TRIBALISM; A deadly cancer.

TRIBALISM.
Without being partisan and without any bias whatsoever,
without any prejudice, without fear or favor, without inclination
to any particular religion, tribe, race, geographical origin and
background, allow me address this unfortunate, substandard,
unpleasant, unwelcome, disagreeable vice; TRIBALISM.
SYNOPSIS.
To start with, tribalism can be defined as the state or fact of
being organized in a tribe(s). It is the state of being organized
and advocating for a tribe. In conformity, tribalism refers to a
cultural term, a way of thinking or behaving in which people are
more loyal to their tribes than to their friends, countries or social
groups. According to Chinua Achebe, tribalism is the
“Discrimination against a citizen because of his or her place of
birth.”
From the onset, the word TRIBALISM sounds demonic and an
evil. Yes, it is largely negative, defeatist, gloom-ridden, and
mostly undesirable. However, it has one advantage; tribalism
and social bonding help to keep individuals committed to the
group, even when personal relations may fray. Tribalism can
take many forms in our modern society. One prominent example
of tribalism is individuals’ strong affiliations with sports teams.
These affiliations are often built on regional identities. In the
due course, what was initially a merit becomes a demerit, since
it creates an inlet to divisionism and uncalled-for segregation.

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LAW SCHOOL, UGANDA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY.
 TRIBALISM; A deadly cancer.
Tribalism has several characteristics; shared values, sense of
unity, kinship ties, egalitarianism. It is mainly caused by tribal
misjudgments where one ethnic group looks at another ethnical
group and passes wrong judgements on them.
There is also a term “ETHNOCENTRISM” which is a
situation where one culture believes it is superior in terms of
their own norms and values. It is the evaluation of other cultures
according to preconceptions originating in the standards and
customs of one’s own culture.

THE SIN OF TRIBALISM: TRIBALISM AND THE

BIBLE.
History has proved that man’s primary loyalty is often first to
family, then to a social group. As Ugandans, our allegiance
seems not to be so much with an ideology, religion, or social
class but often led to ethnic confrontations, especially during
election periods.
As earlier said, Tribalism is the segregation and oppression of
others based on tribal differences. It results from inherent
selfishness and pride and holds back the harmony that leads to
God’s blessings upon a people. PSALMS 133:1-3 “Tribes are
not in and of themselves sinful; the unjust exclusion of others
who are not of one’s tribe is sin.”
Jesus Christ brought down the boundaries between tribes and
nations. (EPHESIANS 2:14) All races had sinned and could not
be saved by the law or ethnic moral codes. (ROMANS 3:23)
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LAW SCHOOL, UGANDA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY.
 TRIBALISM; A deadly cancer.
We are all saved by the blood of Jesus Christ; thus, none can
boast. (ROMANS 3:27-30) There is neither Jew nor Greek in
Christ, male nor female, slave nor free; hence, all are to be
treated equally.
There is also what is called the NEOTRIBALISM, also known
as MODERN TRIBALISM or NEW TRIBALISM, is a
sociological concept which stipulates that, “human beings have
evolved to live in tribal society, as opposed to mass society, and
thus will naturally form social networks constituting new
tribes.”
GENERAL ANALYSIS:
Indeed, the vice has eaten us up; many individuals have been
victims to it, people have lost jobs, people have missed
opportunities, people have been dropped off plane flights simply
because they don’t share origin with those that have the final
say! This is unfortunate. People have lost their slots in
institutions of learning, just for failure to meet not the
requirements, but for being of a “wrong race or tribe.”
Unless otherwise, I want to assume that whoever is reading this
has at one point been a victim of Tribalism, or has victimized
another person on tribal grounds. Reflect back from your
childhood until today. Reflect back on your experience during
application for jobs, and so on.
No, we can’t let this go on. At least we shall do our best,
perhaps we can change the narrative and the status quo. As I
always say, society neither requires nor appreciates one for
KWESIGA EMMANUEL 0705611739
LAW SCHOOL, UGANDA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY.
 TRIBALISM; A deadly cancer.
identifying a problem, but for solving it. Without fear or favor, I
must say that TRIBALISM is one vice that has eaten up this
nation from top to bottom. It has been practiced right from our
villages and small societies, right to the governing structures, to
say, the government officials.
This has of course had adverse effects on the progress of our
country. This is a fact that we can all attest to, depending on our
own experiences of the prevailing conditions and circumstances.
The issue of one being a Muganda, a Munyankore, an Acholi,
an Itesot, a Langi and so on is not an issue in the ideal sense.
The core and absolute issue is that at the end of the day, we are
all UGANDANS. Therefore, our focus should not be about who
speaks what language like I do, but who is a fellow Ugandan, a
fellow citizen.
We are bound to perish, not until we shift our focus and point of
attention from trivial matters to the real pressing issues. Yes, we
have several times heard tribal and biased sentiments from top
government officials who should actually be a uniting factor. To
make matters worse, the opposition parties seem to be biased on
some racial inclinations too, which is indeed very unfortunate.
We must all agree, that two wrongs do not make a right. Our
reigning government being tribal, and the opposition parties
showing signs of doing the same spells nothing but doom and
disaster for our country.
The good news is, we can do our best to mitigate this, for as
long as we are willing to do so. What is for sure is that we have
the potential and the resources to do so!
KWESIGA EMMANUEL 0705611739
LAW SCHOOL, UGANDA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY.
 TRIBALISM; A deadly cancer.
As part of mitigating this unbecoming and unworthy vice, we
have started what we termed the “ANTI-TRIBALISM
CAMPAIGN.” This is going to have clear visions, objectives
and missions. In addition, we have a proposed work plan, which
shall be shared in the due course.
The requirements for entry into this campaign is the mere
willingness to participate in this common cause. Your entry
should not be inclined on selfish and self-gain intentions, but
serving for the common good as regards to our common
purpose.
We shall be glad to have everyone on board, as we participate in
the process of purifying our country, for the good of an
individual, and the nation at large.

