Israel Admires, Promotes Adolf Hitler Legacy

 Palestinians too are Human Beings and must be treated so

 

by Valerian Kkonde

Pearl News Service

Israeli soldiers pose for a photo with the Gaza destruction in the background, on a position on the Gaza Strip fence, in southern Israel, on February 19, 2024. [Tsafrir Abayov/AP Photo]

It is now official. Benjamin Netanyahu is the Adolf Hitler of our time. It is clear that he is working tooth and nail to surpass Adolf Hitler’s number of six million Jews murdered by the Nazis and collaborators. It was eighty years ago. Eighty years later and humanity can still sink this low! How history can be savage when repeating itself!

 For at least seven decades, Palestinians have been dehumanized to the extent of treating them as refugees, with no safe place, in their own land. They have been treated in a manner that categorically denies them of any human dignity. They are not considered to be human beings. They have been subjected to unjust, savage and primitive insult. What a shame!

 This mentality is responsible for the attitude being displayed by many countries claiming to be developed, democratic and founded on humanitarian values. These are the same countries that claim to exist to maintain international peace and security and to achieve cooperation among nations on political, economic, social, and humanitarian challenges.

The question lingering in our minds is one resulting from the disturbing absence of all these countries and the so called global institutions like the UN while Israel and USA primitively put everything at their disposal, to the decimation of Palestinians. 

Israel, a country that is best known as home to survivors of the Holocaust, should have been the last to commit genocide in the Gaza. They know very well the pain, torture, horror, hopelessness and dehumanization that go hand- in- hand with a genocide.

Once bitten, twice shy is that adage that urges humans to be cognizant of the past and take it for a teacher so that we do not fall in the same mistakes or dangers. That is what the world would expect Israel to be and to do. As survivors of the Holocaust at the hands of savage Adolf Hitler, they would be the last people to carry out, let alone wish a genocide.

But alas, 80 and more years later they are treating the world to the horrors they went through! Considering the determination, ease and satisfaction with which they carry out these heinous crimes one fails to come to terms with their commemoration of the Holocaust. What message are you passing on to the world? Are you in your senses? Are you stable upstairs?

Close shave. A Palestinian little girl gets medical attention after the indiscriminate bombing by the Israel Defence Forces carrying out a genocide in her country.

Genocideurs prioritise their personal selfish interests, have no respect for rule of law and human dignity. They have a weird way of using Holy Scriptures to defend their evil deeds. That is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump; selfish and senseless blood suckers.  Even the retired and near insane Joe Biden cannot be excluded from these heinous crimes; he is a key collaborator in the genocide. It seems Biden now has enough time to sit and watch how his genocidal programme is implemented to the script.

But a wrong remains a wrong no matter how many support it. And something correct remains so even if no one is doing it.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has failed to tame the savage within him and gone for everything within reach in Gaza. He has come out as an excellent student and admirer of Adolf Hitler the German who terrorized the Jews. Just like Hitler, in total disregard for international law, Netanyahu has indiscriminately bombed residential homes, schools, hospitals and all medical facilities. Pagan Netanyahu has not spared even the UN shelters. Benjamin Netanyahu is, savagely, as bold as Adolph Hitler.

Genocideur Netanyahu continues to deliberately murder medical personnel, aid workers and journalists and destroy ambulances. International humanitarian law accords special status to hospitals and ambulances. Israel Defense Forces have disregarded all this and gone ahead to systematically bomb and destroy anything that has ability to sustain the lives of the Palestinians.

Children are being exposed to war violence and trauma on a daily basis as values of freedom, democracy and human rights have been thrown to the wind. Scenes of helpless children and the elderly bleeding in hospitals without facilities are the norm in Gaza as the whole world looks on! And the IDF even has the guts to block the injured from accessing the destroyed health facilities. Starvation is being used as a war weapon! That is how savage the Israelites are!  Even the countries, and international bodies, that have decided to simply look on are savages themselves. They are a nuisance and a disgrace.

The old man, Donald Trump, at his age and position has completely failed to walk the talk at a critical moment in world history; instead of putting the vast resources at his disposal to foster sustainable peace and development, he is satisfied with giving Israel weapons, money, advice and diplomatic cover to implement the genocide. Donald Trump is not only an accomplice in the Gaza Genocide, he is the funder who is very keen to ensure that the genocide is implemented to the design and satisfaction of Israel.

The old man shamelessly, as if mentally deranged, comes out in public to declare that he wants the Palestinians’ land for a resort!! These are statements of a devil incarnate.

