The Bishop of Masaka Diocese, Serverus Jjumba, has called on armed forces to engage in the current campaigns and elections period in accordance with the agreed constitutional principles to avoid blood spills and unrest in order to prevent visible and invisible wounds among citizens.
Bishop Jjumba noted that participatory democracy is instead what is desirable, where people freely and intentionally participate in the way their society is governed and national resources are managed and shared for the benefit of all.
‘We (Uganda) must resolve never to take the path of war again. In this world, nobody is a winner. I’m sorry, but I’ll make reference to our colleagues in the defence (armed) forces. If you went to war with a gun and you flash life out of a young man or woman, the dead person is not a winner, and neither is the soldier, because they were not given the gun to target the citizen. We all come out losers. Resolve never to take the path of war again,’ Bishop Jjumba said.
He made these remarks while making a keynote speech during a ‘let’s talk peace’ regional stakeholders’ dialogue at Brovad Hotel in Masaka on November 27, 2025.
Bishop Jjumba equated national politics or elections to a moving bus that one cannot afford to be neutral when it is taking them somewhere.
‘You must, however, have a say in whether to board it, where it is taking you to, with what service, at what cost and if it is safe. Every individual has a right to ask questions and to demand for answers. It is the will of the people to choose who to govern them, and elections must be free, fair and fearless. Impunity cannot yield peace. If you have agreed on multiparty politics, then reflect on it,’ Jjumba added.
Mr Godfrey Kiwanda Ssuubi, the Chairperson of the National Consultative Forum (NCF), who attended the event, said there needs to be a deliberate effort to listen to the views and concerns of young people.
‘As leaders and political parties, we need to give a listening ear to young people, and it starts from your home. Seek to understand why they do what they do, because sometimes we blame them for no reason. They may not go to the bush like those who went to the bush to come into power because the bush doesn’t exist anymore. Peace cannot only be maintained by armed forces in uniform but by everyone,’ Mr Kiwanda said.
A conflict situation analysis study that was done by the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty democracy (NIMD) in August 2025 shows that the likelihood of heightened electoral violence between political parties and state security forces, if not mitigated beforehand, could be more severe compared to previous general elections. If not addressed through providing avenues for dialogue, Mr David Mugarra, the Program Manager of NIMD, says this scenario could potentially undermine human rights, security, the country’s stability and the credibility of elections. The study also revealed that there are 24 electoral violence hotspots, 18 of which are red and six in orange, in the country, especially Masaka, Rakai, Lwengo, Sembabule and Kalangala.
‘Uganda is slowly becoming a fragmented and polarised society, characterised by politics of manipulation and perceived marginalisation, violence perpetrated by some political as well as state actors, bias towards democracy related institutions, allegations of electoral fraud, media impartiality, hate speech, insufficient civic education, all undermining a democratic culture,’ Mugarra said.
Organised under the theme of safeguarding democracy through peace and dialogue, the two-day dialogue targeted actors of violence, such as the civil society, media, opinion leaders, inter-religious leaders, women and youth leaders, and the private sector, on how to mitigate electoral-related violence in the hotspots. It was also a safe space for political actors to interact with the different responsible security agencies during and after the election period to reduce polarisation, prevent violence and promote tolerance.