CONCLUSION.
Thank you so much for fixing your time to read this piece of
work. My prayer is that it is easy for you to comprehend, and
that you have learnt something from it.
This is written more out of my personal opinion, and so it
doesn’t stand as absolute truth. Any criticism towards bettering
it is welcome.
I will gladly receive your opinions, questions and all other
queries. Otherwise, I look forward to sharing with you more in
my subsequent writeups.
KWESIGA EMMANUEL 0705611739
LAW SCHOOL, UGANDA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY.
 TRIBALISM; A deadly cancer.
For any issues or inquiries, reach out to me on the address
below.

KWESIGA EMMANUEL.
emmanuelkwesiga2@gmail.com
TEL: 0705611739
SCHOOL OF LAW, UGANDA CHRISTIAN
UNIVERSITY-MUKONO.

QUESTIONS.
I am hoping that you have read and understood this article, I am
going to ask you a few questions, which you may actually
answer as you so wish and give me your opinion, for mutual
better understanding of this article and the relevance it makes, if
at all it does.
1. Does tribalism really exist in Uganda? If so, where is it
visibly exhibited, and how?
2. Some people have suggested that Tribalism is one of the
factors that have retarded and slowed down the

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LAW SCHOOL, UGANDA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY.
 TRIBALISM; A deadly cancer.
development and transformation of Uganda. Do you think
this is true? Or it’s a mere opinion? Why so or why not?
3. It is alleged that there are given sectors and organs of
Government that are dominated by people of given tribes
and ethnicity. It is further suggested that jobs in such
institutions are given on racial merit. As a Ugandan is this
true? Do you have experience of such scenarios? Or is it
just a thing that is simply exaggerated?
4. It appears that inclination on race and origin is one of the
campaign strategies employed by some political contenders
to amass and gain support from some people and some
regions. How true is this?
5. Is Tribalism a uniting factor? Is it a dividing factor? Or is it
both? Give reasons to defend your line of argument.
6. What more do you think needs to be known about
Tribalism and is not listed and talked about in this article?
Does this article address any issues as per the subject
matter or not?

THANK YOU.

KWESIGA EMMANUEL 0705611739

LAW SCHOOL, UGANDA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY.