Makerere University’s Dr. Jimmy Spire Nominated for EU Human Rights Defenders Award 2024

Renowned Cartoonist and Scholar Dr. Jimmy Spire Ssentongo a Makerere University lecturer has been shortlisted for the EU Human Rights Defenders Award 2024,.

As a well-known activist known for his powerful social media campaigns against injustices and government corruption, Spire is on the prestigious shortlist for the prestigious awards program run by the Norwegian embassy and the European Union in Uganda. He is on the list with two other well-known Ugandans, Jesca Ruth Ataa and Doreen Kyazze.

e award, which is currently in its 13th year, is granted to a human rights defender in honor of their exceptional commitment during the previous 12 months to the advancement of human rights in their community. The most recent recipient of the honor is Agather Atuhaire, a Ugandan.

The EU said in a statement announcing the shortlisted candidates that Dr. Ssentongo was selected because he used his social media platform X, which was formerly Twitter, to call on the government to be held accountable.
 “In the past year, Spire has used his public platform to highlight issues of accountability through “exhibitions” on social media. This has earned him significant praise but also threats due to his exposure of wrongdoing in public life,” the EU said in a statement issued Tuesday.
 “Despite the risks, he has continued to share information and take part in public debates aimed at improving the quality of public service in Uganda,” the statement adds.
However, Kotido-based human rights advocate Jesca Ruth Ataa, who leads Nakere Rural Women Activists (NARWOA), a community-based organization that serves as an umbrella for women's groups, was also considered for the award.

https://twitter.com/joetimenews/status/1775579166458454424

Additionally, Doreen Kyazze, a human rights advocate and lawyer who has opposed the death penalty, was nominated by the EU. "Doreen has campaigned against the death penalty and worked hard to secure the rights of women in detention during the past fourteen years, including her time at Penal Reform International," the EU stated in a statement.

On May 2, 2024, in Kampala, the Danish Embassy will conduct a ceremony to reveal the recipient of the EU Human Rights Defenders Award 2024.

Last year, Dr. Jimmy Spire Ssentongo was the recipient of two awards from the National Coalition of Human Rights Organizations – Uganda, which is in association with the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The first of these was the most outstanding human rights defender of the year 2023. 

Dr. Ssentongo received recognition for his exceptional contributions to the fields of human rights and his enduring fortitude in Uganda. On December 8, 2023, at the Source of the Nile Hotel in Jinja City, at the International Human Rights Defenders Day Commemoration, he was presented with the Human Rights Defenders Impact Award 2023.

As a result, Dr. Jimmy also contributes editorial cartoons to the Observer newspaper and writes a column there as well. He has participated in social media activism focused on justice as an ethicist. 

Ssentongo, who was born on August 14, 1979, has a PhD in humanistic studies from the University of Humanistic Studies in Holland, as well as degrees from Makerere University in ethics and public management, London South Bank University in education for sustainability, Urbaniana University in philosophy, and Apostles of Jesus Philosophicum in Nairobi for philosophy and religious studies. 

As a cartoonist and illustrator, Ssentongo uses his work to inspire people and have conversations with powerful people about social and political issues that concern Ugandans. 

He has emerged as a major force in Uganda's art scene and a vocal advocate for change, utilizing his works to make statements about subjects including human rights, government, and corruption. Spire creates sharp and daring cartoons that use satire and humor to address touchy subjects. 

He was the driving force behind the recent parliamentary display on the X platform (formerly Twitter), under #Parliamentary Exhibition when they exposed the Ugandan parliament on charges of corruption and mishandling government offices, and they held the speaker of the parliament, the right honorable Anita Among, accountable.