MICHAEL ABONEKA: We must end the culture of intolerance

One of the facets of a democracy is the space to express freely one’s opinions without for fear of reprimand. When a society must develop, different sheds of opinion are part of the story. Debates, arguments and counter arguments are healthy for any setting-be it at family or office or any form of organizing. Where you have a leader who does not allow debate to blossom, the rest are suffocated and they will withdraw which is also bad for progress.

In Uganda, the culture of intolerance continues to grow in all spheres of life unabated. We are becoming more intolerant day by day, stemming from our leaders who choose to treat divergent opinions about their decisions and behaviors as an attack on their life and therefore they will unleash all manner of arsenal in retaliation. A leader is expected to have some level of thick skin because they are prone to public scrutiny which may not always come in the manner they wish-it is not always praises; there are some days when the citizens are speaking truth to power which may rub them a wrong way-but in return, the leader must handle this in a more responsive way.

As Ugandans, we are becoming more intolerant to each other every day, a thing that is not good for national cohesion. From the Political, social, ethnical to religious spheres-a great deal of intolerance is exhibited. People have accumulated anger which they have in turn decided to unleash against others-some claim they are doing it on behalf of others-for example, if you want to test the first line of intolerance, dare say something critical about some opposition leader or some upcoming King; you will be bombarded with all sorts and manner of attack from all the camps and one wonders where all this anger comes from. The same goes for religion or tribe, if you dare say something, however truthful it may be, the amount of insults you will get is unbelievable especially when they come from the so called “believers.” I have further witnessed attacks based on ones’ tribe and family background and many have suffered abuse, attacks simply because they belong somewhere.

We cannot talk of national cohesion when we cannot tolerate each other-for this will be fetching water in a basket. Building a national consensus demands that we see each other as equals (even when some may find this difficult) and that we all humans in an ecosystem that needs each other. As long as we do not respect humanity as a bare minimum, all efforts towards nation building will be futile. The leaders in all spheres; Religious leaders, Politicians, cultural heads, have a higher duty to foster environments that promote tolerance and therefore they should do more; we should be uniting our people more than tearing them apart! Let us do whatever we can to build a culture of tolerance at all levels of community-this will promote a sense of safety for every one thus paving way for collective efforts in building national cohesion.

Michael Aboneka
Partner: Thomas & Michael Advocates| Director: Envirogreen Trust Ltd| Vice President-Young African Activists Network (YAAN)| Member: Pan-African Lawyers Union, International Society of Public Law & World Youth Alliance|