Having impactfully led Uganda’s leading voter education organization CCEDU since 2009, Crispin Kaheru is a well-known figure who doesn’t need much introduction. He has been at it now for 10 years and our submission today is that 2019 is evidently going to remarkably be a very productive year for him and the professional work he represents. We are just in March but there are inescapable indicators that 2019 is going to be a very good year for the flamboyant Kaheru who is also a member of the “Working Group of Six,” a Civil Society initiative that has famously been working hard to prioritize political dialogue between President Museveni and his political adversaries in the opposition. Comprising of the finest non-political actors this country has ever produced, the Working Group has existed trying to promote political dialogue since 2016 only to be officially launched last December by President Museveni. One indicator this is so far a good year for Kaheru manifested recently when the Electoral Commission lifted suspension it had regrettably imposed on Uganda’s only credible election monitoring organization barring CCEDU representatives from participation in any electoral processes. The end of the suspension was preceded by prolonged complex negotiations to which Kaheru formidably led the CCEDU team. This cessation of hostilities by the EC was very important because, election monitoring being their core business, the suspension was as good as banning CCEDU into non-existence. As Kaheru continued celebrating that resumption of warm relations with EC, then came the news of his nomination for EU’s Annual Human Rights Defenders Award in recognition of his passionate and relentless efforts to always speak out in defense of rights abuse victims in the public space. Then finally came the UNDP nomination for him to be among the 20 young global negotiators and peacemakers to undergo comprehensive training and mentorship in the facilitation of dialogue in the 42 countries where the “Insider Mediators” program runs. The overall objective is promoting peaceful co-existence of the diverse interested groups operating in this countries. This means that, as he prepares his non-partisan participation in the much anticipated 2021 election cycle, Kaheru will be away in Europe for the training. The annual training and mentorship program is conducted by the prestigious Netherlands Institute of International Relations (Clingendael) with financial support from United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Available online information shows that participation is such a milestone for Kaheru because only 20 young leaders (officially called global peace builders) have been privileged to be enrolled for this year’s very high level mentorship session. They are all young non-state actors carefully chosen from African, Asian, European and American nations. Among other things, Kaheru was chosen for his consistent, inspirational and impactful leadership in the CSO space where he has been an imposing voice for a decade now. He was also considered for the public trust and legitimacy his organization (CCEDU) enjoys across Uganda. Kaheru is the only Ugandan at the training and all this speaks to how well rated he is in matters of governance and peace-building. The UNDP funders expect that on return, Kaheru will use his newly-acquired peace-building expertise to actively participate in the de-escalation of political tensions and adversity expected to heighten as we cruise towards the 2021 elections.
