Have Uganda’s Roman Catholic Politicians Sold their Soul to the Devil for Thirty Pieces of Silver?

 

by Valerian Kkonde

ACCPU

 

 

Charles Lwanga baptises the young Kizito a few hours before they are condemned to death at Munyonyo. You do not have to abandon your faith and values because of political favours. Photo by Valerian Kkonde/ ACCPU

 Uganda today ably answers the description of a nuisance, a disgrace, a laughing stock and a terror regime typical of a banana republic.

 

The picture of a stable, prosperous, peaceful and exemplary country is a mirage being painted by the very people who have masterminded the flashing down the sewer of the once pearl of Africa; the very people who have been in power for four decades. This is the very group that took up arms, after the flawed 1980 general elections, promising to introduce rule of law, human rights, sustainable peace and development.

 

Many can be seen shedding tears of blood inside, but struggle to put on a brave face for the sake of accumulating obscene wealth and remain in the limelight. But how many of these demagogues can pass the “lifestyle audit” to justify the money they throw around! Remember that this group started with stealing chicken; today they are stealing ten trillion a year! They are feeding on Ugandans as they feed on milk. And they are bent on lying and destruction.

 

This group, unlike past regimes, conducts its affairs in a manner that clearly states that Uganda rather goes up in flames than be managed by other people.

 

In a way, it is no surprise since the 1995 Constitution which was promulgated to stem such evil schemes has long been, repeatedly, raped and dumped in the sewer by its own fathers! All institutions have been turned into Museveni Protection Agencies (MPAs). Their mandate is to crush threats, perceived or real, to Museveni’s continued stay in power.

 

The 2026 elections have proved that President Yoweri Museveni and group are still as primitive and raw as they came. Museveni has an intolerant narrow minded and evil patriotism, call it tribalism, which is bent on destroying those who oppose him politically. This is coupled with a false sense of superiority. It is this vengeful spirit which is responsible for the social, financial and political instability we are witnessing in Uganda today. The old man with a hat clearly nurses hatred emanating from long ago, betraying Uganda to be dominated by a violent thought. We cannot have mutual respect and tolerance in such setting, let alone rule of law, sustainable peace and development.

 

Key evil schemes of the general elections included the summary executions at the home of the Member of Parliament- Muwanga Kivumbi, the shooting and killing of many members of the opposition in different parts of the country, the ballot-stuffing and declaring people who had lost as the winners. Abductions and brutal tactics used to bar the opposition from reaching out to the electorate have gone down in the history of Uganda as some other primitive aspects of choosing leaders. President Museveni came out openly to brag about all this! The same applies to his son General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who is the Commander of the Defence Forces. Like father, like son. But what qualifications does this CDF possess other than being the son of Yoweri Museveni who grabbed state power, and has been in power for over forty years?

 

For Museveni who walked over dead bodies to capture state power, nothing will stop him from killing many more to retain that power. Machiavelli is his role model!

 

The pain, hopelessness, anger and determination to revenge caused by the systematic land-grabbing carried out in the country is the first of the kind in the history of Uganda. As is the order of the day, it is being driven by those with power and guns. Can one comprehend the implications of becoming a refugee in your homeland?

 

Trying to come to terms with Museveni’s display of evil, brutish force, hatred, vengeance, moral decay, bloodshed, arrogance and impunity, a lot of questions arise. Most importantly, about the composition of this group. Is it made up of pagans, witches and blood suckers? Has this group got any values to boast of? By all purpose and intent, Museveni’s NRM is an accomplished terrorist cell.

 

Surprisingly and to the chagrin of those with a conscience prodding them, this group comprises of individuals with unquestionable attachment to, and association with the Roman Catholic Church which is cherished as a stronghold of charity in the contradictions of our time. Church teaching urges that, all the faithful, especially the lay faithful who live among the people of other religions, whether living in their native region or in lands as migrants, are expected to be for all a sign of the Lord and His Church, in a way adapted to the actual living situation of each place.  

 

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Once the hope and expectation of eternal happiness is taken away, temporal goods will be greedily sought after. Every man will strive to secure the largest share for himself -   Pope Leo XIII

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Under Museveni’s government, some of the seemingly most key positions are occupied by the Roman Catholics. The Vice President is Jessica Alupo while the Prime Minister is Robinah Nabbanja. The Speaker of Parliament is the flamboyant Annet Anita Among and her deputy is Thomas Tayebwa. Many other Roman Catholics occupy ministerial positions like that of State Minister for education in charge of higher institutions Dr. John Chrysostom Muyingo, Raphael Magezi for Local Government, Chris Baryomunsi for Information and National Guidance and Nobert Mao for Justice and Constitutional Affairs.  

