ADF scars still haunt Rwenzori
"Thirty years after the ADF invasion of the Rwenzori region, the scars remain, particularly among communities affected by attacks on schools and the abduction of seminarians," writes Rev. Fr. Luke Muhindo
Rev. Fr. Luke Muhindo. (File)
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OPINION
By Rev. Fr. Luke Muhindo
There are days people never forget. Likewise, there are wounds which, though covered by the passing of years, remain tender beneath the skin of memory. On November 11, 1996, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) invaded Uganda through the border villages of Mpondwe and Kasese from the DR Congo. This tragedy struck when candidates for the Uganda Certificate of Education and Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) were sitting their final exams. Precisely, November 11 was the day for the first practical exam.
The insurgency affected schools and ended many students’ academic journeys. The horrific attack and abduction of the innocent young seminarians of St John’s Minor Seminary and the loss of life of some of the abductees remain among the most painful memories of the ADF tragedy.
Young men, whose days should have been filled with books, prayer, friendship, and dreams of serving God and humanity, instead encountered terror. Schools are places of hope because they prepare young people to become teachers, doctors, engineers, farmers, entrepreneurs, public servants, religious leaders and responsible parents. This is the damage caused by ADF to the Rwenzori community.
Thirty years on, many questions about the ADF’s ideology, motives, origins and funding sources remain hard to fully comprehend. This article is not meant to answer these questions. It is only a reflection that triggers memories, offers personal opinion on lessons history leaves for the present generation, and invites contributions to the discussion.
There is scholarship into the ADF question by several organisations, including the UN Security Council, the Parliament of Uganda, the USA Department of State, and different scholars. They, however, have revealed that ADF is a result of extremism and radicalisation. Titeca and Vlassenroot, for example, in 2012 issued an extensive report about the ADF as “Rebels without Borders in the Rwenzori borderland”. According to their report, the ADF emerged through an alliance involving elements of Uganda’s Tabliq Islamic movement and remnants of NALU.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime defines extremism as supporting or using unlawful violence to achieve political, religious, or ideological objectives. Radicalisation is the psychological or social process by which an individual or group adopts extreme political, social, or religious beliefs and ideas.
Questions to ponder about radicalisation and extremism:
Why do some young people become vulnerable to extremist recruitment?
What role do poverty, unemployment, exclusion, injustice, misinformation, political manipulation, family breakdown, social isolation, and lack of opportunity play?
How do extremist networks exploit religious language and legitimate grievances?
What can schools, families and religious institutions do before radicalisation takes hold?
This is why extremism and radicalisation must be treated as serious social and ideological diseases and must be confronted before spreading.
Everyone must be a stakeholder in this undertaking; in particular, Parents, teachers, religious leaders, cultural leaders, government institutions, civil society, and communities all have a role to play. In particular, the Ministry of Education needs to pay close attention to changes in the curriculum, civic studies, and religious studies. However, there has to be a proper distinction between teaching the academic study of religions as opposed to teaching religion as an expression of faith.
The academic study of religion seeks to develop knowledge, whereas teaching religion expresses faith. This distinction provides an important foundation for rethinking the place of Religious Studies in the education system. Religious programs such as religion and mental health, Bible and Qur’an knowledge, Religious Fundamentalism, the UN global agenda on religion, Contemporary Issues in religion, including pluralism, cults and movements, Global Ethics and religion, among others, need to be understood in a scholarly way. These are some of the ways to curb the rise of extremism and radicalisation.
One of the most important lessons we must teach the younger generation is that extremism and radicalism should never be confused with faith alone. No faith should be blamed for the crimes of extremists, just as no community should be collectively condemned because individuals within or around it embrace violence.
Radicalism and extremism of any kind, and in the name of any faith or ideology, must be rejected. We have witnessed several examples of radicalisation from all around the world. Currently, we are following news in Mombasa, Kenya, of a cult under Christianity that has claimed more than 190 lives through starvation, in the name of waiting to go to heaven: the famous Shakahola massacre under the self-styled pastor McKenzie.
Just a few days ago, we followed the news of a 24-year-old man, Polish by Nationality, who killed six people and wounded many with conviction of far-right ideology. Meanwhile in Dublin, Ireland, a young Irish man, just two weeks ago killed a police officer and burnt property in the guise of defending Prophet Mohamed who he felt has been abused. Who in Uganda will not remember the famous Kibwetere massacre incident of the year 2000?
On this thirtieth anniversary, we must also acknowledge the government’s responsibility to protect its people. The Government of Uganda deserves commendation for its continuing efforts to confront terrorism and protect the country from violent extremist threats. We all must also confront the ideas, grievances, vulnerabilities, and social conditions that allow extremism to take root.
The writer is a PhD candidate in comparative religion at the University of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania