KAMPALA —Miracle Center Cathedral lead Pastor Robert Kayanja has called upon all Ugandans to observe peace as the country goes through this election period.
While addressing the media yesterday at his church in Rubaga, Kayanja said peace is a gift that should be guarded jealously and there should be fairness as people ought to treat each other with utmost respect regardless of their political sentiments.
He said that one of the things he focuses on as a religious leader is peace and that is why he has been praying and fasting for peaceful elections in the nation since 28th September.
“I appeal to everyone to refrain from violence. Elections will be over but Uganda is our country and it will stay here. The sentiments about tribalism and racism are evil, we do not need to be violent to elect a president,” he said.
Kayanja called upon the opposition to hold their meetings without provoking the authorities because direct confronting to the authorities takes a bad image.
According to him, the opposition should tell the electorate their policies and not just fuel violence.
“The language while campaigning is also brutal. Our democracy might not be the best but it is incumbent upon us to make it better. I want to tell the youth that being violent does not take them anywhere. I advise them to take all their power, energy and anger to the ballot box,” he shared.
He believes that the Electoral Commission (EC) is the owner of this season and politicians have to adhere to their (EC) guidelines.
“Uganda is a growing democracy. We thank the EC for conducting these elections periodically every after the five years. Other countries never have this opportunity.”
Kayanja also commented on the maximum use of force by the security agencies and appealed to them to relax a bit because there are always other ways of handling situations.
“I love the police, I respect and value them a lot because without them we cannot be secure, they also know this. Police are trained and have many tactics to diffuse the riots. We shall have a conversation with them on how to act fairly. I believe we need to call out wrong where it is,” he shared.
The pastor condoled with the people who lost their loved ones in the recent riots and reaffirmed the dire need for peace to avoid a repetition of events.
“This should have been the most peaceful season. Our hearts go out to all those that lost their relatives in the scuffles and we are praying for you. We now appeal to everybody to go back on the drawing board and see if what they are doing is the right thing.”
His remarks come a few days after a video of him went viral on social media. In the video, Kayanja is heard pointing out how sometimes negotiation could be the answer to the ongoing political situation in the country rather than teargas and deaths that have been registered in recent weeks.
The video was however tampered with by a section of people who twisted it and doctored his message to make it seem like the pastor was hitting out and heavily blaming the police for the instability.
“The messages I made for all Ugandans to treat each other with the utmost respect and adhere to COVID-19 guidelines set by the ministry of health and to keep the peace through the general elections is unfortunately in some corners being used to disseminate a particular propaganda narrative,” revealed the Robert Kayanja Ministries pastor.
Kayanja further urged the people involved in such acts of doctoring videos that they share online to always take the message in its entirety because it is then that people will know what they are communicating.
“Do not slash the videos to suit your other motives because this turns out to be propaganda. Such messages fuel violence to prevail.”
