Abstract
D.Litt. et Phil. (Political Studies)
Uganda has plausible legal and policy mechanisms which enable its citizens to engage in
public participation. However, ethnic minority communities, such as the Batwa of south-west
Uganda, have consistently been left out and increasingly excluded and marginalised –
socially, culturally, politically, and economically – from public participation at all levels of
public engagements. This thesis, therefore, focuses on marginalisation of the Batwa from
public participation in Uganda. Originally, the Batwa lived and got their sustance from the
forest. However, their livelihoods intensely changed for the worst following their eviction, in
1991, from their traditional land by the Ugandan Government in favour of conservation
projects to protect mountain gorillas and forest conservation. Today, the Batwa live as as a
despised, excluded, and marginalised community. Their culture, identity and language have
come under an increasing threat of extinction.
It is surprising that in the 21st century, with a plethora of human rights instruments, Batwa, for
the last two decades, have experienced and continue to face human rights violations,
including lack of effective participation in public affairs. In the contemporary society
underlined by human rights and rule of law values, there are increasing demands to involve
citizens, particularly ethnic minorities, in public affairs. Such demands have laergely
dominated the governance discourse and become the litmus test for any democratic process
at state level. This has given rise to theories such as minority democracy theory and
participatory democracy theory that underpin this study. The common usage of
representative democracy (minority democracy theory) largely practiced in Uganda in most
governance structures, has tended to facilitate multiple marginalisation of Batwa. In this
thesis, I look at the non-participation of the Batwa in public affairs and how it is associated
with their current state of affairs that is characterised by poverty, eviction from their ancestral
land, lack of social services, and the day-to-day gross human rights violations they are
subjected to. These are juxtaposed with democratic theories and principles of effective
participation, inclusion, and consultations.
The thesis also discusses factors responsible for the current situation of the Batwa, despite
the fact that the Ugandan legal and policy framework enshrines provisions that aim to secure
human rights of ethnic minorities, notwithstanding obligations derived from binding regional
and international legal framework and instruments, which confer on Ugandans tripartite...