Tribalising death is dangerous; rest in peace Oulanyah

In my eternal posturing as a man seeking knowledge, I have had difficulty in understanding the deification of Jesus Christ. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the basis of Christian instruction. Yet there is no resurrection without death. And there is no death without flesh and blood (the primary component of the human person and other fauna).

Indeed most religions treat death as the final destination of life. Even in the non-coded African belief values, life and death are treated as two sides of the same coin. And it is not uncommon that the dead may interfere (via intervention and or intercession) in the affairs of the living.

In Islam, we seek God’s indulgence to treat the dead with kind hands and forgive their transgressions in the here-now. There too is Swadak t’ul Jaria, a charitable act done by the living whose thwawab (blessings) are credited to the dead. Islam, which holds a stronger disposition to the concept of pre-destination, treats death (and life) as a preserve of the Almighty God. Whether someone was killed by gun bullets, poisoned or other…, Islam orders to say: It is God who gives and it is God who takes away. God knows better.

Why then is there this suspicion about deaths and their causes? Would it make any difference, in the sight of God, if one were killed by a bullet, by witchcraft or by poison? Why were some people suspicious that Dr Cyprian Kizito Lwanga, the ssabasumba (archbishop) of Kampala Archdiocese may have died of unnatural causes? What is natural (and what is not) in the path leading to the final destination?

The Catholic Church hierarchy in Uganda had stated the probable causes of death of the late Archbishop Kizito Lwanga; and his personal doctor, the head of the Catholic Church’s top medical facility in the country, had confirmed the probable cause of the death. Why then was there suspicion?

After the death of Kizito Lwanga, politicians from Buganda offered a posse of national leaders whose deaths were projected as suspicious. There is no need to re-issue the names here; but questioning fingers were pointed in the direction of the government. In short, the government was portrayed as one of the suspects in the suspicious deaths of prominent Baganda national leaders.

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The right honourable Jacob L’Okori Oulanyah, former Speaker of Parliament of Uganda, died recently in a US medical facility. In the vortex of grief, community leaders have vented their pent up frustration associated with mourning a loved one. Fingers (carrying an accusatory element) are being pointed at the government to provide answers for what is now projected as an unnatural death.

And needless to say, the deaths of a number of prominent Acholi national leaders have been brought into the mix to project a community under siege. In a moment of fragile emotional disposition, my people (Bakonzo) allow that; for death is such an emotional sucker.

Yet this is the time for moral and emotional fortitude. A death involving a national leader from this or that community would require community leaders to project leadership. Finger pointing may inflame community emotions. National leadership requires that one links the opportunities and challenges in his or her community with the opportunities and challenges in other communities.

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But as Ugandans always ask: how did we get here? Why is the State held in perpetual suspicion? What other answers can the State give save for a post-mortem? What if the post-mortem says there was no foul play?

We come to mourn Jacob L’Okori Oulanyah; yet praise God for the gift of life accorded Jacob. Rest In Peace Jacob.

Mr Bisiika is the executive editor of the East African Flagpost. [email protected]