It is time for National truth telling national reconciliation

By Michael Aboneka Jr

We have hurt others and been hurt by many and there has not been an opportunity to confront the past to tell the truth, apologize and reconcile. There have been lingering undertones of anger and depression based on actions and inactions of some over the others. We have had incidents of flaring tribal sentiments unfortunately fanned by the so-called comedians who have now made it a habit to tribalize everything under the watch of our children.

We have had incidents of loss of life, property, dignity, and recently gruesome torture where the perpetrators glory in the acts and are not remorseful at all and many Ugandans have not healed. As a country, we need to be honest to each other, look into each other’s eyes and speak truth to what hurts us and have the other party respond by apologizing and making amends for the wrongs. There were efforts for the national dialogue which has never materialized, but these efforts should be revived into an honest national truth telling and reconciliation. Truth-telling gives priority to victims to provide accounts of their experiences in a bid to restore their dignity. It also contributes to achieving reconciliation amongst communities, between parties especially where power is imbalanced. Uganda needs healing and the leaders must take this as priority and facilitate the process, for it is not too late to have this.

God calls us to forgive each other and Uganda, whose motto is For God and my Country, should surely take the lead. We need to seek forgiveness from each other and then from God so that our land is healed and that everyone commits not to make the same mistakes again. The death of Jacob Oulanyah, the former speaker has united Ugandans regardless of their tribal, religion, social lines and we must continue with this as a tribute to him. National truth telling and reconciliation will be the only living tribute we can give to the fallen hero. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why we should worry about the growing inequality in Uganda

by Michael Aboneka   Uganda continues to grapple with worrying inequalities and regional imbalances.  According to World Bank (2022), half of the population was moderately food insecure and the poorest households were unable to buy food products in the desired amounts. This means that half of our population is a hungry one which can do anything for survival.  In 2021 the Ministry of Finance reported that 28% of Ugandans were poor increasing from 18% prior to COVID-19 era with about two thirds of Uganda losing income and the economy and business still staggers while the gap between the poor and rich widens further because the poor and less privileged are affected adversely proving that  Uganda’s growth is not inclusive. Recently; I saw a number of colleagues expressing their disappointment after some young men stole side mirrors of their cars in broad day light in Kampala and they were left helpless; they couldn’t even run after the thieves. The same state of hopelessness is true to maj
Read more

The US Africa-summit: What is in it for Uganda?

  By Michael Aboneka The US Africa summit, the first of its kind for eight years, following the end of the era of Donald Trump and his America first policy, just concluded. With US President, Joe Biden, deliberately playing a different tune from his predecessor Donald Trump. His was indeed a courting ode, with a promise that the US is "All in on Africa's future”. Even more endearing was the declaration that “Africa belongs at the table in every room — in every room where global challenges are being discussed and in every institution where discussions are taking place” that accompanied the promise that US will support African Union joining the G20 group of large economies as a permanent member.  Biden announced $2 billion in humanitarian aid for Africa to address acute food insecurity, with emphasis that Africa has potential to feed itself and the world and a joke that he, like a poor relative, will visit Africa and spend a long time there. The cheery tone and overt support fro
Read more

The Computer Misuse (Amendment) Bill 2022 cures no mischief

  By Michael Aboneka Jr Hon. Muhammad Nsereko sought leave of Parliament to table an amendment bill to the Computer Misuse Act in February 2022 and has now tabled the bill on the floor of Parliament. In my view, there is nothing new that the new law is seeking to cure and I am waiting to read the Regulatory impact assessment and the justifications thereof beyond public debates.  From the proposed long title of the bill, objectives and the clause on defects in existing law, it is not clear and specific enough of what mischief the bill intends to cure. The amendment seeks to largely protect the right to privacy, prohibition of unlawful access to data and spreading of false information which are already protected by existing legal frameworks such as the Constitution, Children Act, the Human Rights Enforcement Act 2019, Penal Code Act, Data protection and privacy Act 2019 among others. All these provide layers of protection that the bill seeks to do and by large, the amendment will only du
Read more