The UN has not only been reduced to a laughing stock but has become a nuisance and disgrace before those committed to a world order based on justice and respect for human dignity.

                                    Bodies of the victims of the Israel genocide in Palestine

Should the UN, established after World War II in an attempt to maintain international peace and security and to achieve cooperation among nations on political, economic, social, and humanitarian problems be the one to go on its knees to beg Israel to allow it to provide food, shelter, protection and other amenities critical to the survival of the Palestinians being annihilated?  Who is to maintain law and order on the world stage? If not the UN, then who? 

America, Israel and cohorts overlook the fact that by rendering these world bodies useless, they too become victims of the absence of such institutions that are supposed to reign in circumstances requiring the taming of states that become unruly irrespective of their financial and military status. Soon or later they too will have a share of the bitter and savage fruits of selfishness, oppression and arrogance that they continue to sow.

It is under such circumstances that the least expected, like nature, will be forced to retaliate by Divine intervention to come to the aid of the oppressed.

The war raging on between Ukraine and Russia is another case in point. With functional world bodies in place, such brutal and senseless wars would not be taking place. The selfishness of America, Europe and cohorts is the reason why the world continues to witness these heinous wars. Are you waiting for these savage acts to come to your backyards so as to realise the importance of justice and peace? May be that is when you will rise up and defend the respect for humanity.

The vast resources of these so called super-powers and developed countries are being put to the purchase of destructive weapons. What the world yearns for is sustainable peace and development. It smacks of primitiveness to put all these resources at the display of might instead of promoting humanity and all facilities that sustain it.

The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin reiterates that: “Everyone can contribute to peace, but solutions must never be pursued through unilateral impositions that risk trampling on the rights of entire peoples otherwise there will never be a just and lasting peace.”

Neighboring Arab states have displayed an unforgivable level of betrayal similar to the Biblical Judas Iscariot. The hundreds of thousands of meetings they are engaging in cannot be an excuse for failing to come to the aid of Palestine when a genocide is being carried out by the occupationists, Israel and the USA. There is no doubt that if Egypt, Qatar, Jordan and UAE suspend their selfish dealings with Israel and stood up for the dignity of Palestinians, Israel, America and cohorts could not go ahead with the implementation of the genocide.

By deciding to continue working with the Genocideurs you have become collaborators in the genocide against Palestinians. You are making the Palestine genocide possible. You have chosen not to see and not to act appropriately. Otherwise, how can you explain the genocide to continue right before your nose? You can only be exonerated if you came out with unrivalled vigour to ensure the implementation of the two-state option; before that, you are deliberately collaborating and dancing to the satanic tune called by the Genocideurs.

How can you have the guts to claim that you are talking about peace when a genocide is raging like a wildfire? How can you call for a cease fire but put pressure on Hamas to fulfil its obligations but let Netanyahu do as he pleases? These so-called Muslim brothers have chosen evil and blood-stained money over their brothers and sisters! They have become the Biblical Cain who rose up against his brother Abel, setting up the first savage attack on human life.

Like America, they too are simply talking about Muslim-brotherhood but cannot come to the meaningful aid of their Palestinian “brothers.” What a shame! Hoping from one meeting to another, and hosting one world leader to another, yet the genocide continues for now a year and more is a farce, shame and a disgrace. Does it matter whether Marco Rubio goes to the Middle East for a thousand times yet their partner, Benjamin Netanyahu, continues to annihilate Palestinians? How many times did you host Anthony Blinken, and yet the genocide kept gaining momentum?

By May 19, 2024 at least 35,386 Palestinians had been killed since October 7, 2023. All the world is treated to are endless meetings which cannot stop the genocide or even help those individuals and organisations struggling to provide the much needed items for the survival of the victims of the genocide- the Palestinians.

Al Jazeera journalist Hossam Shabat one of the hundreds of journalists killed by IDF in targeted massacres.

Wherever one turns, questions prop up without answers. Where is the international community? Where are the so called defenders and promoters of democracy? Where are the much pronounced Arab countries? Do you still have the moral authority to police these values so succinct to humanity yet have shamelessly left to disappear in thin air when it comes to Palestine?

The whole world bears responsibility to bring this genocide to an end and to bring to book all the perpetrators. But UN must shoulder the biggest burden of ending these heinous crimes. That is why UN must answer whether the international human rights treaties and declarations are still legally binding for the promotion and protection of human rights, especially in Palestine.

Are they still effectively binding on states that have ratified them? What has happened to the everyday rights such as the right to life, equality before the law, freedom of expression, the rights to work, social security and education? Do human rights still simultaneously entail both rights and obligations from duty bearers and rights owners? Do we still comprehend our solemn duty to speak-up against hate, to stand-up for the human rights of all, and to make those rights a reality?

