Memes
aside, we all gotta fight corruption
The nation (at least Ugandan social media to be exact), has been awash with talk about the Anti-Corruption
Walk that was organised by the Inspectorate of Government and her sister organisations.
The Chief Walker was H.E President Y. K. Museveni. Many critics like the
controversial Andrew Mwenda have aired their views about corruption generally,
and the walk in particular. It is judicially noticed that there are high levels
of corruption in the government and the country at large. The walk therefore
brought all these issues to the fore, which I assume might have been the
intention of the organisers. Whatsapp messages are full of comments and
pictures about the walk, including, - and expectedly so- funny memes, snide
remarks and sarcastic comments about the walk and the fight against corruption
generally.
However, the words of the DeputySpeaker of Parliament, Hon Jacob Oulanyah MP, are worth serious reflection. He reportedly
stated
‘(I) come
here because it is a show but deep down I know we are going back to the same
old corruption. I dare anyone challenge me on that’.
According to his twitter handle,
he wrote that
‘(t)he
commitment I would love to see is that when today ends, we stop pretending
and hold all to account. The corrupt are not aliens in our society… They
are our wives, husbands, brothers, sisters and other relatives’
The Deputy Speaker’s words obviously
have not survived the social media guillotine. However, he clearly belled the
cat and that cat is us all. As one rightfully quoted the book of John 8:7
Let who
is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first (NKJV)
Oulanyah not only acknowledges
the challenge in fighting corruption, but also suggests ways in which we can confront it. He asks us to apply the law on all and sundry without discrimination, fear or favour. He also challenges us that ‘our frontline
begins from where we are.’ Quite rightly so. Corruption will and has not been
escorted outside the nation by the walk. It remains intact in us and around us
and by us. Unless we decide to **Kwedakko
(introspect) and make individual commitments against corruption, we
shall remain stuck in this mire.
There is, however, a special responsibility on
the church, to take an active role in the fight against corruption. The church
is uniquely called, to stand up and intervene in this case. Bishop Sunday
Adelaja in his book, Church Shift
rightly argues – without dealing with the value system/ moral fabric of
society, it is difficult to make a difference. He therefore calls upon the church to fulfil its mandate of changing
society by coming out into society and not remaining ‘confined to its sanctuary and school room Classrooms.’ The Church therefore needs to focus on ‘taking a proactive position in society,’ and ‘go
outside (the church) building and enforce (Christ’s) authority.’ In so
doing, it will establish the principles of the Kingdom of God and transform our
nation to one that is corruption free.
It is certainly a tall order but not impossible.
I hope this message has not been
lost on us – memes, hashtags and jokes notwithstanding. I thank the
Inspectorate of Government and her sister organisations for bringing this issue
to the fore once again. May we all be courageous enough to fight corruption. It starts with me. So help me God.
