The Resistance Bureau

The vast majority of activists killed worldwide are those who defend our land and the environment. 215 last year alone. These activists are killed in shockingly high numbers precisely because the conservation of our common resources pose an ultimate challenge to the powers that be – especially in authoritarian contexts. Climate change, land rights, food shortages, extreme poverty, popular participation, conflict and peace: all these issues are inextricably linked. On Tuesday, May 31, join the Resistance Bureau for our next live event as we spotlight the leaders who are fighting across Africa -- and the world -- to safeguard our environment for this and future generations. Join us to learn about the struggle for environmental justice and how it underpins other pressing issues of our time. We will also debate the tradeoffs between environmental protection and economic development, as well as the colonial baggage of conservation. Together, let’s seek to unpack these fundamental issues.

In case you missed it, you can catch up on our special live show on Speaking Truth to Power During the Pandemic with Comfort Mussa, Adeola Fayehun, Laura Miti, Fred Muvunyi, and Boniface Mwangi, right here.

The importance of this topic was brought home to us in tragic fashion when our friend, the brilliant Zimbabwean journalist and critic of the abuse of power, Hopewell Chin’ono, was abducted the day before the show. Tweet #FreeHopewell and #FreeHopewellNow to show your solidarity.

Sadly, Hopewell’s case is not an isolated incident but part of a broader trend. The extent of attacks on press freedom and civil liberties during the pandemic not only undermine democratic norms and values, but also resulted in a distorted view of the extent to which the coronavirus has taken hold – and so constitute a matter of life and death.

Many of our guests and advisory board have made this point in their own writings.

Laura Miti, one of our guests on the show, has not only highlighted the important role that journalists play in the exchange of information and ideas, but also spoken in defence of independent radio stations in Zambia that have been victims of violent attacks from supporters of the ruling party.

Zambia’s slide into authoritarianism was underscored by Sishuwa Sishuwa, one of our producers, who has shown how the shutdown of critical media outlets is a tried and tested strategy of President Edgar Lungu

As Farida Nabourema, one of our Advisory Board members, recently observed, authoritarian leaders are most vulnerable when confronted with the weapon of truth. 

The powerful words of one of our guests, Cameroonian journalist Comfort Mussa, that ‘a story that must be told does not forgive silence’ have been given expression by another guest  Boniface Mwange who recounted in greater detail how he has overcome adversity in Kenya for simply doing his job.

In countries such as Zimbabwe, we are reaching a point where “journalism has been criminalised”.

It is important to keep in mind that this is not a completely new story – as the data collected by the Committee to Protect Journalists on the assault, harassment and killing of journalists around the work sadly demonstrates.

If you want to do something about this, you can support global organizations that fight to protect free speech and those who speak truth to power such as Amnesty International, the Committee to Protect Journalists and Human Rights Watch. Of course, you should then also make sure that any support you offer these well-known bodies is matched by equal support for national organizations, such as the Human Rights Defenders Project in Zimbabwe, the Human Rights Defenders Coalition in Kenya, and the Defend Defenders group in East Africa and the Horn.

Amidst the sustained assault on traditional forms of media by repressive regimes, a number of researchers, such as our very own Nic Cheeseman and Advisory Board member Idayat Hassan, have explained how the digital messaging platform WhatsApp could be a welcome and effective friend of democracy in places like Nigeria.

Speaking truth to power is a costly undertaking that comes with many risks, but there are also many people and institutions that greatly value the brave efforts of those who do.  It is was therefore encouraging to see Vanessa Tsehave, who has spent much of her time fighting for the freedom of imprisoned government critics in Eritrea, named by Defend Defenders as the Human Rights Defender of the month of June.

Special guests Bobi Wine, Tundu Lissu and Fadzayi Mahere sit down for a live show about resisting the authoritarian pandemic.

We thought this was a really important issue to showcase because, as our co-host Farida Nabourema has written, dictators love lockdowns.

Sishuwa Sishuwa, one of our producers, has explained how this has played out in Zambia, where coronavirus has been manipulated by President Edgar Lungu.

Violet Gonda, a member of the advisory board, has argued that the same thing is happening in Zimbabwe, asking whether one of the reasons for the lockdown was that it allowed the government to “push political agendas”.

Two more of our team, Nic Cheeseman and Jeffrey Smith, have also written about the different ways in which leaders have manipulated the coronavirus pandemic, providing an overview of the situation in a number of different countries.

This isn’t just an African phenomenon of course, and they have also written about how this process has played out globally.

From the very start, there has been resistance to this process – and there is still time for you to join in. Civil society groups have shown dynamism despite disruption.

Many organizations found new ways to continue with old campaigns, including advisory board member Vanessa Tsehaye, sustaining their activism against all odds. As Vanessa put it, “Many were worried that the global spotlight on the coronavirus would make our campaign less impactful and urged us to reschedule. However, we still went ahead with it and it was the best decision we could have made”

For example, West Africa’s Centre for Democracy and Development, an organization led by advisory board member Idayat Hassan, has been working hard to explain how we can contain COVID19 misinformation and fake news.

Citizens in South Africa and Kenya and a number of other countries have begun to protest once again in frustration at the economic challenges that they face and their mistreatment by the security forces under lockdown.

For her part, one of our producers, Mantate Mlotshwa brought the Good News – highlighting positive stories from across the continent and around the world in order to sustain morale and avoid defeatism.

Others took a different approach. Gado, one of the great satirists – and a member of our advisory board – has been brilliantly sending up the world’s dictators, in his hard hitting editorial cartoons.

Our future co-host, and another great satirist, Adeola Fayehun, has also been having fun with the performance of African leaders when it comes to COVID19.

Meanwhile a number of organizations and leading activists around the world – including advisory board member Rafael Marques de Morais – have signed A Call to Defend Democracy, arguing that “Democracy is under threat, and people who care about it must summon the will, the discipline, and the solidarity to defend it.  At stake are the freedom, health, and dignity of people everywhere.”

And while COVID19 means that there is a pressing need to reorganize and rethink elections and other democratic processes, this also creates the possibility to build back better, introducing new innovations that actually lead to stronger political systems.

If you want more, you can also read about how the show was interpreted by someone who watched in from Gulu, Uganda.

For more on how to resist the authoritarian pandemic, make sure that you register for updates and future shows from The Resistance Bureau.

This podcast is produced and edited by Peter Dörrie. JJ Medina contributed the music, Mantate Mlotshwa recorded the narration.