UN has invested a lot of resources, time and forcefulness in the promotion of LGBTQ+ but what is stopping you from doing the same with the two state option as a permanent solution to the now institutionalised dehumanisation of Palestinians? What has happened to our common humanity? Do you still affirm the worth of every human person Mr. UN?

And like fate would have it, the Gaza genocide has been going on at a time when Rwanda, in April 2024, marked three decades of a genocide the world remembers very well to have taken place while the UN looked on! Are there any lessons learnt? Has the UN outlived its purpose or it simply selectively fulfils its mandate? What should countries do to merit UN’s meaningful intervention?

The world will definitely be a better place for us all if the UN response goes beyond “Noting with concern…” and passing redundant Resolutions.

Unknowingly, Joe Biden, Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu have absolved Adolf Hitler of the crimes of genocide against the Jews. Otherwise, how can one accuse Adolf Hitler of genocide and then praise, support and fund Benjamin Netanyahu’s genocidal plans? If Benjamin Netanyahu considers Palestinians as unworthy of human treatment and thus fitting to be eliminated like cockroaches, then Adolf Hitler too be left free to nurse his evil views towards the Jews. 

Again I will ask: what has happened to our common humanity?

Let no one buy Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump’s savage and primitive reasoning, and excuse, that Israel has a right to self-defense.  Who deigned that Palestine does not? A genocide is a genocide no matter whether against Jews or Palestinians. What is going on in Palestine, effected by Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump, is a genocide and must be categorically condemned by all in their proper senses without mincing words.

Palestinians too are human beings and must be treated with respect and dignity. Palestinians too deserve security and prosperity, self-determination, peace and security of humanity. The earlier America, Israel and cohorts admitted that Palestinians too are human beings and must be allowed to exist just like the Jews and other human beings, the better and safer it will be for the world.

“The sheer number of children killed in Gaza is horrifying, and it's heartbreaking to think of the scars that so many of the survivors will carry—in their bodies, their hearts, and their minds—for the rest of their lives. The media reports less on the rising violence in the West Bank, where deaths, injuries, and arrests are also increasing. There, too, many of the victims are children”     Fr. Ibrahim Faltas, Vicar of the Custody of the Holy Land.

Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump further have the guts to say that safe zones have been created in Palestine. Where are these so called safe zones that the Palestinians cannot access? It is savage and primitive to talk of safe humanitarian zones with no clean water, toilets, food and health facilities. Where are these safe zones that cannot protect Palestinians from Netanyahu’s bullets and bunker-busters? These are merely a reminder of Adolph Hitler’s gas chambers and concentration camps which the Jews know very well. Are you telling us that you miss these experiences!? Do you want to relive them!? Why do you subject Palestinians to such? You bomb residential homes, schools, hospitals and refugee camps. Where should the Palestinians find refuge?

The so-called safe zones are characterised by death, destruction, anguish, agony, horror and starvation. The massacre in Rafah on Sunday 28^th May, 2024 is a case in point of the evil in the so called safe zones.

By June 6, 2024 at least 36,000 Palestinians had been killed by IDF since October 7, 2023. Of these 15,000 children! At least 3,000 children have lost their limbs; many amputated without anesthetics!

Grim figures further indicate that at least 17,000 children have lost one or both parents. Three hundred health facilities have been destroyed. All curtsey of Israel’s “right to self-defense”

Gaza Civil Defense told the world that at least 20 people were buried alive at Nasser Hospital. Mass graves in Al Masry and Al Shifah contained bodies of children, elderly and people shot in the head while handcuffed!

This climate of devilish impunity is only similar to that which Adolph Hitler subjected the Jews to. And Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump are as bold as Adolph Hitler was. How history repeats itself!! So unfortunate that these criminals want the whole world to join them.

“Dehumanising Palestinians is a basic stupidity that will never hold.” These wise words were spoken by Daniel Levy- US/ Middle East Project. It is visible even to the blind that Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump only dream of dehumanising Palestinians. That is why they keep boasting about the War Cabinet all the time and “hell falling loose.”

     In a recent report on Gaza by the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Palestine, Francesca Albanese accuses Israel of committing an act of genocide with roots going back to well before the attack by Hamas on October 7. 'Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza,' said Albanese, 'is an escalatory stage of a longstanding settler colonial process of erasure.'