 

Government comprises of three arms of governance. There is no doubt that the Legislature and the Judiciary are headed by members of the Roman Catholic Church. Concern rises over the spirit behind these appointments. Is it out of trust and great expectations from the Roman Catholic Church or it is sheer blackmail! These people are not only the face of the Church, they are the Church itself.

 

This is not to deny them their right to belong to any political party or to associate but to emphasize that their faith, the teaching and values of the Church must not be detached from their way of life. Equipped with all the requirements for participating in the activities of this evil-laden journey, these Roman Catholics ought to be the path to the common good.

 

And it all starts at Baptism. Our journey to be the salt of the earth and light of the world starts at the sacrament of Baptism. It protects us from hypocrisy — the danger of appearing religious without interior conversion.

 

Pope Leo XIV has this to say about Baptism which all these Roman Catholic politicians in the evil NRM pride themselves in: “This first of the sacraments is a sacred sign that accompanies us forever. In moments of darkness, Baptism is light; in life’s conflicts, it is reconciliation; at the hour of death, it is the gateway to heaven.”

 

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux insists that we cannot truly do good unless we are first anointed by grace. Even Jesus, in His humanity, does not act by sheer effort or moral resolve, but as the Christ, the Anointed. Without this interior function, our actions may be generous, but they risk becoming dry — lacking the oil of charity that gives them depth and endurance.

 

“When baptism is reduced to an external rite, its power is missed. But when it is lived, it continually anoints us, purifies our love, and draws us into communion. If we allow the Spirit to fill us — to heal us, delight us, and then overflow through us — we too will quietly, faithfully go about doing good, carrying into the world the fragrance of heaven already begun.”

 

In the Apostolic Exhortation: Christifideles Laici- The Vocation and Mission of the Lay Faithful- Saint Pope John Paul II calls upon the faithful “to take an active conscientious and responsible part in the mission of the Church today. He says that “It is necessary to keep a watchful eye on our world, with its problems and values, its unrest and hopes, its defeats and triumphs: a world whose economic, social, political and cultural affairs pose problems and grave difficulties. This is the world in which the faithful are called to fulfil their mission. This is where Jesus wants His people to be ‘salt of the earth’ and the ‘light of the world.”

 

Pope Francis, on his part, warns against the temptation “of legitimising the unwarranted separation of faith from life, that is, a separation of the acceptance of the gospel from the actual living of the gospel in various situations in the world.”

 

The Roman Catholic Church is not short of examples which leaders and the faithful must emulate at all levels and in all circumstances. What are our Catholics doing under this challenging situation where oppression, torture, summary executions of political opponents and turning Ugandans into refugees in their own country are the order of the day? The impression one gets is that they are not only beneficiaries of these evil schemes but they have become the architects of the same!

 

Rt. Hon. Speaker of Parliament Annet Anita Among. Pope Leo XIV prays that our future leaders may be good men and women who serve the nation, seek the common good, and above all strive to unite and to 'add', not to subtract or divide.  

 Uganda is increasingly alarmed by patterns of violence, dehumanization, and disregard for human life and dignity. Every human being possesses an inviolable dignity that does not depend on supporting Museveni or perceived threat. When people are targeted, detained, separated from their families, or killed without accountability or due process, that dignity is violated. Such actions harm not only individuals and families but also the moral integrity of our society.

 

Uganda today raises more questions than answers. Are the Roman Catholic politicians emulating Judas the Iscariot who betrayed Jesus but at the end of the day failed to enjoy the thirty pieces of silver he got in turn? No sooner had he received the blood-stained money than it became too hot to retain. He threw it in the Church but the leaders, who had closely worked with him to betray his Master, removed it and used it to buy a place for burying strangers. What a case of double betrayal!!

 

Mother Church’s representatives in the bleeding Uganda have instead become accomplices in the tormenting of Ugandans. It is because of the indifference and complacency of the Roman Catholics in Museveni’s evil schemes that many times Ugandans consider the Church absent in their tribulations.

