One cannot talk about the history of Uganda without mentioning something to do with sectarianism and tribalism. At one point in time Uganda was governed basing on sectarianism. President Museveni frequently says that the problem of sectarianism made Uganda ungovernable during those days because nobody would get the majority support of all Ugandans hence conflicts. Uganda is a country with different tribes and languages, Fortunately those people have different things that share in terms of culture and others. I think that’s why it has been easier for Ugandans to live together in harmony even when there’s a confusion by politicians to take us back to the conflicts of tribalism. Whereas Uganda has serious laws against sectarianism most of those law have been abused by people who are badly chasing after selfish political interests using sectarianism as a carrier. Those of us in our early thirties who didn’t see the confusion and the conflict that was caused by politics based on sectarianism think it’s actually a joke and that’s why most of us usually make comedy and jokes about it. It is something serious and dangerous that can send the country into flames within a short period of time.
Recently, the equal opportunities commission released a report which says that 47% of the jobs have gone to western Uganda. I don’t know what they meant by western Uganda because there has been a rhetoric that Banyankore who come from western part of Uganda are the ones taking over everything. This commission forgot that western Uganda is made up different tribes which among many include Bakiga, Batoro, Banyankore, Banyoro, Bafumbira and many others. Their report justified the confusion that most opposition politicians especially from the National Unity platform have been preaching and no wonder immediately it came out the leader of NUP tweeted about it and said that the commission was bold enough to release such a report. We need to ask ourselves, How do people get jobs? is it by appointment or it is by going through interviews and getting the best performer? so if people from different regions of the country sit for an interview and the one from western Uganda wins, should he be denied that opportunity because he’s from western Uganda? Won’t that be tribalism in it’s way? So let us be guided and avoid these sentiments that cause unnecessary anger to the public hence planting a seed of hatred within the communities.
We should know that there will always be reasons to justify the confusion brought by the illogical politicians to mislead the public about tribalism and I think that’s why it is always easy to convince the public that there’s napotism and tribalism in Uganda. Even when we see mistakes, I feel it’s not Prudent for any Patriotic Ugandan to fuel that confusion to result into conflict because the results are always dangerous and doesn’t affect one sect. Unfortunately Even those who are not involved end up being affected. If someone goes to Rwanda today, you may find that the people who were affected by the genocide are not necessary those who fueled that conflict. Today Rwanda has the burden of looking after the many orphans and widows who parents and partners died in the genocide. The people who fueled that confusion could have not put into consideration the outcomes of what they were doing, maybe at that time they had an interest of which they thought would be fulfilled by using the confusion of tribalism that they successfully planted in the public. That incident is actually possible in Uganda if we keep doing what we are doing. There should be zero tolerance to any form of practicing tribalism or any form of politics based on sectarianism.
There has been a contentious issue in the public about the pastoralists/ Baralo in the northern part of the country but people decided to escalate it by involving ethnicity into that matter. Odongo Otto and his colleague opposition members of Parliament decided to incite the public using the ethnicity of the pastoralists, if the President didn’t handle it blood shed was going to follow. Odongo Otto and his colleagues forget that some people who belong to his tribe are scattered all over the country trying to make ends meet and nobody has ever harassed them because of their tribe. Whereas I don’t condone the bad activities of feeding animals on people’s gardens but we should have considered coexistence as a first priority and which the President has done. Odongo Otto and his colleagues in the opposition are added on a number of the rest of the opposition whose goal has been to plant of disunity among Ugandans basing on the ethnicity. They forget that even if they succeed, it will be difficult for them to govern Uganda basing on sectarianism.
We’ve read and we’ve been taught in schools that the imperialists succeeded in colonizing Africa because they destroyed the unity that existed in Africa before they came. That’s how we found ourselves in the confusion of different religions. They later created boundaries which we now call borders. The inter tribal and Inter faith conflicts created a rivalry that was difficult to defeat, Africans started spying on each other on behalf of the colonial rulers. We should have learnt a lesson out of that especially after our fore fathers defeating colonialism and imperialism. Unfortunately all the efforts to unite Africans are fought by the selfish politicians who do not want the progress of their communities but what they can grab as individuals. That’s not only being unpatriotic but it a portrayal of lack of understanding because in case of a civil war caused by sectarianism those instigating it will also be affected and if they’re not affected as individuals their children or relatives could find themselves at the center of that entanglement.
On Thursday 16 November, when president Museveni was officiating at the passing out of students from different schools in Kampala who had undergone patriotism course, he urged them to love Ugandans on top of loving their country because they will need Ugandans to prosper. I will relate this to the statements he has made before on how he was able to get school fees because the baganda bought milk and other diary products from his father. He frequently said that his fellow Banyankore couldn’t buy milk and other diary products. One cannot claim to love Uganda when he or she doesn’t love fellow Ugandans. I think this message should be extended to the perpetrators of tribalism, they should be made to know that every Ugandan whether from your tribe or not is your brother or sister and who should be treated with empathy. If we consider the president’s wise counsel on patriotism and unity there will be nobody who will even have the appetite to involve themselves in any sectarian arguments.
The writer is a deputy RDC Sheema District.
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