Dialogue: The men of God cannot redeem Uganda

Just as jihadists and other Muslim fundamentalists read the Koran and often come out with weird interpretations, Pentecostals and other Christian fundamentalists also read the Bible and come out with astonishingly irrational interpretations.

And just as jihadist minorities make themselves conspicuous with very loud actions and tarnish the general image of Islam, Pentecostals who aggressively thrust their presence in everybody’s face and bombard everyone with their idea of redemption are killing Christianity by attracting uncritical masses and selling them a version of God that on scrutiny represents a neo-pagan (pre-Christian) deity.

The jihadist believes he is advancing the cause of Islam when he is undermining it, and the Pentecostal thinks he is enlarging the reach of Christianity when in fact his overbearing stance limits its long-term appeal.

Now, if there is a thread of truth in the rumours about the ADF and other rebel outfits in the region, elements of Islamic extremism have sought to influence Uganda’s political life using violence.

Alice Lakwena of the bizarre Holy Spirit Movement and Joseph Kony of the Lord’s Resistance Army, mixing biblical references and practices of the occult, also tried to force change with violence.

Those were outlaws, and their destructive agenda ended in futility. Their angels, or their demons, did not buy into their barbarism

Operating within the law, but intimidated by an authoritarian government that frequently reasserts the dubious constitutional clause that forbids religious leaders from getting involved in politics whenever any of them sounds critical, the current crop of Uganda’s clerics has never displayed the courage – or even the principles – to sustain pressure on the NRM regime that could significantly contribute to change or reform.

President Museveni understands their weakness very well, and he undermines their institutions further with financial gifts and cars, usually just after they have opened their mouths against his rule.

Watching and listening to these men, be they Anglican, Catholic or Muslim, after the gifts have been announced is like watching a spectacle of the pathetic.

As for the Pentecostal leaders, many of them think that a ruler other than Mr Museveni would not give so much space to their anarchic ways. It is, therefore, natural that the demons that torment rulers who are imprisoned in unending power are not among the evil spirits that the Pentecostals exorcise.

It is on Pentecostal radio stations where I hear the President’s propagandists babbling that Gen Yoweri Museveni should overthrow President Yoweri Museveni’s government and establish a more decent government.

Ugandans generally greatly respect the men of God, which is all right. The problem is that they also take them seriously. Like the Zimbabweans, many Ugandans actually believe that prayers and divine intervention can save their nation, and that a frame of national dialogue where religious leaders have a big role would pump a measure of humility into the formed and ossified hearts of the ruling elite.

My understanding is that a pop singer who does not pretend to be an angel can drill more sense into those hearts than a bunch of bishops sitting with several Ogoolas and other glorified dreamers.
Of course the clerics would cherish any moments of fame, and there is no merchant who buys time who pays higher prices than Mr Museveni. Buying a couple of years with the blessing of bishops is worth some serious cash. But come 2020/21 AD, and a Uganda ‘dialogued’ by churchmen will probably be even more repressive than the Uganda Alice Lakwena and Joseph Kony fought with guns, machetes and black magic.