 

Can the faith you profess enable us see you advocate for and lead to a more sober lifestyle? Isn’t it satanic for Roman Catholics to be at the fore front of fragmenting Uganda? You cannot speak with honesty! Cannot discern patiently! Pushing for inequalities! You cannot demand for accountability for wrongdoings in the country! Be naïve enough to think that everything is fine. When will your faith and the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, which you like to show off, be translated into responsible and human decisions?

 

The need for dialogue is pertinent for entrenching sustainable peace and development in Uganda. But the president to dialogue with has nothing to offer; he is the architect of the anarchy that the country seeks to overcome. With the constitution, raped and dumped, what is the starting point for the dialogue? Can we demand for the return to constitutionalism as the basis for our dialogue? Why is the voice of these ‘powerful’ Roman Catholics absent when it comes to demanding for spaces where the voices of the people can be heard? The ready answer is that the perks that come with their positions have blinded them to the virtues and values proclaimed by the faith they profess.

 

Those trashing the so called dialogue with Museveni are basing on examples like these. These critical issues must be resolved first for the dialogue to be meaningful. It must be the constitution to be the basis for the management of these issues. In any case this is the only meaningful national dialogue that has been held under Museveni’s rule. Without the constitution as the guiding star, all this will be what Besekezi Ssennyonyi calls unconstructive “having of a cup of tea and a photo opportunity with Museveni” while criminalising of competitive politics and dehumanising Ugandans continue unabated.

 

It is painful to see ‘people’ offer themselves to be Museveni’s bikokooma- toilet paper! What should one say about what goes for elections and leadership in Uganda?

 

The Catholic Church’s credentials for search for peace, justice, human dignity, all summed up in the common good are there for everyone to see. The Catholic Church’s position on the two state option as the solution to the genocide in Palestine is consistent. But the Catholic Church has stated categorically that it will not join the Board of Peace. The Catholic Church is also pessimistic about the America- Russia- Ukraine peace talks. The Board of Peace’s particular nature is evidently not that of other States.

 Pope Leo XIV with Israel President Isaac Herzog in the Vatican. Pope Leo has categorically stated that the Catholic Church will not be a silent bystander amid challenges to peace.

“One concern,” the Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Cardinal Parolin explains, “that at the international level it should above all be the UN that manages these crisis situations. This is one of the points on which we have insisted.”

 

Dialogue with a dictator and demagogue who presents himself as a freedom fighter and patriot, and his cohorts call a strategic thinker, is a grave insult if not a disgrace. Many people who claim to be after the so- called dialogue end up falling for positions in government. For the public, these are the visible signs of betrayal and lack of commitment to address their concerns.

 

There is no doubt that Uganda’s Constitution of 1995 has been shredded so much that it has lost respect, relevance and direction. But the critical elements of devolution of powers, rights of association and belonging that are still surviving, can still guide the country out of the quagmire. That is, if they are respected and left to work as mandated. Short of this, it is a wastage of time and mere entrenching of the demagogue and cohorts.

 

The pain endured in Uganda, coupled with the search for a new beginning, are some of the basis for demanding that Jessica Alupo, Robinah Nabbanja, Annet Anita Among, Thomas Tayebwa, John Chrysostom Muyingo and the host of others,  turn the Roman Catholic Church teaching and values into concrete action. Today you are not building the future of Uganda but rather destroying it. Can you lead in showing how enormous is the value for human life, justice, peace and love?

 

Of what importance is the presence of these many and powerful Roman Catholic politicians in the Uganda of today where people are treated as biological substances rather than sacred? When people on the opposition are disproportionately targeted, when families are torn apart, and when force is used in ways that escalate fear rather than ensure safety, people with a conscience are morally obligated to respond and stand up. Militarized tactics and the unchecked use of power have no place in the civilised Uganda. Unfortunately these are being institutionalised!

 

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Authority exists to serve and protect human life, not to dominate or destroy it.

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Pope Leo XIV and other Church leaders are making every effort to direct the world to put the common good at the fore front of whatever is done.  Pope Francis taught that our relationship with the Earth, with one another, and with God cannot be separated. When we exploit creation, human communities — especially the poorest and most vulnerable — suffer. Likewise, when we disregard the dignity of human life, our relationships with one another and with God are fractured. We cannot claim to care for our common home while remaining silent as our neighbors are harmed or killed.

