21 people are murdered everyday in Uganda!
Friends,
Violence, murder, lust, politics, faith, incest, betrayal and redemption are all now part of Uganda, but murder has recently taken the biscuit. According to Besigye, in his interview with Radio Simba this week, 21 people are murdered everyday in Uganda- which means that averagely 7665 people will be dead by the end of this year. Let me hope that the Uganda Police isn't just exagerating these figures to exctract more funding from president Museveni.My first time to see a murdered person was in the late 1990s- when one of our relatives, Makumbi, was murdered opposite my grandfather's house, near Kawempe Police Station. We had heard gun shots overnight, there was no power, but everybody continued with their business, it rained whole night till in the morning when a body was found on the roadside. Makumbi was a proper definition of a gentleman, had lived in Sweden for a long time, and had finally settled in Uganda for a while, before he was murdered.
Most of these murders are a result of gun crimes, which means that its high time we discussed guns in our country. In the USA, nearly two-thirds of homicides involve a gun, but, I believe the gun isn't really the problem here- its the lack of proper leadership in place to control the guns and people owning them. In Switzerland, every adult male is issued an assult rifle for militia duty and is allowed to keep the gun at home. On a per capita basis, Switzerland has more guns than just about any other country, and yet it is one of the safest places in the world. in otherwords, guns dont cause crime.
Since the wave of assasinations of Muslim sheikhs started, I have been advocating for the government to allow citizens to possess guns. In the USA, economist John R.Lott Jr. has argued that violent crime has decreased in areas where law-abiding citizens are allowed to carry concealed weapons. His theory might be suprising, but it makes sense.If a criminal thinks his potential victim may be armed, he may be dettered from committing the crime. When Muslims were being murdered, people thought that its just Muslims killing fellow Muslims, but its now a national problem.
Besides guns, Uganda has the youngest population in the world. Elderly people are not very criminally intent.Most of the youths are unemployed and lost - they have now got drug dealers,the corrupt,fraudsters, and other kinds of criminals, as their role models. They could even vote for such people as their leaders, and this isnt something that should be taken lightly. Unfortunately, whenever I raise this issue, people categorise me as a hater and 'elder'-- yet i'm still as young-ish as them, but seeing things differently.
The environment in uganda right now is basically breeding young and future criminals. Most adults haven't been really good role models towards children.As you may know, a long line of studies, including research into twins who were separated at birth, had already concluded that genes alone are responsible for perhaps 50% of a child's peronality, the rest is the environment- the environment in Uganda stinks like a shithole. I watch videos daily on social media where adults are behaving like thugs:- they fight like kids; they abuse(okuwemula) in public; women are openly selling their bodies to the highest bidder,every man is for himself now, e.t.c.Its not the Uganda I left before I moved to England. Even President Museveni hasn't helped- he has appointed people with questionable morals into responsble positions, for instance, he has appointed musicians- Kusasila and Butcherman as his presidential advisors- all in the name of gheto politics.
President Museveni has also reportedly said that he may revive the death penalty due to increased murders in the country, but I urge him not to do so. Assume for a moment that the death penalty is a detterent, how much crime does it actually deter? Economist Isaac Ehrlich, in an oft- cited 1975 paper, put forth an estimate that is generally considered opimistic: executing 1 criminal translates into 7 fewer homicides that the criminal might have committed. Using the USA statistics, he said that in 1991, there were 14 ececutions; in 2001,there were 66. According to him, those 52 additional executions would have accounted for 364 fewer homicides in 2001- not a small drop, but less than 4% of the actual decrease in homicides that year. its extremely unlikely,therefore, that the death penalty, as currently practiced in USA, exerts any real influence on crime rates.
All in all, I think without change in leadership soon, Uganda is gonna get worse. Human life is nolonger valued in the country- the police and other security agents, who are supposed to protect people, are openly killing them and reportedly working with criminals. People are murdering their relatives that visit them from abroad. The whole country is divided, disgruntled, and needs prayers and outside help(if possible).