Lynching suspects should be fought
Sep 27, 2006
ORDINARY Ugandans should realise that they are not the police or courts of law and stop taking the law in their hands. When Jesus Christ came across an incident where an adulterous woman was brought to him by the Pharasees to test him all he had to say was, “Alright, stone her. <br>
Herbert Masaba
ORDINARY Ugandans should realise that they are not the police or courts of law and stop taking the law in their hands. When Jesus Christ came across an incident where an adulterous woman was brought to him by the Pharasees to test him all he had to say was, “Alright, stone her.
But let those who have never sinned throw the first stone.†This meant that all of us have sinned in one way or another and therefore we should not be quick to punish others before we have heard from them.
Last week I witnessed an incident near Crested Towers where a man was nabbed trying to steal parts of a vehicle. Boda-boda cyclists, taxi drivers and idlers descended on the ‘thief’ with bottles, sticks and broken glass. Within a few moments the man was breathing his last and he dropped dead as a result of extreme bleeding. When the police arrived at the scene, all those who had ‘administered’ justice ran away in different directions. This was an indication that they were guilty of murder.
I am not trying to condone theft but let us think before we take anybody’s life. Always remember that the blood shall be on your hands and surely your day will also come and death will painfully take you away.
If I had authority I would put in place the following measures to stop lynching:
Whoever is found stoning another would be made to sit on an electric chair as a lesson that killing other people is not the best method of solving issues.
I would also set up a special prison where those who participate in lynching would spend the rest of their lives.
I would also open up a school where people who lynched others would go and study about respecting human life. The curriculum would include counselling so that the inmates are rehabilitated psychologically to restore them to their right senses.
Every inmate would be given a Bible to read Matthew 7:12 which says, “Do for others what you would want them to do for you.†Whoever fails to read this verse at specified intervals would receive at least 50 strokes of the cane.
This way, we would rid this beautiful country of people who derive pleasure from stoning and hitting others at the slightest suspicion when themselves are not angels.
The writer is a student of Makerere University
ORDINARY Ugandans should realise that they are not the police or courts of law and stop taking the law in their hands. When Jesus Christ came across an incident where an adulterous woman was brought to him by the Pharasees to test him all he had to say was, “Alright, stone her.
But let those who have never sinned throw the first stone.†This meant that all of us have sinned in one way or another and therefore we should not be quick to punish others before we have heard from them.
Last week I witnessed an incident near Crested Towers where a man was nabbed trying to steal parts of a vehicle. Boda-boda cyclists, taxi drivers and idlers descended on the ‘thief’ with bottles, sticks and broken glass. Within a few moments the man was breathing his last and he dropped dead as a result of extreme bleeding. When the police arrived at the scene, all those who had ‘administered’ justice ran away in different directions. This was an indication that they were guilty of murder.
I am not trying to condone theft but let us think before we take anybody’s life. Always remember that the blood shall be on your hands and surely your day will also come and death will painfully take you away.
If I had authority I would put in place the following measures to stop lynching:
This way, we would rid this beautiful country of people who derive pleasure from stoning and hitting others at the slightest suspicion when themselves are not angels.
The writer is a student of Makerere University