 

Today the world is on the lookout for collaborators of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the devil incarnate; he had contacts with world leaders, scholars, royals and the richest on earth. Nobody ever thought that at this time round, these people would be making the apologies, the excuses and explanations being witnessed. Shame is also part of the exposures. Who knows, tomorrow it could be the same to the collaborators of Yoweri Museveni. It matters to remember that whatever you do, soon or later will catch up with you. Above all, every baptised Christian is to bear consistent witness to Christ.  

 

For God, a good relationship with others, concern for others, justice and practical love, are far more important than the millions donated in offertory. That is the teaching of mother Church.

 

How are our Roman Catholics using their statuses to facilitate rule of law and humanism in this evil regime? The state of affairs calls for particular urgency for action from Uganda’s Roman Catholic politicians.

 

Your failure to be light and salt of the world turns you into idle opportunists, a nuisance, a disgrace and the devil’s advocates. When will your faith transcend the regular shaking of hands with the Pope, sitting in the front pews during the Holy Mass and rubbing shoulders with the bishops? All these you do yet you are nowhere to be seen protecting the vulnerable and defending the dignity of all. Have you chosen to be Christians without Christ? This is where the danger comes from.

 

We make decisions and they have repercussions; better, you made choices to journey with Museveni’s NRM. But are you ready to own the consequences? Yet you have a choice. If you play with fire it will burn you. Stomach the consequences.

 

And if they decide to take part, as they have already done, what type of politics: the policies and approach should they advocate for? Is it a matter of life and death? Should they simply join the dining table and fulfill that adage: the mouth that eats does not speak? Or they should bring about the much needed change that entrenches hope, peace, rule of law and respect for human rights and dignity! Do they stand for the common good? Or they have chosen to be the typical hyenas occupying political positions the world over?

 

Are the Roman Catholic Church values necessary for your continued participation in politics? Do these values guide them or they are considered a stumbling block to their political pursuits and those of their political god-fathers?  The biggest disadvantage for these Roman Catholic politicians is that they cannot claim ignorance of what is taking place in the country. They cannot even claim that they do not know what to do; the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Social doctrine of the Catholic Church and the Holy Bible all offer what is needed of the faithful to be light and salt of the world. It all has to do with being consistent in witnessing Christ.

 

The Exhortation- Christifideles Laici- intends to stir and promote a deeper awareness among all the faithful of the gift and responsibility they share, both as a group and as individuals, in the communions and mission of the Church. It goes on to explain the foundation of the call, its meaning, obligations and consequences. It is another reminder that Jesus must be the centre of whatever we do.

 

For forty years, the presence of Roman Catholics in Museveni’s regime has failed to tame a regime that believes in settling differences with the barrel of the gun- “blood and iron.”

 

When are you to reflect the mission of the Church as a mother who welcomes, without condemning or judging?

 

As Uganda prepared for Independence in 1962, Archbishop Joseph Kiwanuka Nakabaale (RIP) encouraged Roman Catholics to get involved in politics. But it was not a matter of being in government; they had to display the values of the Church in their activities and decisions so as to bring about peace, justice, freedom, rule of law and above all respect for human dignity.

 

Living the three principle values of faith, hope and love is the reason we celebrate, to this day, the first Chief Justice Benedict Kiwanuka Mugumba Kagimu. He not only frequented Lubaga Cathedral but lived and practiced these values. Those are the values that kept him away from the temptation of allowing to be used as a toilet paper for the sake of political positions. The same Benedict Kiwanuka did not hesitate to call for another election after the one he had won had been boycotted and even contested by Buganda.  He even stood up to the giant Idi Amin Dada to administer justice without compromising the sanctity of the Judiciary.

 

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We need a lot of hope and genuine leadership based on the values of the Gospel in such a difficult time for Uganda. One would expect the Roman Catholic politicians, especially in these most key positions, to offer this leadership. But where are they? What are they doing?  

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Today our Roman Catholic politicians are killing to be announced the winners while they had lost in broad day light. Ben Kiwanuka was murdered and has no grave but he will never be part of the group that caused oppression, repression and anarchy. The values and teachings of the Roman Catholic Church which he held dear awakened in him the sense of duty, and made him better.

