We speak love and act with hate
What you need to know:
It is the love and kindness that you extend to others daily that matters. The events that made St. Valentines stand out are of relevance to the contemporary Uganda
A country so beautiful but poorly managed. Oh Uganda! May God Uphold Thee. Top talking points have been the Uganda-Rwanda border reopening, torture and the free comedy drama on the blue app proudly sponsored by the first son.
We pretend so much that we preach drinking water reasoning that it is good for our health but drink wine arguing it has a good scent. We are in animal farm. Our leaders pretend to care about us while not. With Pretence they have purported to widen the definition of grandchildren to include us, but their actions exclude us. Our “leaders” speak against torture for public gallery but empower those that torture and take pride in vengeance. Those that promote vengeance and those that avenge directly or indirectly cannot be noble men and women.
We speak love and act with hate. Some have advanced to glorifying liars and defending passionately the acts of hate driven by selfish dictates of day-to-day meal and survival. Many speak without listening to themselves. Prof. Dr. G.W Kanyeihamba captures the state of lies at page 85 of his book, The Defeat of President Museveni, quoting him verbatim he wrote “When I was a small boy lying was a vice but under the NRM party it is a virtue”. I have even learnt that there are those paid to shower particular officials with praises and therefore lying and defending their jiggery-pokery becomes an extension service. You cannot pretend to love those you torture. The Best way to show love is to apologize and end the impunity.
This week is particularly interesting. February 14 is a day that is not shy of controversy since time immemorial having been a fertility festival called the Lupercalia. It has since outgrown its original purpose since it was declared the day of love by Pope Gelasius in about 496 AD. It is a day to show love but not pretending about it therefore, donning red and black colours, sending flowers, posting on social media, gifts or expecting any of the above is just symbolic.
It is the love and kindness that you extend to others daily that matters. The events that made St. Valentines stand out are of relevance to the contemporary Uganda. He was a roman priest and physician and now the patron saint of lovers, epileptics and beekeepers. He was killed in the reign of persecution of Christians by Emperor Claudius II Gothicus. There are two Legends, one that he healed his jailer’s daughter from blindness and another that he defied the Emperor as he went on to secretly marry off couples to spare husbands from war.
In the contemporary Uganda, we have a Claudius II, politically persecuting Ugandans directly or indirectly through those that derive authority from him, jailing some, torturing many and all other associated horrors. Therefore, House of Claudius II cannot be your Valentine not when they present love with rib breaking tools, physical and psychological wounds to say that they love you.
You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? St. Paul’s letter to Galatians 3.
We have gone straight to pretend to celebrate Archbishop Janani Luwum, many are excited February 16 is public holiday, but the devil is in the detail. It is alleged that he was assassinated on orders of Idi Amin after the protest note to Amin about arbitrary killings and unexplained disappearance. Charged with treason, he was paraded with two others on a rally to read out confessions that linked them to the exiled former President Obote.
It is alleged he was tortured by the army in an army barracks before his eventual death. The government account was he was involved in a car accident. Tell me the difference with the contemporary Uganda.
The silence of some of the clergy on the contemporary Uganda in contrast with the clergy then has been overly written about, perhaps history has taught them lessons on self-preservation and silence as a virtue of being a good shepherd. But when it comes to the executive and the army, the guards and the ranks changed but they maintained their operational methods. We pretend that things changed.
The current “leaders” have continued to pretend and mock the courageous actions of great people like Bp. Janani, Benedicto Kiwanuka, etc. They must be turning in their graves with disgust. Celebrating a person and doing what they stood against in life is disrespect of the highest order. It is uncivilized, uncultured, unreligious and immoral.
Ivan Bwowe, [email protected]
