for the arsonists.
By: Joshua Shurley