History shows that religious leaders step forward as representatives of voiceless people when political, economic and social conditions become hard. Parish priests who live and work among the people understand their suffering very well. The priests of Uganda are no exception. During the Christmas sermons in 2011, religious leaders throughout the nation spoke out against the suffering of the majority of their flocks. They pledged to speak out in the following years until human conditions improved. The public welcomed this resolution and is waiting to hear their voices that haven’t been loud enough thus far.
During medieval Europe, there was much suffering of serfs or peasants. Priests led in the struggle to liberate them. Priest John Ball together with peasant Wat Tyler led the English peasant revolt in 1381. The authorities were forced to cancel the poll tax.
During the colonization of Latin America, there was too much suffering of indigenous people. Priest de Las Casas stepped forward and protested on their behalf. During the French Revolution parish priest Abe Sieyes wrote and spoke on behalf of the Third Estate that represented the commoners who had been exploited and blocked in their efforts to progress for a long time. In Russia priest Gapon led the suffering urban population in St Petersburg into a protest demanding improvements in their condition.
Priests played crucial roles in decolonization struggle including in Mexico, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Rev. Ndabaningi Sithole was among the liberation leaders in Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. Archbishop Desmond Tutu worked tirelessly under very difficult conditions to change the course of history in South Africa. He even called for imposition of economic sanctions to bring the apartheid regime to its knees. For all his efforts he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In the Philippines Cardinal Sin mobilized the masses, diffused a political bomb and forced Ferdinand Marcos into exile and saved democracy.
In Latin America, the 1970s and 1980s were dominated by military governments that governed ruthlessly and caused too much suffering. In many of these countries, religious leaders led protests and demonstrations ultimately forcing military leaders to withdraw in favor of civilian governments. Aristide of Haiti was a parish priest and became a politician representing the interests of downtrodden masses. He rose to the position of president in that country.
During implementation of painful structural adjustment program (SAP), many religious leaders and faith-based organizations got involved in trying to ease the pain. Pastoral letters were sent to political leaders. Religious leaders participated in rallies and demonstrations forcing governments to make changes including abandoning the program altogether.
Romania was the only country in Eastern Europe that resisted peaceful 1989 Revolution. Lazlo Tokes a Protestant clergyman became champion in the revolution. He rejected government orders to be deported. Efforts to arrest him precipitated demonstrations in Timosoara town where he resided and spread to Bucharest the capital city, resulting in the defeat of Nicolae Ceausescu and the establishment of a new government.
In Uganda, priests are known to have played crucial roles in political, economic and social development. Catholic priests helped in the formation of the Democratic Party (DP) in response to the formation of the Protestant based Progressive Party (PP). During the brutal rule of Amin religious leaders protested resulting in the death of Archbishop Luwum and fleeing into exile of many others from where they mobilized for the overthrow of the regime. Religious leaders from all faiths participated in the resistance that brought Museveni to the presidency in 1986 and even pleaded that the NRM government be extended for another five years beyond December 1990 on the understanding that that extension would help prepare for free and fair multi-party elections.
Uganda has entered a stage where mental and physical suffering has reached unbelievable levels including the president’s remarks that Members of Parliament as well as the general public are idiots and fools; bankrupt and empty tins sparked in part by questions about the mysterious circumstances in which a twenty four year old Member of Parliament died and the sorry story about a pregnant woman who died at Mulago Hospital in the final days of 2012. This level of decadence is sufficient to trigger the leadership of all religious leaders and their flocks to come forward and demand that things get better or else. We call on the development partners that cherish democracy, good governance and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms to condemn what is happening in Uganda and abusive language by the president and take appropriate action to help launch a new development path.
Uganda and the entire international community are waiting for Uganda’s religious leadership to embark on a crusade to arrest and reverse the sad political, economic and social trajectory under the NRM leadership. The argument put forward by Museveni that religious leaders can’t participate in politics is false and should be rejected out of hand because politics can’t be separated from other areas of human endeavor.