In his message to the country ahead of the Easter celebrations, opposition leader, Dr Kizza Besigye has called on Ugandans to adopt a spirit of forgiveness towards those who have aggrieved them, including self serving government officials and criminals.
Dwelling on the significance of Easter which centres on the death of Jesus Christ on behalf of sinners, Besigye urged Ugandans not to be consumed by hatred and desire to revenge on those who inflict suffering on them.
The former FDC President was Thursday speaking to journalists at his office on Katonga Road, on the prevailing situation in the country characterized by corruption, insecurity, unemployment and land grabbing.
He attributed all these vices to the powerful individuals in government who are greedy and selfish.
“The extraction from the poor to the rich has intensified but there is no realization that there is a socioeconomic and moral crisis, as a result of selfishness, greed and lack of care for others,” Besigye said.
It is this same greed and insensitivity, he said, that has resulted into the rampant land grabbing which has forced thousads of Ugandans to live in more desperate circumstances than refugees, in their own country.
“Because of selfishness, even the funds that international community brings to help refugees, we steal,” he said, making reference to the recent corruption scandal that has hit the Office of the Prime Minister.
However, in a conciliatory tone, Besigye said that most of the government officials who perpetrate such selfish acts do it out of ignorance and they deserve to be forgiven and treated fairly.
Besigye cited the example of the detained patron of the rogue Boda Boda 2010 group, Abdallah Kitatta whom he said deserves justice regardless of the accusations labelled against him.
Kitatta, a civilian, was arrested earlier this year by the military on allegations of possessing military stores as well as unlwaful posession of guns.
“I have been seeing Kitatta pleading for bail and to be transferred from Makindye military barracks to Luzira prison. Some people say he deserves worse. But Kitatta deserves to be heard, to be tried fairly and justly,” the opposition strongman told the press.
Besigye condemned the practice of holding people in detention “on suspicion” which he said “is inhuman and violates their rights”.
“You can not hold people for years upon years, on suspicion. We have seen people jailed for 3 years only for the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) to withdraw charges,” he said.
He noted that it is incumbent up everybody to seek justice for all including people like Kitatta who have been accused of gross criminality, saying forgiveness is central to the celebration of Easter.