The war cabinet. Where is the peace cabinet? Why not use the vast resources at your disposal to create sustainable peace, development and co-existence? It is foolhardy to keep reasoning that Israel has a right to self-defense. How about Palestine? Hasn’t Palestine got a right to self-defense? And why would one demand that Palestinians must sit back and fold their hands while the Jews and cohorts reduce them to guinea pigs?

Because they are human beings, and like other human beings, they have to fight back in self-defense. Anyone who does not want the Palestinians to fight their tormentors, oppressors and occupationists, must tell Israel to resort to human and civil means to bring about sustainable peace and development in the region. Talk about the two state option.

It is again foolhardy for Israel and cohorts to expect to reap peace in the region yet they sow discord, hatred, anarchy, death, destruction and all the other dehumanising acts they engage in. The old adage, what you sow is what you reap ably applies here.

Until when will the two-state option be just talked about but never implemented? This is the solution to the decades long massacre and annihilation that hovers over Palestine. It is only hypocrisy and double standards that stand in the way of resolving this Adolf Hitler- style of pushing forward savage and primitive agenda.

In the Roman Catholic Church, to which I not only belong but I am the Church itself, we are ordered not to do to others what we would not want them to do to us.

Leviticus 19:33-34a teaches that: “You shall treat the alien who resides with you no differently than the natives born among you; you shall love the alien as yourself; for you too were once aliens in the land of Egypt.”

Until today the Roman Catholic Church continues to forcefully condemn crimes and attacks against human life. In his Encyclical Evangelium Vitae on the Inviolability of human life, Saint Pope John Paul II has this to say: “Whatever is opposed to life itself, such as any type of murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia, or wilful self-destruction, whatever violates the integrity of the human person, such as mutilation, torments inflicted on body or mind, attempts to coerce the will itself; whatever insults human dignity, such as subhuman living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution, the selling of women and children; as well as disgraceful working conditions, where people are treated as mere instruments of gain rather than as free and responsible persons; all these things and others like them are infamies indeed. They poison human society, and they do more harm to those who practice them than to those who suffer from the injury. Moreover, they are a supreme dishonour to the Creator.”

I believe those who have ears, and a conscience, are listening.

                             Mourning loved ones who have perished in Israel's genocide

Preventing and stopping a genocide simply calls for everyone to do the little within his or her means to stand up for human dignity. Majority international organisations have abdicated this responsibility for selfish reasons, racial and devilish considerations. 

May 20, 2024 ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Makhan, sought arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leaders for war crimes and crimes against humanity. On May 24, 2024 the ICJ ordered Israel to stop the massacre in Gaza.

Norway, Spain and Ireland exacted pressure on the Genocideurs when they decided to recognise Palestine as an independent state. They went ahead to recognise the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as the capital. Though it is a small step in the right direction, it is comforting because half a loaf is better than no bread. More drastic steps need to be taken.

University students against the genocide in Gaza stood up and demanded that their universities divest from Israel. Notable are: George Washington university, University of Southern California, Colombia University, Texas University and many others in the Western capitals and other countries around the world.

Solomon may long be dead but it is consoling to find some people and organisations in Israel who can be pointed at as wise and are convinced that co-existence is not only possible but the solution to the genocide. It is these that the world can rely on to bring sanity in the Middle East by fearlessly confronting the satanic Netanyahu and his fellow Genocideurs.

Many other people around the world continue to stage protests calling for the end of the genocide in Palestine. Thank you for standing with the Palestinians to end the genocide. This is a self-assigned task which you cannot afford not to bring to a logical conclusion. Genocideurs have money, power and authority but evil will not triumph over good for ever.

Indeed everyone has a role to play in order to have in place an environment that protects, promotes and respects humanity. This applies to climate change as well. Even if the so called world powers and world organisations fail us, let us not fail ourselves. We have a duty to stand up and demand for the unconditional observance of total respect for the sanctity of human life and nature too.

Pope John Paul’s appeal to “every upright conscience” on the Inviolability of human life further pointed out that: “Respect, protect, love and serve life, every human life! Only in this direction will you find justice, development, true freedom, peace and happiness!”

Israel and America, in particular, must accept the bitter truth that there will never be meaningful peace in the Middle East, in Israel in particular, as long as they continue with their systematic annihilation and dehumanising campaign against the Palestinians. A world order founded on injustice, oppression and double standards is a time bomb; no one is safe. It does not matter how many nuclear arsenals you are loaded with. Even bunker-busters do not count. We are all equally vulnerable when sanctity of human life is disrespected

Speak with One and Loud voice to Protect the Environment- Kabaka Mutebi II

 

By Valerian Kkonde

PEARL NEWS SERVICE

 

Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II

     The Kabaka of Buganda Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II has ordered his people to speak with one and loud voice when it comes to protecting the environment.

