Dr. Jimmy Spire Ssentongo, known for his controversial editorial cartoons, has received the prestigious European Union Human Rights Defenders Award 2024.
This was announced on Thursday, May 2, 2024, by the Ambassador of the European Union to Uganda, Jan Sadek.
Sadek said Dr. Spire, the man behind the recent social media campaign code named Parliament Exhibition, which exposed the alleged financial impropriety and inappropriate recruitment of staff, was awarded for his use of social media to highlight issues of accountability.
“Despite the risks, Dr. Spire has continued to advocate for an improvement in the quality of public service in Uganda. This has earned him significant praise but also threats due to his exposure of wrongdoing in public life,” Sadek said.
He also saluted the two runners-up in this year’s EU Human Rights Defenders Award, Jesica Ruth Ataa for her advancement of the rights of Karamojong women and Doreen Namyalo-Kyazze for defending the rights of vulnerable people in prisons.
The Ambassador of Denmark to Uganda, Signe Winding Albjerg, praised Spire for being courageous and resilient, as he has opened up alternative options for active citizen engagement.
Maria Håkansson, the Ambassador of Sweden to Uganda, applauded Spire for maintaining critical advocacy against human rights abuses.
“Congratulations, Dr. Spire, for the 2024 EU Human Rights Defenders Award in recognition of your important work to hold decision-makers accountable,” Amb Hakansson said.
Jimmy Spire Ssentongo is a Ugandan professor, academic, columnist, portraitist, author, and editorial cartoonist. He is an associate professor of ethics and identity studies at the Uganda Martyrs University. He also teaches ethics and research methods at Makerere University.
