Out of the experience of a barbaric and inhuman act in which a lot of blood was shed and many lives lost, should really be born a realisation that ultimately, we are as individuals, each other's keeper.

The calamity that befell our country on July 11 hurt all of us regardless of colour, nationality, gender, age, religion, and in the case of Ugandans, our tribes.

Apart from the same people who used to advise that if Uganda stopped supporting the self-determination of the people of Southern Sudan, Kony massacring of the people of northern Uganda would end, and are now saying we should not participate in the fight against terrorism, the overwhelming majority of Ugandans are standing together in the condemnation of terrorism.

The people of Sudan and Somalia have a right to live in peace and security in their countries without the fear of discrimination and domination. Those with sound minds know very well that our liberation as a continent was guided and driven by the determination of our patriots to end all evils that dehumanise us as a people.

In his Inaugural Speech as the first black president of South Africa on 9 May 1994 in Pretoria, Nelson Mandela told his fellow South Africans: "Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another…"

Mandela said the above after serving 27 years in prison for fighting the apartheid system which never recognised South African blacks as full people. It is out of this cognisance that Uganda hosted Umkhonto we Sizwe ("Spear of the Nation") who were part of the forces that ended Apartheid and finally liberated South Africa.

We in Uganda had been liberated from the dark period of Idi Amin by selfless forces of Tanzania under Mwalimu Julius Nyerere. This is the same Nyerere that liberated not only us but most of the Southern Africa. And as we know this is the same man that up to his death, he was working tirelessly to create East African Federation and to unite the whole of Africa.

The security of Africa is good for Uganda. Insecurity in one country affects the security of all the other neighbouring countries in the sense that citizens of the affected country inevitably end up becoming a burden on the neighbours as refugees. This is precisely why we have many refugees from the Sudan and from Somalia. It is only commonsense that pacifying those burdened countries means ridding us of the burden of hosting refugees.

But most importantly, many Ugandans believe that people have inalienable right to live in their countries in peace and helping them achieving that right is a responsibility of all civilised citizens of the world.

In our case as Ugandans, all that we should never lose sight of is taking our security for granted. We have enjoyed insecurity-free life for a long time that many Ugandans had until the terrorist attack on the evening of the World Cup final, forgotten the importance of security in our lives.

Terrorists are evil-hearted beings who kill indiscriminately. They kill innocent people. They kill children. Is it surprising that a member of the terrorist Al Shabab says the death and grieving of Ugandans gives him joy!

May the AL-Shabab celebration of our suffering and the terror and pain Kony has unleashed on the people of Uganda, help unite us against the enemies of our country and our people. This is about life and not politics. blog comments powered by Disqus

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