Election violence is a symbol of backwardness.

Are humans really human, or are we just something else? This question challenges the very core of our existence. Over the years, many of us have failed to understand the simple truth that we live because others live. Life is a shared experience, yet when elections arrive, we often forget this basic truth. People transform into monsters, with malice against one another in a battle that only serves to divide us. We forget that elections are temporary, they come and go, but we, as human beings, remain. This world, the one we call home, was given to us by God, and it is our responsibility to protect it for all, regardless of political or ideological differences. If we deny others their right to live in peace within this world, where do we expect them to go? What do we gain by pushing others away?

If the only thing we have to show each other is hatred because of our political views, then what separates us from animals? What right do we have to call a pig dirty? We act with extreme violence toward one another over things as fleeting as elections. We, as human beings, should rise above this. Our shared humanity should unite us, not divide us. In these moments of political tension, we often lose sight of what truly matters, our collective existence and the respect we should have for one another as fellow human beings.

I write this article today to speak to all of us, to raise questions: Why are we abducting one another? Why are we torturing and killing each other? Why does something as simple as a ballot paper make us act in such savage ways? Our actions have created a legacy of regret. Each time we allow ourselves to be swept up in this violence, we lose a little more of our humanity. This cycle has continued for generations, a chain of bloodshed passed down, and it’s heartbreaking that we still refuse to learn from our past mistakes. We continue to repeat the same tragedies, as though history doesn’t matter.

President Bobi Wine once said, "Election violence is a symbol of backwardness." How can we be civilized when we destroy each other over differences that should not matter in our living? We are all from the same life source. We all share the same inevitable fate called death. The grave that we dig for others because of who they vote for or which party they support is the same grave that we, too, will one day occupy. No one is exempt from the end that awaits us all.

I often tell people that it is death that truly defines the meaning of life. Our mortality should be a reminder of the fragility of our existence and the importance of how we treat each other. The mistakes we made yesterday are the same mistakes we continue to make today. We have failed our Creator by failing to live with love, compassion, and understanding. Instead, we’ve allowed ourselves to be consumed by politics, to the point where we lose sight of what it means to be human. The violence we perpetuate during elections has reached extremes no one could have predicted. The level of hatred and destruction we display is so great that even the devil with all his wickedness looks upon us in disbelief, questioning how we have become so bad that we can no-longer even be called evil, for evil implies a level of malice, but what we have become is far worse.

At times, I wonder if it was a mistake for us to have been given free will. Perhaps it would have been better if we were mere robots, controlled by a remote, devoid of the ability to make choices that bring pain and suffering. Maybe, in such a world, the definition of humanity would be respected, and we would never fall victim to the violence we have created.

So, I leave you with this thought: “We live, because others live, and this is why we are called human beings.” Our existence is interconnected, and we should cherish that connection, especially in times when we are most tempted to divide ourselves. If we are to move forward as a society of beautiful people, we must recognize that election violence is a symbol of backwardness.