Museveni praises religious leaders on NRM ideology

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | President Yoweri Museveni has commended religious leaders for shunning radicalism, prioritizing a message of transforming society and not engaging in unnecessary wars.

Museveni said that the present-day religious leaders are not like their predecessors who got disoriented and emphasized religious differences rather than unity in diversity. He said that religion had set focus on non-Godly issues leading to religious wars, enmity and terrorism.

The president made the remarks at the 23rd National Prayer Breakfast held on Friday, at State House Entebbe. The prayers organised ahead of Uganda’s 59th Independence anniversary were held under the theme; “Responsibility before God and Man”.

Earlier, the Bishop of West Ankole Diocese, the Rt Rev Johnson Twinomujuni noted that their mandate as religious leaders is to lead God’s people out of the bondage of poverty, ignorance, and disease among others. The Bishop said Ugandans are in a state of pain and need good leadership to freedom.

In turn, Museveni said that this has always been the message of the NRM. “I thank everybody, the organizers and I thank the message because it seems it is coming out better. Many of the points I disagreed upon with those people are now very well addressed”, Museveni said.

He further said that he has always opposed the line of exclusivity along religious lines and that this is the reason why in 1965, he and his group left traditional political parties like Democratic Party and Uganda People’s Congress -UPC to start a new line in politics.

Museveni said the NRM’s ideology is in line with Jesus’s teachings referring to the parable of a good Samaritan where the helper was not from the neighbourhood or someone’s tribe or religious belief, but only did something that was correct.

“Up to now, countries are suffering! If you see what is happening in the Middle East; Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq, that confusion in people’s heads when they say they are working for God when actually they are off the point doing things that are anti-people,” he said.

The Speaker of Parliament Jacob Oulanyah retaliated his commitment in ensuring that parliament focuses on serving the ordinary Ugandans and also urged Ugandans to do good even where it’s not returned.

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