According to Daily Monitor of March 23, the Minister for Water and Environment, Prof Ephraim Kamuntu, said drought and diseases are a result of God’s anger because we are destroying His creation. According to the quoted source, the minister went on to say that where there has been huge environmental destruction, there has been equally strong punishments from God. He quotes the cases of Bududa, Kasese and Kabale. These are very serious statements. They cause concern because God is presented as a vengeful God punishing us for tampering with His work. With such a kind of belief according to which we attribute acts of violence to God, it is not difficult to commit violence in the name of God.
The literature, and more regrettably the acts, of the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God, also known as the Kanungu sect, was also marked by warnings of the God of wrath coming to punish sinners. The movement, unfortunately, put into practice their conviction that God was violent. What they did shocked the world. I wonder if we have learned any lessons from that. We still hear preachers and well-intentioned people saying that God has sent HIV/Aids to punish sinners! The statements attributed to the minister are also a source of concern because they do not identify clearly who is responsible for the degradation of the environment, and who should be punished if God were to punish. The reported statements seem to incriminate only the people in Kabale, Bududa and Kasese. But mismanagement of the environment is widespread in Uganda and if God were to punish us, nobody would be spared! In his State-of-the-Nation Address on June 5, 2014, President Museveni deplored the mismanagement of our lakes and River Nile.
He said the Minister of the Environment must strive to find ways to stop the following: the pollutants that go into Lake Victoria; cutting the forests near the edge of all lakes; and digging the banks of the River Nile. More than 10 months down the road, Ugandans can rightly ask if anything has been done about any of these. Outside Kabale, Bududa and Kasese, we are told the water near Kampala City pumping station is polluted. In Mbarara, the River Rwizi has been officially declared polluted by environmentalists and the National Water Sewerage and Corporation. Our capital has been presented as an open cesspool when it rains. Recently, the media reported that according to the World Bank, if nothing is done soon, Kampala will be a mega slum in future. The air in, around and above Kampala is heavily polluted and is said to have increased the incidence of cancer, allergies and breathing problems. In this respect, even those who leave outside the slums are not spared: they are affected by this polluted air and they also eat food, especially the vegetables, that have been exposed to pollutants in the air and water.
In a discussion on Kampala with friends we agreed that it is too late to save Kampala. Some services must be taken out to another place. Why not envisage building the capital elsewhere as has been done in Nigeria,
Tanzania and Brazil? The rate at which we are cutting trees is suicidal: the prolonged droughts are not a curse from God but a result of having failed to come up with an energy policy to help Ugandans use natural resources sustainably. Washing our vehicles in rivers and swamps is criminal. We pollute the water which used to be safe but is now contaminated by elements from small cars, buses and lorries.
Unfiltered and unboiled water used to be safe to drink years ago, but this is no longer the case. We all pass by, including the officers of the relevant ministries and Nema, as water is being rendered dangerous before us. Bottled water is presented as a solution to polluted water, but it is an injustice to sell water instead of fighting pollution. I will not talk about the kaveera for which our government has failed to find a solution. If God were to punish us, nobody would be spared! I suggest that each one of us at his/ her level strive to manage the environment properly.
Mr Kanyandago is a professor of Ethics and Development Studies at Uganda Martyrs University. pkanyandago@gmail.com