     Kabaka Mutebi II gave the directive while addressing his people on the 60^th anniversary of Buganda’s independence.

     “Bulungibwansi has been used to protect the environment and promote the well-being of our people.

     “For all the time we have engaged in Bulungibwansi, it has been a source of joy. The response of our people keeps increasing every year. We are further happy due to the fact that the youth are getting involved in big numbers. This is very encouraging as the future of the kingdom belongs to them. You must speak with one loud voice when it comes to fighting for the environment.”

     Given the ability of Bulungibwansi to mobilise people, Kabaka Mutebi II urged the government to copy the practice so that it spreads to the whole country.

     Bulungibwansi is a practice of community service which the people in Buganda kingdom engage in, from time to time, to work on public utilities like wells and roads. It is a voluntary exercise which is at the heart of the pride of the Buganda kingdom and depicts the civilization, development and progress of the kingdom.

     Every year the 18 Counties of the kingdom compete among themselves to establish the County that has excelled in service delivery. This year, Kyaggwe was declared the winner and the celebrations of the Bulungibwansi day were to be held there. Due to the threat of Ebola going on in the country, Kabaka Mutebi II told his people to celebrate from their respective areas to stem the threat.

     The National Environment Management Authority was praised for its efforts in protecting the environment.

    “We want a peaceful and well looked after country which is a joy to behold,” the Kabaka concluded his address from Bulange palace in Kampala.

 

 

 

Injustice has put Uganda on a Time Bomb- Lord Mayor Lukwago

By Valerian Kkonde

PEARL NEWS SERVICE

 

 

        As the faithful gathered at St. Agnes Kibuye- Makindye parish on September 18, 2022 to pray for Hon. Allan Ssewanyana and Hon. Ssegirinnya Mohammad, the Mayor of Kampala, His Worship Erias Lukwago, told the congregation that Uganda was sitting on a time bomb due to the excessive injustices going on in the country.

        Allan Ssewanyana is the Member of Parliament for Makindye West, and the area MP for St. Agnes Kibuye-Makindye, while Ssegirinnya Mohammad is the MP for Kawempe North. The two MPs have been in prison for a full year on charges relating to terrorism, murder and attempted murder. Erias Lukwago is their lead lawyer.

 

       The two youthful MPs are members of the popular National Unity Platform (NUP) party. Their arrest was based on the panga-wielding terror that gripped parts of Masaka and saw a number of people murdered in cold blood, just after the 2021 general elections which saw the area overwhelmingly vote for NUP. 

 

        With over a year since the arrest of the MPs, the Judiciary has been portrayed as a nuisance and a disgrace when it comes to the administration of justice, especially where the interests of the rulers are all over the place.

 

        Denied justice for over a year, NUP found it fit to organise for a Holy Sacrifice of Mass to pray for justice and peace in the country.

 

        “This country is on a time bomb for lack of justice. Government wants to send Allan Ssewanyana and Ssegirinnya Mohammad to the death row without trial,” Lukwago told the attentive congregation.

 

          The Lord Mayor elaborated the instances of injustice that the arrest has exposed, emphasizing that “there is no law pinning the MPs but that it is cheap and primitive politics at play.” He observed that the Bill of rights in Chapter four states that anyone has a right to bail, adding that the law had on three occasions set the MPs free.

 

          The first instance was when Court granted the “political prisoners” bail and demanded for 20 million shillings from each MP which they paid. The State re-arrested them and President Museveni is remembered for coming out strongly against the granting of bail to the duo.

 

          “It was my first time to witness a bail of 20 million shillings in my years of practice, and the Judiciary took the money.

 

          “Even the Constitution, which Museveni often prides himself in but only wants to respect when his selfish interests are upheld, states that if one is on remand for six months without trial, that person should be released. Capital offences are supposed to be heard in 180 days.”

 

           Lukwago further told the Congregation that the third time when the MPs were legally freed but denied justice was based on the requirement that “when the State fails to bring evidence, Court has the right to free the suspect,” Lukwago went on to narrate.

 

          “The evidence they have so far brought is the death certificates for those who died! But we insist that they bring evidence to prove that the two MPs were behind the murders of the people in Masaka. When the Judge insisted that the case be heard, the Judge was removed under dubious circumstances.”

 

            The Lord Mayor further said that at the International Criminal Division court, one of the suspects undressed before court to reveal how he had been severely tortured and forced to say that the two MPs had paid them to carry out the panga attacks in Masaka!

