'Tribe, religion fuelling district formation'
THE creation of new districts threatens to take Uganda into political unrest, Maj. Gen. Kahinda Otafiire has warned.<br>The demand for the districts, he added, was being driven by tribal and religious sectarianism.
By Raymond Baguma
THE creation of new districts threatens to take Uganda into political unrest, Maj. Gen. Kahinda Otafiire has warned.
The demand for the districts, he added, was being driven by tribal and religious sectarianism.
Otafiire, who is the Minister for local Government, cited the case of Sigulu Islands in Mayuge district where locals want to secede arguing that they speck a different dialect from Lusoga.
“Are we going to have family districts? We are slowly sliding back to problems that caused Uganda’s past wars. If this does not stop, we are going down the drain,†he said during a meeting between ministers and MPs and the African Peer Review Mechanism team at Sheraton Hotel in Kampala on Friday. The team is in Uganda to evaluate the country’s peer review report.
Otafiire said when leaders breakdown state structures to create small units, people begin to distinguish each other on the basis of clan, tribe and religion. “On the surface, creation of districts is popular, but we are going back to districts of Bagungu as opposed to Banyoro and creation of districts of Protestants as opposed to Catholics. That is why I am fighting minute districts.â€
He cited Tanzania whose nationbuilding process has been uninterrupted because the leaders were mindful of advancing nation interests ahead of personal desires.
“What is happening in Kenya, I can see it coming to Uganda. Cheating elections cannot be theof the violence in Kenya,†he said.
“Sectarianism evokes emotions beyond the understanding of mankind and that is why neighbours cut each other because they speak a different language. If we are becoming Banyankore and Bagisu, where are the Ugandans?†he asked.
THE creation of new districts threatens to take Uganda into political unrest, Maj. Gen. Kahinda Otafiire has warned.
The demand for the districts, he added, was being driven by tribal and religious sectarianism.
Otafiire, who is the Minister for local Government, cited the case of Sigulu Islands in Mayuge district where locals want to secede arguing that they speck a different dialect from Lusoga.
“Are we going to have family districts? We are slowly sliding back to problems that caused Uganda’s past wars. If this does not stop, we are going down the drain,†he said during a meeting between ministers and MPs and the African Peer Review Mechanism team at Sheraton Hotel in Kampala on Friday. The team is in Uganda to evaluate the country’s peer review report.
Otafiire said when leaders breakdown state structures to create small units, people begin to distinguish each other on the basis of clan, tribe and religion. “On the surface, creation of districts is popular, but we are going back to districts of Bagungu as opposed to Banyoro and creation of districts of Protestants as opposed to Catholics. That is why I am fighting minute districts.â€
He cited Tanzania whose nationbuilding process has been uninterrupted because the leaders were mindful of advancing nation interests ahead of personal desires.
“What is happening in Kenya, I can see it coming to Uganda. Cheating elections cannot be the
“Sectarianism evokes emotions beyond the understanding of mankind and that is why neighbours cut each other because they speak a different language. If we are becoming Banyankore and Bagisu, where are the Ugandans?†he asked.