According to Kaziimba, elected leaders are important in any country’s governance and Christians are called upon to exercise their electoral responsibilities of voting and making their voices heard in the public square. He, however, hastened to add there is need to recognize that politicians are not worth dying for.
The Archbishop of the Church of Uganda,
the Most Rev. Dr. Stephen Samuel Kaziimba has cautioned Ugandans not to put
their lives on the line for politicians ahead of the 2021 election.
This was part of his message to Christians at the Church of Uganda
Provincial Secretariat at Namirembe ahead of this year’s Christmas next week.
“We
are also facing elections in less than a month. And, we also seem to be
fighting one another. We need a truce. The fighting and violence need to
stop. As important as elections are, politics is not our salvation. Only Jesus
is our salvation. His name literally means “Saviour” and he is the only one who
can save us,” he said.
Adding that, “This is why I have said over and over that we need a
holistic conversion of our head, heart, and hands. Only this holistic
conversion will bring us “Life in its Fullness,” which will be our theme for
next year.”
According to Kaziimba, elected leaders are important in any
country’s governance and Christians are called upon to exercise their electoral
responsibilities of voting and making their voices heard in the public square.
He, however, hastened to add there is need to recognize that politicians
are not worth dying for. He noted that it’s only Jesus who is worth following
to the point of death.
//Cue in: “it’s important to…
Cue out:…point of death.”//
Kaziimba said that as religious leaders, they have already met with the
Electoral Commission (EC), Police and several political candidates and urged them
to exercise restraint and promote the values of civility and respect in the way
campaigns are handled.
He asked Ugandans not to be manipulated by the shallow promises of politicians
or to get overly excited by campaigns or expect a human politician to be their
personal Savior.
English
//Cue in: “study the issues…
Cue out:…less than that.”//
Luganda
//Cue in: “nsaba mutegele nti…
Cue out:…kyebatekeddwa okukola.”//
The 2021 general election campaigns kicked off on November 9 and are
expected to close on January 12, 2021, ahead of the elections on January 14,
2020. Uganda has witnessed violence and brutality over the past one of the
presidential campaigns relating to the enforcement of COVID-19 guidelines and
Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
The National Unity Platform-NUP, presidential candidate, Robert
Kyagulanyi Ssentamu and his Forum for Democratic Change-FDC counterpart, Patrick
Amuriat Oboi have been sprayed with tear gas or even arrested after by police
in various places in the country during their campaign trail.
The Archbishop announced that the Church of Uganda theme for the year
2021 shall be “Life in its Fullness” derived from John 10.10, which says, “I
have come that they might have life and have it to the full.”
“In 2020 we have
seen what happens when we let sin-sick hearts be in charge; when we are stuck
in old mindsets that can’t respond to the new challenges before us; when we
neglect to do the right thing for the public health of everyone around us.
That’s why in 2021 we will emphasize this theme of “Life in its Fullness,” he
said.