 

           The Lord Mayor went on to say that they had taken the battle for peace and justice for the MPs, and the entire country, to the Chief Justice but is yet to receive a satisfactory response. He said that he wanted the Chief Justice to tell him what it means to him to take the bail money for the MPs and not free them.

 

                              (L-R) Hon. Allan and Hon. Ssegirinnya in the dock

            Lukwago used the occasion to highlight other injustices and oppression in the country that have become the order of the day. He pointed out the deplorable state of Salaama road which passes below St. Agnes-Kibuye Makindye church, to the upscale areas of Munyonyo and Ggaba.

 

           “We borrowed money from the Africa Development Bank for Salaama road but the works are delaying because some people look at this as the opportunity to enrich themselves. Now the IGG has come in to investigate the project and this is further delay.”

 

             Lukwago gave the example of Lukuli road, which was constructed at ten billion shillings per kilometer, as the example of obscene accumulation of wealth. He asked Hon. Derrick Nyeko, the MP for Makindye East whom he referred to as the twin brother of Allan Ssewanyana, “to command the struggle to uplift our people and to have peace and justice.”

 

            Given his unwavering commitment to justice and peace, Lukwago has been nicknamed “Rule of law” by people in Kampala and beyond. On his part, he refers to himself as “the shield for the people of Kampala.”

 

            The Lord Mayor praised the Catholic Church for its Justice and Peace department pointing out that “the country moves on peace and justice. Without one, the other cannot exist.” He praised the National Unity Platform for being strong and focused.

 

             The parish priest of St. Agnes Kibuye-Makindye, who was also the main celebrant, Fr. Joseph Lugobe, assured the congregation that God was in their midst and will grant their hearts’ desire.

 

              “The Egyptians took forty years to reach the Promised Land but finally they did reach the Promised Land. One day you will get your hearts’ desire.”

 

                Fr. Lugobe also added that God always fulfills His promises and that since He promised to answer all who turn to Him; they too should never lose hope.

 

                “Ask and you will receive, seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened.”

 

                  Further emphasizing God’s unfailing help, he referred the congregation to the Archdiocesan theme for this year, extracted from Mark 2:11 which states: “Rise, pick up your mat, and go home.”

 

                 At least 26 people lost their lives during the Masaka-panga vicious murders. President Museveni referred to the perpetrators as pigs and vowed to “crush them.” The world was shocked by these murders and looked forward to the day when justice would be done.

 

                  It defeats logic when the trial of the so called suspects is instead turned into circus. This brings to memory when Rt. Col. Dr. Kizza Besigye was arrested and charged of rape and treason as he campaigned for the presidency. Fictitious witnesses stepped forward but their drama was unmasked by legal brains led by David Mpanga.

 

                  The current chairman of the Electoral Commission, Justice Simon Mugenyi Byabakama, featured prominently in these sham trials. We pray that the country is not once again portraying itself as a rouge state turning the Judiciary into oppressive machinery against political opponents. It took the professionalism and independence of men like Justice Lugayizi, Justice James Ogola and Justice John Bosco Katutsi to unmask the devil.

 

                   As Ugandans, and the whole world at large, silently watch the drama as it unfolds, all eyes are once again on the Judiciary to establish its ability to administer justice for the sustainable peace of this once Pearl of Africa.

 

Lenten Season; a Time of Grace, Favourable time and a Time of Salvation

 Valerian Kkonde

PEARL NEWS SERVICE

Fr. Mathias Nsenga administers ashes at Christ the King-Kampala.

As members of Christ’s body, the Lenten season should be a Healing Remedy for us. We need to be armed with weapons of self-restraint.

 We need to continue pondering His goodness and mercy among us. This is a precious moment for us. The Lord says: this is the acceptable time. No one is beyond redemption. When we recognize we are limited, then we should know where our source of strength is.

 Even the evil one knows we are starting this journey. Let us call on the almighty to accompany us.

 Ash Wednesday marks the start of the Lenten Season. The First Reading is from Joel 2:12-18. Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 12-13, 14 and 17. The Gospel is from Mathew 6:1-6, 16-18.

 

Sr. Joyce Moraa of the Daughters of St. Paul administers ashes at Christ the King- Kampala.

In the second reading: 2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2 St. Paul says we are ambassadors of Christ. Like snakes, let us shade off all that is not good. Where we have excelled, let us keep up, where we have failed let us change.

 It is the Spirit that led Christ into the wilderness and conquered. Let Him guide us in our dealings with God and neighbour.

 The Lenten Season is grounded on three pillars: fast, alms-giving and prayer. Let us increase the intensity with which we practice these three.

