PETTY POLITICS OF TRIBE

what is in tribe? what is in clan? Why are these such big issues to some people of late? Human beings will always look for divisions if you let them. I am reminded of the story of Jacob and Esau in the bible; these two shared the same mother and father and as one would imagine they would have no major issues or rivalries. Alas, Esau wanted and indeed vowed to kill Jacob for stealing his blessing. He forgot that he had sold it a while back to Jacob.

Rachael and Leah were sisters. Born to the same father and mother. Leah sneaked her way into Rachael’s fiancé and got to marry him first. Rachael later on joined her sister in a polygamous relationship to Jacob. The events that follow show a lot of strife between these blood siblings. Self interest usually rules.

So when we say we coalesce along tribal or ethnic lines, are we really addressing the right problem? Human beings by default will always find a difference somewhere to keep them away from each other. As leaders we ought to be looking for and focusing on things that will draw us closer together. These must be built upon matters of mutual interest and mutual survival. If we focus on trying to get people to stop this kind of separatism we shall not make much progress. We must look out for those key things that call for mutual survival and promote that.

In todays world economics plays an important role. Once people are economically active and gainfully so, they rarely get involved in destructive behavior. They will take care of the sources of their economic prosperity regardless of color, race or tribe. It is when they ail in such areas that they start nit picking on such issues as tribe etc. My father tells me a story of an event that happened in their village home in Wabusaana, Luwero. On a Sunday morning they went to attend church with their dad (my grand father). Now like any community in Buganda then, even Wabusaana was a mixed pot (we are talking of the early 1950s). There was people from Lango, West Nile, refugees from Rwanda, etc. and they all were well assimilated into the community. My Grand Father was Gombolola Chief at Wabusaana then.

So, on this Sunday morning, my dad and his slightly elder brother Andrew (MHSRIP) sat in the church listening to the liturgy as it flowed along. Then came the time to take the readings and the second reading went to a Lango man. He picked the bible and read a portion in Luganda, but obviously the diction and accent all revealed Luganda was not his first language. The church listened, but these two little boys giggled; my grandfather took notice. Immediately after the service when they had returned home he called the two to himself and sternly cautioned them never again to behave like that against any person that settled in the community from else where. He told them that this behavior was not acceptable at all.

Growing up I never heard of any tribalistic sentiments in my father’s house, and I believe this was due to that episode earlier in his life. My point being that in Buganda from time immemorial the people welcomed strangers and even settled them in freely. There is so many settlements in Buganda of different tribes, provided for by the Kabaka himself in places like Namutamba, Nsooba/Kifumbira, Bombo for the Nubians, Kayunga, etc. So what whips up tribal sentiments is not lack of acceptance of the community for persons different from themselves, it is things like economics and nasty politics, when those playing in those spaces choose to divide and rule.

The Politics must move away from the petty populism that it is today to being issues driven and the economics must be free and fair. It is only then that silly things like tribal sentiments will die a natural death as they have no place amongst us; they never have.