By KT Reporter
The Minister of Public Service, Muruli Mukasa, has warned youths against political intolerance and radicalism, saying it risks their safety. Muruli, who was presiding over a security meeting in Jinja City, said that rather than focusing their energies on productive politics, some youths are engaging in radicalized politics and threatening to kill existing leaders.
Citing youths from the National Unity Platform (NUP) who dress in red combat-style uniforms, Muruli noted that such behavior creates an imaginary self-confidence among them, encouraging them to act like real soldiers ready for war. He said that these youths also hold military-style parades, march, and spread hate speech against opponents, which threatens the spirit of coexistence.
Muruli further noted that some radicalized youths hide behind political outfits to engage in criminal activities, thereby threatening the existence of sanity in society. He warned that unless addressed by the general public, this level of intolerance would result in a wasted generation, suppressing spaces of reasoning in favor of radicalism.
Muruli added that some of the radicalized youths have even attacked security personnel, who are professionally trained to defend themselves, putting their own lives at great risk. He insisted that the tenets of coexistence and political tolerance are essential for maintaining safe political spaces where all Ugandans can participate meaningfully.
Muruli has since tasked youths to embrace the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party, which he said offers an ideology aimed at redefining the country’s positive trajectory. Accusing other political parties of spreading bloodshed, Muruli said that the NRM is the epicenter of peace, where the future of the youths can be redefined through various empowerment programs. He added that, unlike in the previous election where NUP won the majority presidential vote in Busoga Sub-region, he is hopeful that through massive youth mobilization, the NRM will regain its victory in the forthcoming electoral process.
However, NUP’s chairperson in Jinja City, Meddie Mutebi, dismissed the claims, saying their youths are not radical but rather oppressed members of society expressing their grievances differently.
Mutebi said that several NUP supporters have lost their lives at the hands of security operatives, and linking them to bloodshed was an act of hypocrisy.
He noted that attaching criminality to any political party is just a scapegoat for the NRM government, which he accused of failing to improve the livelihoods of dissenting voices-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
