Activism is the magic bullet:

To those of our comrades who have divergent approaches of how to liberate ourselves  and continue to hold a view  that activism has failed in its objective to bring the much desired change ,I would caution you that, its foolhardy to dismiss us who believe in activism so soon without evaluating its short term and long term strategic objectives.
This to me is a very dishonest and simplistic conclusion ,because the the actions we have taken has  widespread impact and created a shift on the hard-line policies of the regime ,in fact as a matter of fact the regime has been in the back pedal since 2011 and this can be exemplified by the way they react to quell any peacefully organized campaign to protest their policies ,not because we are  unpopular but they are terrified with the effectiveness of activism .

I have followed various submissions in many forum in regards to whose vision and approaches will cause a regime change and  will move the the country forward, on that note this is my contributory article to address the the distortion raised among the political class about the subject of demonstration.
The Greek Philosopher Aristotle, famously described humans as political animals by nature. One  implication of this idea is that when people engage in political activity, they are  expressing a basic motive fundamental to being human.  I quote “Which way of life is the more desirable—to join with other citizens and  share in the state’s activity, or to live in it like an alien, absolved from the  ties of political society?”
The center piece of the topic will be demonstration in concept of activism in Uganda,because news reports give a distorted picture of activism, with vastly more coverage of violence than peaceful activities.
Political activism in Uganda is a relatively new phenomenon ,it came to prominence during walk to work campaign organized by Activist for Change (A4C) a non-partisan pressure group uniting democracy and human rights activists to highlight the deepening economic crisis in the country and how it impacted on ordinary working class Ugandans. Activists from across the nation were mobilized to focus the attention of policy makers on the intensifying economic hardship caused by inflation, escalating cost of living and wastage of public resources.  The campaign’s aim was to highlight two pressing issues of the day: the economic crisis and corruption.

First of all let me put it clear demonstration is an activity used by activist .There are many varieties of activism, from the face-to-face conversations to massive protests, from principled behavior to the unscrupulous, from polite requests to objectionable interference, and from peaceful protests to violent protest.
I would also inform you much activism operates behind the scenes. For example someone working on a campaign might spend time listening to the news, reading and sending e-mails, phoning others, participating in a meeting, and writing a grant proposal. None of this is out in public, such as joining a rally or blockade, but it is all an essential part of what makes such public events possible. It is useful to distinguish between "direct action" or "front-line action," in which people are putting their bodies on the line, and support work, which is usually behind the scenes. Without the support work, the front-line action could hardly occur. creating a basic concept or plan for achieving long-range goals, series of activities to achieve specific goals are some of the essential background operations you may not know.

Therefore as an Activist demonstration is just one of the many actions in a civil disobedience campaign and in it self it does not constitute to be called a method of achieving a goal without looking at the grand strategy,for example an activist may opt to employ the actions of  door-to-door canvassing, alternative radio, public meetings, rallies, or fasting.  methods of protest and persuasion, such as speeches, slogans, banners, picketing, protest, vigils, singing, marches, and teach-ins. 
Historically Activism has played a major role in ending slavery, challenging dictatorships, protecting workers from exploitation, protecting the environment, promoting equality for women, opposing racism, and many other important issues.
Many of you oppose activism but don't understand you are all contributing in one way or another to make activism effective without necessarily being activists for example: financial contributions, resource people, teachers, supportive friends and family members, and journalists, among others.

On that basis activism has become the only viable forefront for struggle to effect democratic change of government through mobilizing the masses and setting in motion a process to remove obstacles to free and fair elections by peacefully dismantling the pillars of the authoritarian regime in Uganda and erecting the pillars of democratic rule.

Some of our short term achievements are :
Today's political players are themselves the outcome of previous activism. Through activism there has been emergence of many strong leaders ,who some have been recruited by the regime in various political positions.
We have inspired many voiceless people to create multiple pressure groups that simultaneously advocate for good governance,this is evident in the NRM organization itself case is the groups of youth.
We have influenced many policy decisions by demanding the regime to exercise sensitivity and compassion in the allocation of scarce and hard-earned resources. Examples university lectures,teachers and medical staffs have been given pay rises.
The establishment has been forced to react to the demands of these specific groups because they become actively involved in governance issues  through letter writing, articles, demonstrations, protests emails, testifying, phone calls, and personal visits.

The rural folks can now actively organize to resist land displacement,irregular land evictions by the government,examples are  Apaa village in Amuru district and Serere district famous nude protests.

Despite the resounding successes recorded in the short term ,we have had  challenges ,Just like individuals, our movements has gone  through cycles of death, torture ,kidnaps,imprisonment of activist on trumped up charges of treason ,fatigue after several years of confrontation and planting moles within the activist. But we have managed to remain resolute as its said “It only hurts if you’re scared”.

Our strategies of publishing photos of the brutal police officers in social media and news broadcasts has given the police a bad image in fact one senior police recently said he went for a school visit and the children started running away from him is a clear testimony of how our offensive has created awareness.
The children and spouses of these ruthless police officers are also are against the negative reactions and they themselves have become victims within victims



Bottom line is activism success rate will be measured on the reactions we get from the masses during the 2016 elections,don't dismiss us to soon ,our campaigns of urging citizens to change their mindsets as percolated to the grass roots and that is why government is in a rush to close all channels for the rural masses to access  information so they have resorted to switching off the analogue system as the elections nears..