The Uganda Corruption exhibitors and diaspora activists have engaged in a heated exchange of words on social media, which has captured the attention of the public.
The exhibitors who had focused on exposing corruption in the country have found themselves at odds with activists in the diaspora who are pressing them for accountability for the USD 200,000 advanced to them to run protests and exhibitions against corruption in Uganda.
The controversy erupted and gained attention when Hilary Taylor, commonly known as Justice Hunter on X, a human rights activist based in the United States, raised concerns about Agather Atuhaire, Jimmy Ssentongo, also known as Spire, Agora, an NGO failures to disclose and account for USD 200,000 advanced to her for the #Uganda parliament exhibitions on corruption.
“As I go to bed, I implore the accountability crusaders, @agoracfr, @spirejim, @godwintoko, and @AAgather to reflect on this: Why are 2 lawyers and a professor struggling to answer a true or false basic question on the $200,000?” tweeted Hunter.
He went ahead to question their credibility and integrity and wondered if Agora is also a criminal organization run by them since they don’t want to be scrutinized.
Following the pressing accountability questions, Hunter was blocked by Ssentongo on social media, claiming that he does not answer to hooligans.
According to Spire, Hunter is a hooligan who does not deserve any answers or accountability since, according to Spire, people in Diaspora think they know more than those back home.
“There is someone having an opinion of the other as being a hooligan, and there is actually proving to be a hooligan.There is a way these guys outside Uganda think that they are more serious than us,” tweeted Spire.
Remmy Bahati, a human rights activist and journalist, didn’t take Spire’s narrative and namecalling of Hunter well; she questioned his audacity to point out that Anitah Among and Mathias Mpuuga are corrupt, yet they can’t just offer simple answers demanded by funders and the public but instead choose to block whoever is asking.
“I want to point out that even Among and Mpuuga, despite their opinions of us as “hooligans,” have never blocked us for holding them accountable,” Bahati tweeted.
She went ahead and stated that by blocking Hillary Taylor, they are crossing a line, and it would be better to reconsider and unblock him and offer the accountability they are demanding.
He called on Atuhaire to be transparent and give accountability for that money and not keep silent about it like she never received it.
However, it quickly became a battleground for differing views on the actual progress being made. Activists, particularly those based abroad, continued to question the sincerity of the exhibitors’ claims, arguing that many initiatives lack genuine oversight and fail to address systemic issues.
Hunter has expressed frustration on social media after being blocked by a key exhibitor, Spire, for posing a fundamental question about accountability.
This incident has sparked further debate, with many supporters on social media rallying behind the activist and emphasizing the importance of holding individuals and organizations accountable for their actions.