 If we are to make sense out of this season we must consider reconciliation and love for our God and one another. That way, our fasting will be pleasing to God, and a healing remedy for us.

 

 

Dr. Besigye Urges Ugandans to Emphasize Individual Body Strength in Face of the Pandemic

by Valerian Kkonde

PEARL NEWS SERVICE

As he warns that there is going to be a big war for justice in the post Covid-19 period as government plans are shrouded in secrecy, oppression and profiteering.

 Kyaddondo MP Robert Kyagulanyi also known as Bobi Wine and Dr. Kizza Besigye. Bobi heads the People Power group while Besigye heads the Peoples Government.

Medical doctor turned politician Kizza Besigye has told Ugandans to ensure that their immune system is strong because it is the best guard against the Coronavirus pandemic which has neither a vaccine nor a cure at the moment.

 

Besigye also a retired Colonel in the Uganda Peoples Defense Forces (UPDF), made the advice while talking to the Central Broadcasting Service (CBS) 89.2 FM Radio. The radio had visited him at his home in Kasangati, on May 13 this year, for the programme Kkiriza Oba Gaana presented by Meddie Nsereko Ssebuliba popularly referred to as Musajja wa Kabaka.

 

“As far as Covid-19 is concerned, people must put emphasis on how to fight the virus as an individual. Prepare your body to fight back as there is no cure. The cases of those who have been cured have not even been to the Intensive Care Unit which helps in breathing.

 

You need to sleep enough at least eight hours and with rhythm, so as to avoid stress. That is why government must help people overcome stress.”

 

He warned the people against things like “strong alcohol which reduces the body’s ability to fight back when invaded. Also avoid sugar; it is poison and if one is to use it at all, then it must be used in very small quantities.”

 

“Exercising for at least 30 minutes is good for the strengthening of the body’s security. In the protection of the body the lymphatic system is moved by muscles throughout the body and this keeps it well protected from any invasion.”

 

Dr. Besigye who heads a political pressure group called Peoples Government has contested for the presidency on four occasions but with no success. He is the face of the Opposition in Uganda and maintains that Museveni is the country’s greatest problem. He emphasised that the President’s failure to drop the electricity and water bills was stressing the people a lot, and only serves to undermine their well intentioned sacrifices to stop the spread of the pandemic.

 

“People must ensure that they get a lot of Vitamin C which is found in fruits. It helps a lot in breathing in case of a Coronavirus attack. The lemon has a lot of Vitamin C especially the cover. Simply cut it into pieces and put in hot water and drink.

 

Vitamin A strengthens the layer in the mouth which is attacked by the virus. This Vitamin can be got from carrots, papaws, oranges and other foods with the yellow colouring.”

He further advised that Vitamin B which is found in meat, beans and millet should be sought after as well.

 

“These vitamins are not meant for Covid-19 only but even other diseases that attack us. Even all the other measures put in place to prevent the transmission of the virus must be adhered to without laxity. The face mask is very important because it protects you from acquiring the virus from other people and also protects others from you. You can use your handkerchief by just folding it into two, tie it at the back and it will serve the purpose”

 

The radio programme was seeking the doctor’s views on the post Covid-19 period and how best to prepare and face it. He predicted doom due to the bad governance that Museveni and cohorts engage in.

 

“After Covid-19 there is going to be a big war for justice because what government is doing is selective support. Justice only works for those who fight for it.”

 

The vivid example he gave was of the arrest and brutal torture of the Member of Parliament for Mityana Municipality Zaake Mutebi. He was arrested from his home in Buswabulongo on allegations of distributing food to his constituents.  The ministers and NRM parliamentarians freely distribute food and are given protection by the security officials.

 

After Parliament granted the Office of the Prime Minister 59 billion shillings to buy food for the people during the lockdown, it went on to propose that a thorough programme be put in place if the distribution is to benefit ordinary Ugandans. It had also proposed that people instead be given money through their phone numbers but the OPM went ahead without any preparation, throwing the scheme into chaos.

 

Immediately, key officials in the OPM, including the Permanent Secretary and the Commissioner, were arrested for profiteering from the programme.

 

“Uganda’s problem is not the political parties. The problem is the few people wielding a lot of power.  Believe it or not, the power in Uganda is not with Parliament, the Judiciary or Executive. The power is with Museveni.

 

The Peoples Government wants to invite all Ugandans to join hands and come up with a transition aimed at handing power back to the people.”

 

The biggest concern for majority Ugandans is the state of finances that awaits them after the lockdown ends. These fears are backed by the institutionalized robbery of public funds and resources which has seen the obscene accumulation of wealth. Dr. Besigye castigated government for buying beans from Malawi yet Ugandan farmers are stuck with beans in their stores.

