Last year when he came under attack for meeting government officials, Anthony Natif, the founder of Public Square, a policy think tank, said once in a while, everybody needs a “safe corridor”.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!By safe corridor, Natif meant that activists like him sometimes need to talk to people whose policies or actions they disagree with to find common ground.
He claimed that some social and political activists had taken a hardline stance against the government, a move he said was disastrous because, in the end, they will not achieve their objectives.
This decision led to a major falling out between Natif and fellow activists like Agather Atuhaire and Jimmy Spire Ssentongo, with whom he had worked on several anti-corruption campaigns. Words were exchanged, cartoons were drawn but Natif stood firm.
Natif is a man of strong convictions according to one person who has related with him closely. Another said he has an ego bigger than Camp Nou, Barcelona FC’s stadium said to be the largest in Europe.
He is also one of Uganda’s most opinionated and active people on X. From women to sports to food to politics to traditional schools to the economy to corruption to everything, Natif will have an opinion.
This week took an interesting turn for Natif when one of his staff at Public Square, Trevor Mukholi, dramatically resigned alleging that he had received death threats from a fellow staff.
“My colleague who comes from a highly influential and politically connected family first resorted to making unfounded allegations of sexual harassment against me. When this failed to silence the intellectual discourse, she escalated to repeatedly threatening to hurt or kill me at the earliest opportunity…” Mukholi wrote in his statement of resignation.
Mukholi’s statement has set off a firestorm on social media with one commentator sarcastically saying the “safe corridor” had become “unsafe”.
On his part, Natif has dismissed Mukholi’s allegations as baseless. He said he had treated him well only for Mukholi to exhibit “misogynist tendencies” that are unwelcome at Public Square.
“I’ve only treated you with utmost love and respect. But I wasn’t going to sit by and see you disrespect a female colleague to that extent and still take your side. If anyone doesn’t respect the principles of comradeship, it’s you. You didn’t think a woman belonged to Public Square and told her as much, in a language so crass, it got everyone revolted. I invite you to reflect on this and perhaps fix it wherever you’ve found a new home,” Natif wrote.
The battle between Natif and Mukholi has drawn in several people, many taking sides.
Isaac Ssemakadde, the president of the Uganda Law Society (ULS) who previously had been close to Natif appears to have sided with Mukholi. He told him there is space for him at ULS.
Many others lauded Natif for handling the matter “maturely”.
“I’ve been following this situation unfold and I just wanted to say – your response was solid & level-headed. It’s rare to see someone handle things with that much respect & clarity, especially when things could easily spiral,” wrote a one Ronald.
Another commentator called for reconciliation saying it is something Natif has preached with all his energy.
“Where is the safe corridor in Public Square?” he wondered.