Prime
An eye for an eye has no place in a civilised society
What you need to know:
- An eye for an eye is a backward, primitive and shameful practice.
Let me begin upfront with a definition of the subject matter. “An eye for an eye” is Mosaic Law, or lex talionis in Latin, and is a commandment found in the Old Testament Book of Exodus chapter 21: 23-27, which expresses the principle of reciprocal justice, measure for measure.
Under Roman law of retaliation, a person who has injured another person would be penalised to a similar degree by the injured party. Criminals would get as punishment precisely those injuries and damages they had inflicted upon their victims.
It appears as if Sabalwanyi would like to drag Uganda backwards by imposing lex talionis on Ugandans like many unpalatable things he has imposed upon wananchi.
On September 27, at a public event held at Uganda High Court gardens in Kampala, Sabalwanyi renewed debate on two of his pet projects, namely his incessant demand that the constitutional right to bail should be abolished and secondly that capital punishment should mean hanging of convicted killers not life imprisonment.
According to a story published in Daily Monitor of September 28 titled, ‘Museveni, Dollo clash over bail’ Sabalwanyi argued rather unconvincingly at the fourth Ben Kiwanuka memorial lecture as follows:
“The other problem I am beginning to see is the issue of life imprisonment when someone has killed a person. The one you have killed is not on life imprisonment; he (or she) is dead. So for us, it’s an eye for an eye. It must be a life for a life. This is the way people understand justice in the villages.”
He added: “This is the way freedom fighters understand it.” Quite amazing, embarrassing, mindboggling and sickening!
Why an eye for an eye is wrong
As a Christian, I find the concept and practice of an eye for an eye obnoxious, outrageous and totally unacceptable. It’s contrary and diametrically opposed to Christian doctrine and especially to the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the Sermon on the Mount which some scholars argue is the equivalent of a keynote address, Jesus Christ makes the following remarks about reciprocal justice.
“You have heard that it was said, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. But now I tell you; do not take revenge on someone who wrongs you. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, let him slap you on the left cheek too. And if someone takes you to court to sue you for your shirt, let him have your coat as well.” Matthew 5: 38-40 (GNB).
Make no mistake, the new law Jesus gave in the Sermon on the Mount is neither surrender nor a sign of weakness because Scripture teaches us to leave revenge to God who has promised to pay back all who have wronged us, as Apostle Paul writes in Romans 12:17-21.
An eye for an eye is a backward, primitive and shameful practice which has absolutely no place whatsoever in a civilised, democratic and God-fearing country and the modern world. On the contrary, an eye for an eye will leave the world blind. It’s amazing, incredible and mindboggling that anybody would boast and brag openly about the virtues, if any, of reciprocal justice.
On the question of bail, Sabalwanyi met the NRM parliamentary caucus on September 28 and urged NRM MPs to support his proposal to deny bail to suspects of serious crimes such as murder. I am glad a majority of NRM MPs rejected his proposal.
I wish they had done so in 2017 when the age limit was removed. All MPs should stand firm and reject attempts to deny Ugandans the right to bail.
Mr Acemah is a political scientist and retired career diplomat.
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