Let’s learn to tolerate each other, Otafiire tells MPs
Otafiire said that regardless of their political persuasion, Ugandans share one country and have a common responsibility to serve it.
Water and environment minister Gen. (rtd) Kahinda Otafiire in Parliament presenting a statement on the performance of the Water and Environment sector for the financial year 2025/26. (Courtesy: X/@Parliament_Ug)
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Water and environment minister Gen. (rtd) Kahinda Otafiire has called on Ugandans to learn to tolerate one another despite their political differences, saying disagreement is a natural part of human relations and should be resolved without violence.
Speaking for the first time since the commencement of the 12th Parliament in May 2026, Otafiire said that regardless of their political persuasion, Ugandans share one country and have a common responsibility to serve it.
“Whatever shade of our political persuasion we have, we have one country and we must serve that country. We are in one country; we are in one political dispensation, and we must learn to tolerate each other. NRM, you are winners, and the whole mark of civilisation is that those who win are magnanimous in victory and those who don’t win respect the winners, but they have a right to be heard,” Otafiire told Parliament.
Otafiire was in Parliament on September 30, 2026, to present a statement on the performance of the Water and Environment sector for the financial year 2025/26.
He said disagreement should not be viewed as a problem in itself, arguing that the real challenge lies in how people resolve their differences.
“I always say that when you see two people living together, and they don't disagree for a month, it means one of them is a fool. Disagreement is not a problem, but how to resolve the contradiction is the problem. The whole mark of civilisation is how people resolve contradiction without violence,” he said.
The minister, who has served in Parliament for about four decades, also used military strategy to illustrate the importance of resolving conflicts before they escalate into confrontation.
“When you see a general who prefers violence as a means of resolving a conflict, then there is a problem,” Otafiire said.
He argued that the greatest generals are not necessarily those who win wars through the use of force, but those who are able to resolve conflicts without firing a shot.
“When that fails, you resort to diplomacy. It is only when it has been exhausted that you go to war. But even war should not be viewed as an end in itself, but as a means of achieving a peaceful resolution to a conflict. War should not be an end in itself, but you go in order to achieve the end state, which is the resolution of the conflict,” he said.
Turning to Uganda's political environment, Otafiire urged MPs from both the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) and the opposition to recognise that they are bound together by the same country.
Speaking from the NRM side of the House, Otafiire also urged the ruling party to exercise restraint in victory and allow the opposition space to express itself.
“NRM, you are winners, and the whole mark of civilisation is that those who win are magnanimous in victory and those who don't win respect the winners, but they have a right to be heard,” he said.
He described the opposition as an important reflection of the ruling side, saying those in power need criticism and alternative views to understand their own shortcomings.
“You never get to know how beautiful or ugly your face is until you look into the mirror. The opposition is our mirror reflection,” he said, pointing to the opposition benches.