 

“Secrecy surrounds whatever government is doing. But taxes have to be reduced so that people can get jobs. High taxes deny people chance to get employment. Low taxes enable government to get more money.

 

When you decide to buy beans from Malawi, instead of buying from Ugandan farmers, you are denying your own people the much needed capital to mitigate the effects of the Coronavirus. People need to know the plans in place after the lockdown is over. ”

 

Earlier President Museveni had hinted that the general elections slated for 2021 could be postponed if the virus is still present in the country by July this year. Elections had been expected to start this year in April with the elections for representatives for people with disabilities and the youth but all were put off due to the Coronavirus.

 

Besigye argues that whether there are elections or not, President Museveni’s term will come to an end. He accused the Chairman of the Electoral Commission, Justice Byabakama, of being Museveni’s stooge and being incapable of organising a free and fair election.

 

“At the time of independence in the 60s, we needed a transition from the Europeans to Africans. Today we need a transition from a few blacks to all Ugandans.”

 

Museveni had further hinted that ballot papers as well as money will be printed in Uganda. To this Besigye said that it makes no difference because Museveni will continue to raid national coffers at will.

 

“If Museveni wants five billion shillings from Bank of Uganda, the governor Emmanuel Mutebile will not ask how but when would the bullions be arriving.”

 

He revealed that in 2007 they took Bank of Uganda to court for giving out US $ 11 million to Basajjabalaba on the orders of President Museveni. The governor came out and admitted to the crime but said that Basajjabalaba had put his land tittles as security. He went on to reveal that Basajjabalaba was later given back his tittles, without paying the money, and sold them off. But that up to now court has failed to pronounce itself on the matter.

 

Besigye pointed out that when money is printed in France, De la Louts works together with IMF and World Bank. This, he reasoned, helps Liquidity in Uganda to be known by investors.

 

“But this cannot prevent Museveni from misusing public funds. Mugabe did exactly that and we all know how the Zimbabwean economy collapsed.”

 

 

As for the ballots, Dr. Besigye stressed that Ugandans should not look at the consequences of not having power but should instead look at having power.

 

“It is important that power is in the hands of Ugandans not in the hands of a few individuals. Even institutions must be at the service of all Ugandans and again not a few individuals.”

 

Further stressing the importance of the Opposition to work together to bring about rule of law, Besigye admitted that there are misunderstandings but that they are based on lack of understanding for the situation in the country.

 

“I stopped thinking that elections alone can bring about the desired change in 2016. In 2016 campaigns my message was to tell Ugandans that they do not have the vote. Many of our partners still do not think this way. It was the cause of split in the FDC and Major Mugisha Muntu founded his own party.

 

“I took Museveni to court in 2001 and 2006 and he knew that whoever is aggrieved runs to court. Now he appoints the judges 100%.  The chairman of the electoral commission was my prosecutor during those trumped up charges and you think that he can organise a free and fair election!”

 

Retired Col. Kizza Besigye told his audience that he had lost count of the times he has been refused to appear on radio stations countrywide. He said that last week he had been invited by a radio station in Bugiri but he was blocked.

 

“It has been the same case in Jinja, Kamuli and Adjumani to mention a few. Sometimes we even have to pay for our appearance but the hosts are intimidated. Radios have been switched off air and even hosts have been dismissed because they intended to host us.”

 

Besigye went on to say that political persecution has also been extended to Hon. Kyagulanyi a.k.a Bobi Wine. He is a musician but he has been refused to stage concerts because he has expressed interest in the presidency.

 

“When did Bobi last sing? But that is his job!”

 

A number of individuals and organisations have come up to donate food and other medial items to assist in the fight against the Coronavirus. The Peoples Government is conspicuously missing but Besigye confirmed that it was intentional.

 

“The Peoples Government has been present in the different parts of the country through the Citizens Relief Initiative. We come to the aid of people affected by famine, floods, land evictions and other disasters but we kept away from this food distribution because we do not trust the system and the Office of the Prime Minister. How can you trust the OPM      which is being investigated for the scam in the refugee programme and the Northern Uganda Rehabilitation programme?

 

 Fortunately the mess in the food distribution has absolved us. But that does not mean that we are not assisting out people. Of course we are assisting in our small way.”   

 

Medical doctor turned politician Kizza Besigye warned that the post Covid-19 period will be a great challenge but that people should keep faith in God because he is omnipotent.

 

“God knows all, just pray to Him. If you cry to Him He will respond.”