The European Union Ambassador-Designate to Uganda, Jan Sadek, has called upon religious leaders to avoid participating in partisan politics while doing their pastoral work.
Sadek remarked during his maiden public appearance communication as the EU was commemorating the international day of democracy, under the theme “Religion and Democracy-what could be more important.”
He reminisced that the relationship between religion and democracy is very interesting, and sometimes leads to conflicts between moral authority and political power. According to Sadek, politics, and religion, should not be put into competition, because both are fully needed in well-functioning societies.
“The way I see it, combating in an impartial way, all forms of religious intolerance, discrimination, and violence against persons based on religion or belief must be a priority for all states and for the international community. At the same time, religious leaders should ensure that their pastoralist role is kept separate from partisan politics” he said.
According to him, authoritarian regimes are on the rise and they are combating religious freedoms and states are using religion to mobilize against freedom and to pervert moral values.
“Russia’s recent history exemplifies this policy against religious freedom, with its devilish symbiosis between the state and the Orthodox Church. We have all seen Patriarch Kirill blessing and supporting Putin’s war in Ukraine – as if he had missed a few chapters and commandments of the Bible” Sadek said.
Sadek highlighted that democracy and religious challenges exist in every country but pointed out Uganda where Muslims have unfairly been targeted by security operations and that some faith-based organizations are affected. But the solution to this according to Sadek is dialoguing on issues affecting the country.
“Dialogue with the government is key to solving these issues, and on our side, the EU will continue to engage in discussions about democratic governance and we look forward to supporting democratic governance initiatives as one of our three cooperation priorities for Uganda in the coming years,” Sadek said.
Renowned cartoonist and psychologist Jimmy Spire Ssentongo, who is also the head of the psychology department at Makerere University, said Ugandan leaders and clerics have always been at loggerheads.
“At varying degrees, it has been of interest for religious leaders to shape national politics – both as evangelical exercise and for their own survival or personal, similarly, it has been of strategic consideration for politicians to court, guide, manipulate, and arm-twist religious leaders or their bodies,” Ssentongo said.
The push and pull situation between the Amin government and the then Archbishop of the Church of Uganda Janan Luwum, resulted in the gruesome murder of the latter in 1977. Similarly, the later Kampala Archbishop Cyprian Kizito Lwanga had severally cried of spies planted inside Lubaga Cathedral.