{UAH} Agaba’s death and the darkness of spirit in the land - Daily Monitor

http://www.monitor.co.ug/OpEd/columnists/MuniiniMulera/Agabas-death--darkness--spirit--land/878676-3484048-b99kpvz/index.html

Agaba's death and the darkness of spirit in the land - Daily Monitor

Dear Tingasiga:
The death of George Agaba in a horrific motor accident on Saturday was a terrible tragedy for two reasons.

First the loss of life, especially of a young person, is always heart breaking for the family, friends and the community.

A life cut so soon deprives the deceased of the opportunity to enjoy his allotted three score and 10 before flying away.

Second, Agaba's accidental death has unleashed a torrent of celebration by many Ugandans who consider it divine retribution against a man whom they consider a poster boy for entrenched impunity.
Celebration of a persons' death reveals a darkness of spirit that is very un-African, one that decants our old tradition of making instant peace with the dead.

It goes against the universal self-constraint that is imposed by obuntu (humaneness), engaging brakes that check raw emotions and desire for revenge when the perceived enemy has been rendered harmless by death or incapacitation.
Obviously, this delight at the death of a person is not unique to Uganda or Africa. For example, many Americans celebrated the death of Osama bin Laden on May 2, 2011.

Though killing Osama was arguably justifiable, celebrating his death reflected descent into the very darkness that he had inhabited.

This dark celebration was also directed at Dr Violet Kajubiri, a passenger in the doomed vehicle who sustained serious injuries.

Many people openly prayed for her death because she is President Museveni's sister. To the haters, this good and gentle Christian woman is guilty of sharing DNA with the President. Nothing else.

It is even more tragic when people who profess to be Christians celebrate the death or injury of any person. Judging from the baptismal names of those who expressed glee on social media, the majority subscribe to one or other sect of the Christian faith.

Yet the Bible is unequivocal about the expected behaviour of a Christian in the face of an adversary's misfortune. Proverbs 24:17 says: "Do not rejoice when your enemy falls; when they stumble, do not let your heart be glad, or the Lord will see it and be displeased, and turn his wrath away from him."

So the celebration of Agaba's death and Dr Kajubiri's injury goes against basic universal human morality, African tradition and mandatory Christian conduct.

However, even as we condemn such behaviour, we must seek to understand why otherwise normal people would react that way. What has driven citizens to such despair and antisocial behaviour?

The answer is the impunity enjoyed by many people with access to power in Uganda, who abuse citizens with the confidence that they are above the law.

The constant beatings, teargasing and shootings of citizens by police, partisan militia and other armed agents have created a volcanic animus that bubbles just beneath the surface of what appears to be a normal society.

Recall that on January 22, 2012, George Agaba, at the time the Director of Planning for the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), led an exercise aimed at clearing illegal structures in Port Bell, Luzira, a lakeside suburb.

Sent from Gook's iPatch!

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