Ugandan Vice-President Specioza Kazibwe has broached an awkward subject in African society – domestic abuse by black males
Surrounded by deferential bagmen and bodyguards, and resplendent in her vivid green traditional robe, Africa’s highest-ranking woman politician is hardly the image of a battered wife.
So when Dr Specioza Kazibwe, the Vice-President of Uganda, publicly announced she was divorcing her violent husband – and called on other victims of domestic abuse to follow her lead – she ignited a fierce debate about a traditionally taboo subject that has caught the imagination of the continent.
“I am a reference book for other Ugandan women,” she said seated in her suite of offices overlooking the capital, Kampala, “How can I be a leader if I am living as a hypocrite? Everyone thought my life was perfect. I had a husband, a career and money; my children were doing well at school and university, and yet I was miserable in my marriage because of the abuse. I finally had enough of living the life people expected me to lead and decided to break my silence about what was really going on. My hope is that others will find the courage to say no to the violence that is in so many of our homes but is rarely spoken about.”
The sexual behaviour of black African men has long been taboo, with researchers reluctant to study the issue because they are scared of being seen as racist.
But adultery and sexual promiscuity are believed to be behind the growth of HIV/Aids in Africa, and for the first time the awkward subject of black African male family duty is being raised by Kazibwe (46).
The mother of four made the unexpected announcement about her domestic life during a speech to Parliament marking International Women’s Day.
Since then scores of letters from all over Africa poured into her office from victims of domestic violence – both female and male.
“Even male ministers and MPs have begun coming up to me to talk about their problems at home,” Kazibwe said. “I am pleased, but rather surprised to have got so many people thinking and talking about such issues.”
While many have applauded the vice-president for speaking about her abusive 30-year relationship, a number have rallied behind her husband, Charles, who has sought to justify his behaviour.
“I admit I have only slapped her, but it was only twice because of insubordination,” Charles Kazibwe, an engineer, admitted in an interview. “She stayed out until three in the morning on a number of occasions without an adequate explanation.”
On the streets of Kampala, opinion was divided, though not necessarily along gender lines.
John Tugume (52), a bank security guard, asked: “She has money and a job, but how would other women survive if they decided to put their husbands on the streets?”
Diana Senyonga, a cleaner, added: “Women in Uganda are taught to respect their husbands no matter what goes on between them. I am happy with that arrangement because I think without men we would not have what we have today.”
Her friend, Justine Birungi (33), disagreed: “I think she was right to say what she said. Perhaps men will start to think before they raise their hands.”
Specioza Kazibwe said she had decided to speak publicly about her own experience of abuse for the sake of her children. “I did not want my daughters to grow up seeing what men are capable of and I did not want my sons to come to think that it is acceptable for men to treat women like that,” she said.
Until now the vice-president has steadfastly refused to give any details about the abuse she endured. However, in a candid interview she described in painful detail the campaign of physical and mental abuse, which was often witnessed by her children and domestic staff.
“In the end I felt sorry for those women. Some of them even came to me for help. I did not feel humiliated because I had stopped feeling anything for my husband.”
The couple are currently negotiating a divorce settlement through their lawyers, although Kazibwe said she felt “as if I divorced him years ago”.
Smoothing the folds of a small Ugandan flag adorning her desk, she described growing up under Idi Amin’s bloody dictatorship that claimed the lives of several members of her family, including her brother.
At university, she joined the first demonstration ever organised against Amin’s regime and witnessed the army’s ruthless reprisals.
“I suppose it was really that day that persuaded me I should go into politics and speak out against this violence.”
She became an MP, rose quickly through the ministerial ranks and was appointed vice-president in 1994. Throughout her political life she has faced rumours about using sexual favours to buy power.
“I have been accused of sleeping with the president, among other people. They say I only have my job because I am a woman. Men try to bully me in the same way they bully their wives, but I won’t stand for it. It is obvious they can’t imagine women can be of any use apart from sex, but I remind them that we do have brains as well.”