Peace Service Ambassador Milton Kambula has appealed to Ugandans to end radicalization and extremism, which can lead to the killing of innocent people who are ready to die for what they believe in. He made this appeal while commemorating Martyrs’ Day in Namugongo, a day dedicated to remembering Ugandans who were killed for their beliefs.
“The leaders all over Africa felt that the African civilization, which is more than 10,000 years old, was under threat by the other civilization that came with the foreign religions, with the introduction of the Bible and the Koran,” Amb. Kambula said. “The African civilization, which is the oldest civilization in the world, was confronted by a new civilization that came with a different belief system, which led to a clash of civilizations.”
Amb. Kambula, a strong Pan-Africanist, explained that the clash of civilizations and failure to create room for co-existence led to the creation of martyrs. He noted that African civilization was threatened by foreign religions, including Christianity and Islam, which were introduced through the Bible and the Koran. This led to a clash between the two civilizations, resulting in radicalization and extremism.
“The foreign religious leaders, the missionaries, the sheikhs, that came with a strategy of demonizing everything that is African caused kingdoms to radically resist by killing those that believed in foreign religions,” Kambula said. “The missionaries and sheikhs came with a superior attitude, thinking that their religion was superior to the African traditional religions, which led to a clash.”
Kambula stressed the need for religious leaders to assure cultural leaders that they mean no harm to their faith, traditions, and cultural norms. “The foreign religious missionaries needed to give assurance to the cultural leaders that they were never a threat to their faith, traditions, cultural norms, and design a better strategy for co-existence,” he said. “There was a need for dialogue between the cultural leaders and the religious leaders to find room for co-existence, respecting each other as they deliver religious and cultural freedoms.”
He warned that failure to harmonize beliefs may lead to more martyrs in politics, business, and family, among others. “The way we are building our nation is that we have transferred that mentality of ‘Us versus Them’, killing the potential of nation-building,” Kambula emphasized. “We are developing policies, businesses, government structures that favor one group against the other, yet in the modern world, we got to have a hybrid of win-win to avoid identity-based conflicts.”
The ambassador encouraged Ugandans to stop identity-based conflicts and build a united nation with transformed mindsets and attitudes towards traditional kingdoms and religious systems. “What can take us to another level is building a nation of united people with transformed mindsets and attitudes towards traditional kingdoms and religious systems,” he said. “We need to build a nation that is united, a nation that is transformed, a nation that is prosperous, and a nation that is at peace with itself.”
He urged the youth to grow beyond these mistakes and build a new nation that can become a light for Africa’s integration and prosperity. “The youth should grow beyond these mistakes and build a new nation that can become a light to the realization of Africa’s integration and prosperity,” Kambula said. “The youth should take a leading role in building a nation that is united, a nation that is transformed, and a nation that is prosperous.”
