“As a philosopher and a cleric, I call upon all political forces in Uganda to identify a fact that misses in their engagements, which is the important ingredient of peace,” Pastor Martin Ssempa, the Makerere Community Church elder has emphasized.
There is a lot of okusika omuguwa (tugging) from all political players which is unhealthy for the State and its citizens. Acknowledging this deficiency will sort out all this political kappa egoba emmese (cat-and-mouse) engagement, which is not the unifying contest that the origin of leadership and authority, God, requires us to apprehend and follow.
“I completely don’t agree with any suggestions that the recent elections were peaceful. A lot of pain was experienced and we must acknowledge this. However, life has to move on. Therefore, the State should find means of releasing all political prisoners so that we restore sanity in this great nation of ours,” asserted Pastor Ssempa.
Hon. Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, and his NUP party keep saying, “We won the locals councils and members of parliament contest in central Uganda but we won’t be happy until we take over State House by force.” On the other hand, the State responds with force, abductions and arrests against what it allege is inflammatory speech and treasonous acts.
This cat-and-mouse run-around must stop because it is deadly, costs lives, brings pain and, in the long run, causes prolonged hatred and bitterness among those who believe in each of their ideologies yet we can have a peaceful solution to all this anarchy.
The servant of God further guided those who claim that he received a gift from the State to sensitize the masses about his peace campaign that it is not true at all. He informs the public of a very urgent need to visit both the bereaved families and those that are in grief and pain over the arrests of their family members and calls upon various stake holders to rally behind him as he meets with those said families to engage them with psycho-social and other support in this very trying moment.
Pastor Ssempa called upon all other religious leaders to speak out for peace by calling on all other parties to take the right actions which will bring peace. “As religious leaders we do not need to fear the people,” he added. This country needs a peace campaign and religious leaders can contribute their voices for de-escalation of conflict in the country. He further appealed to all citizens to get back to work noting that since the rains have resumed, people should go back to their gardens and plant seed for the next crop.
Resumption of schools is also upon us all, he said, and should be a sign to students that the time of picking up stones to fight security personnel is never an option as progress has to be witnessed in this good country of ours. Enterprise in the city has resumed since it is fully open for business,
he noted, and concluded by advising that endless political conflict does not take us forward.
“I look forward to us having a Parliament whose ideology is founded on peace and also focuses on the Magufuli kind of leadership. Parliament must demobilize all vessels that boost conflict,” Pastor Ssempa concluded.
