Uganda, since the colonial days, has grappled, helplessly, with a barbaric and ferocious vice of ethnic and religious sectarianism, often shoved down our spines, by selfish and evidently, incompetent leaders, mostly, in the political arena.
Our history, shaped by the deep-seated mischiefs, stemming from sectarian tendencies, serves as a vital lesson. It reminds us to learn from our past and to move beyond these harmful and anti-people flaws.
The divide and rule strategy employed by the British Colonial administration was significantly reinforced by scriptures that manipulated sentiments, ultimately pitting people of the same heritage against one another, all in the name of newfound “light” and new gifts such as mirrors, that Chiefs had never seen. This manipulation set the stage for the notorious religious wars that ushered in a reign of terror.
In 1888, following their victory over the Christians, the Muslims appointed their own Kabaka, Kalema, who embraced Islam and adopted the name Nuhu.
He took bold steps to establish Islam as the official state religion, mandating circumcision for all Baganda males and enforcing adherence to Sharia law. In a pivotal letter to Sultan Seyyid written upon his ascension to the throne in December 1888, Kalema declared “I am now the King of Buganda and Muslim.
I believe in Allah and his prophet Mohammed and I always thank God for that. Please send me your flag, Islamic books, teachers and arms and ammunition to convert the infidels”
In Ankole, Omugabe Kahaya was made to sign a pledge that in which he swore that all Banyankore should be Protestants. He also swore to protest the presence of the Roman Catholic teachers and agents in his Kingdom.
In 1910, at the dawn of the 20th century, King Daudi Chwa of Buganda received an invitation to travel to Britain. However, a significant dispute arose concerning the choice of Prince David Musanje as the translator for the royal entourage. Sir Apollo Kaggwa, the Prime Minister of Buganda, strongly opposed Musanje’s involvement for being a Catholic.
More recently, the vice of religious radicalization led to the birth of the notorious Holy Spirit Movement by Lakwena and the Lord’s Resistance Army by Josph Kony that caused untold suffering and wanton blood shed in the Northen Uganda.
Why am I giving all these ugly references? It is simply because, like Tallyrand wrote, referring to the Bourbons (the rulers of France), many politicians, because of greed for power and positions, have learned nothing and forgot nothing.
Hon Mary Paula Turyahikayo, a former Woman Member of Parliament representative for Rubabo County, Rukungiri District, who lost miserably in an election of 2021-2026, has since revisited and revised the notes of the above sectarian leaders and she is currently attempting to implement them, one by one, this time round using the Catholic church in Rukungiri District.
As you will see in the attached copy of the minutes of a meeting she convened on November 11, 2024, as the Chairperson of Peace and Justice in Rukungiri, Mary Paula, in her opening remarks, lamented about the absence of a Catholic Member of Parliament in the entire Rukungiri District.
According to her, the Catholic Church, in the entire district, is desperately looking up to her as its sole beacon of hope for survival, and continuity, adding that, most Catholics should be made aware of their political position through mass sermons in their respective parishes.
As if that was not enough damage, Mary Paula, boasting of her position on the committee of church laity, and her “proximity” with the Rt. Rev. Callist Rubaramira of Bishop of Kabale Diocese, made it clear that she would not hesitate to get rid of any parish priest in the district who will not align with her mission.
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