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.
_______________________________
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 1st 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.
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