 

The Roman Catholic Church’s views of politics and world order founded on justice, peace, human rights and human dignity must be lived and practiced by the members who are active in politics. It is better to be out of politics than be there compromising the values of the faith you claim to profess. That is the source of primitive excuses that politics is a dirty game. On other occasions they say that the end justifies the means, or again that it is survival for the fittest.

 

Is it politics that is dirty or it is you who is? This is a fundamental moral failure.

 

Warning against violence, like the one that has become the way of life in Uganda, Pope Leo XIV said that “Violence – any violence – is the frontier that divides civilization from barbarism,”   adding that, “We must never underestimate an act of violence, and we must not be afraid to denounce it, including that climate of justification that seeks to mitigate or deny responsibility.”

 

The Pope goes on to advise that to walk together in mutual respect for humanity is not a dream, but it is rather the only possible reality for building a world of light for everyone.

 

On 1^st November 1900, Pope Leo XIII released an Encyclical: Tametsi Futura- Jesus Christ the Redeemer.

 

One hundred and twenty six years ago, the exact conditions, to be exact- the evils, which Pope Leo XIII sought to address are back haunting humanity. Uganda today is the summary of the world’s ills.

Uganda's forest cover is fast dwindling  due to greed with state protection in the name of development. The result is loss of precious fauna and flora leading to the environmental crisis. Photo by Valerian Kkonde/ ACCPU

In this Exhortation Pope Leo XIII reminds us that the work of the Church is at the service of each individual and the whole of society- the common good.

 

“The fruit of sound political activity, which is so much desired by everyone but always lacking in advancement, is peace. The lay faithful cannot remain indifferent or be strangers and inactive in the face of all that denies and compromises peace, namely, violence and war, torture and terrorism, concentration camps, militarization of public life, the arms race, and the nuclear threat. The lay faithful, in working together with all those that truly seek peace and themselves serving in specific organisations as well as national and international institutions, ought to promote an extensive work of education intended to defeat the ruling culture of egoism, hate,, the vendetta and hostility, and thereby to develop the culture of solidarity, in fact, is the way to peace and at the same time to development.”  

 

As Roman Catholics we must never be party to ideologies contrary to the Gospel, exalting the supremacy of the strong and promote victory at any cost. The teaching of the Church must guide us that we can win without humiliating others; and that we can lose without being defeated as individuals.

 

The evil we witness in Uganda has its roots here; hearts have become cold, hardened, and poor in mercy and compassion. Museveni’s NRM is the manifestation of this evil. One cannot stop asking what influences the Roman Catholics who keep joining Museveni’s NRM. Whatever drives them to Museveni’s NRM, does it come from Christ or lead to Christ? Of course they know better.   

 

Pope Leo XIII’s warning of the consequences for leading a pagan life apply even today to the extent that the Encyclical reads as if it was directed to Uganda.

 

“How is it that, in spite of all the zeal for the welfare of the masses, nations are in such straits and even distress, and that the evil is daily on the increase? We are told that society is quite able to help itself; that it can flourish without the assistance of Christianity, and attain its end by its own unaided efforts. Public administrators prefer a purely secular system of government. All traces of the religion of our forefathers are daily disappearing from political life and administration. What blindness! Once the idea of the authority of God as the Judge of right and wrong is forgotten, law must necessarily lose its primary authority and justice must perish: and these are the two most powerful and most necessary bonds of society. Similarly, once the hope and expectation of eternal happiness is taken away, temporal goods will be greedily sought after. Every man will strive to secure the largest share for himself. Hence arise envy, jealousy, hatred. The consequences are conspiracy, anarchy, nihilism. There is neither peace abroad nor security at home. Public life is stained with crime.”

 

There is no reason, let alone any justification, for the Roman Catholic politicians to be party to the evil schemes that have all the semblance of well calculated plans to use the Roman Catholic Church as merely a platform for fulfilling their evil political project. What a joy when you become the ray of light and hope that promotes respect, harmony, perseverance, and sustainable peace and development!

 

The Roman Catholic Church values and teaching place you at the frontline of fighting the culture of abuse and injustice which Museveni has entrenched in Uganda. If your participation in Museveni’s NRM is not based on the promotion of the values of justice, non-violence and peace, then the claim of pursuing the common good is mere rhetoric, hypocrisy, greed.

 

The time “For God and my Country” is now.

 Editor- ACCPU brings together Catholic Communicators in Uganda for purposes of promoting evangelisation and integral human development using means of social communication.