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.
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