I wish to thank Ugandans for joining in to celebrate St. Janani Luwum Day held in Kitgum district last Friday. The occasion reminds us of the heroics and martyrdom of the ill-fated Archbishop of Church of Uganda who was among the sea of innocent Ugandans (and foreigners) butchered during the regrettable rule of Idi Amin. Luwum was a great son of Uganda who paid the ultimate price for the truth and contributed significantly to attaining a better Uganda-although not engaged in politics, but by preaching Biblical truth to power.
This was definitely the most untimely time to speak out on issues of human rights but those who did sacrificed self for the a better Uganda which we are now enjoying.
Archbishop Luwum, although long dead, gave impetus to subsequent liberation struggles that rid Uganda of Amin-and later the Obote juntas. Amin killed the body but the spirit of Luwum overpowered him. Luwum showed courageous leadership in opposing tyranny, gross human rights violations and religious persecution. Amin hated him for belonging to the “wrong” religious sect since he (Amin) had plans of turning Uganda into a one-religion state, which would have been perpetuation of the colonialists’ agenda of dividing Uganda basing on religion.
As we remembered the departed Archbishop, we were also reminded of the other victims of Amin’s rule whom I cannot enumerate in totality here but to mention just a few; Chief Justice Ben Kiwanuka (who was dragged from his High Court office, bundled into the boot of a car never to be seen again); Ministers Shaban Nkutu, Lt. Col. Oryema, Oboth Ofumbi and Ms. Dorah Bloch (the old Israeli woman who was dragged from her hospital bed and shot). None of these was formally tried for any crime and sentenced accordingly. Their deaths were extrajudicial and highlighted the era when Uganda was in the wilderness (of dictatorship) when there was no freedom of worship and believers had no dignity or a voice. The new chapter of religious freedom was ushered in when NRM came took power in 1986 and believers are free to worship as they deem fit. There is so much freedom of choice in the arena of religious worship that there are voices tasking Government to do something about it (that is, introduce some “Aminism” in that area. That would displease St. Luwum and the Uganda Martyrs who all died for Uganda to benefit from the light of faith.
It’s a great thing that our motto: “For God and My Country” is reflected in reality unlike then when God was virtually excluded from taking charge of our affairs. That’s why there was open disregard of human rights, limiting religion worship, bloodletting and no democracy to talk of. There was total disregard of the right to life and if President Museveni and fellow liberators had given Amin free reign beyond the “lost eight years”, I can’t imagine how much Uganda would have bled.
It was, therefore, surprising that amidst the solemn commemoration of St. Luwum’s sacrifice, Dr. Kizza Besigye found space to “troll” the current Government and draw parallels with the terrible era of the 1970s. In a tweet on X, he stated: “St. Janan Jakaliya Luwum was martyred in 1977 for firm in protesting the arbitrary killings and unexplained disappearances in Uganda. Today, NRM/M7 Junta is severally accused (at the ICC) for committing ‘Crimes Against Humanity’-for same acts that St. Janan protested against! How then can NRM/M7 Junta mark the ‘St. Janan Luwum Day’ without undermining the St. Janan legacy?”
First of all, instituting Janani Luwum day alone speaks for the conscience of the current leadership and its commitment to human rights and democracy, compared to the Amin regime. It’s telling that Dr. Besigye, in his tweet, doesn’t mention Amin but prominently mentions “NRM/M7”. That says something on its own. Partly, I am not surprised because Dr. Besigye wasn’t involved in the anti-Amin struggle and probably feels less about the impact his misrule had and the number of Ugandans whose lives were altered forever. It also shows how much hatred he has for NRM and President Museveni.
Secondly, can Dr. Besigye name at least one individual that has been violently murdered Luwum-style by the NRM Government? In any case, can NRM pick the current Archbishop, or Mufti or Minister and extrajudicially murder them or make them disappear? Is it to say that the current crop of clerics are not doing their job of speaking out whenever there is need? I have heard and seen our clerics point out issues variously but none has ever been “Luwumed”. Other stakeholders, including politicians, members of civil society, media, general public, diplomats, etc, have freely addressed themselves to areas to interest but none has met Luwum’s fate.
Dr. Besigye himself is a famous advocate on democracy, human rights and governance issues but he is here today. Could he have operated during Amin’s time and survived to “tweet” about it?
Thirdly, the reference to NRM/M7 being severally accused at ICC, what does that say, exactly? Was Amin accused or he killed Luwum (and others)? Why have various petitions brought before ICC against President Museveni failed to gain traction?
It’s one thing accusing someone and another for them to be found culpable. Politically engineered accusations do not count for a Luwum kind of scenario which, from my sources, I understand that Amin later regretted after leaving power. So, is Dr. Besigye attempting to cleanse Amin’s name in order to get back at President Museveni whom he has failed to dislodge from power and resorted to blackmail? No need to guess!
NRM’s advent facilitated a healthy co-existence between Church and State, for the sake of upholding God ordained rights and dignity of existence for all. In Uganda today, state-inspired persecution of the Church (and other Houses of God) is out of the question. The President supports religious leaders in their commission as they support him in uplifting the lives of the same people they minister to.
And we have checks and balances that prevent Aminism from manifesting, which is why Dr. Besigye and Bobi Wine oppose Government from within Uganda and are only called to answer before the law in case of any infringement, but are not killed. It doesn’t make sense equating “NRM/M7” to Amin. St. Luwum must be turning in his grave!
The author is the Deputy Press Secretary to H.E the President of the Republic of Uganda
Contact: 0776980486/0783990861
Kirundaf2@gmail.com
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