Opinion: Besigye's apology about Lwanga's death shows he is an opportunist

Sam Evidence Orikunda

Uganda's opposition takes advantage of different events to get the attention of Ugandans and most times they do so by fronting lies and propaganda.

When Archbishop Cyprian Lwanga died, the opposition as usual rushed to make conclusions and relate his death to the state.

Unfortunately this time it wasn't easy for them because the church decided to make public Lwanga's cause of death.

This led some people like Dr Kizza Besigye and other opposition politicians to swallow their vomit because they had rushed to conclusions as they always do.

Lwanga's death would be an advantage for them to get another chance of holding a microphone to tell lies to our people and get the attention they yearn for.

Besigye, as a trained medical doctor who actually even practiced his profession for several years, would have thought about involving his expertise in health before getting political and rushing to tell lies against the state.

When he rushed to speak, he betrayed both his profession and conscience. I'm sure the doctors who read statement wondered what kind of doctor he is and maybe I guess it could be the reason as to why he stepped on his ego to give a public apology for misleading the public.

A leader should always be sober and take time to understand before rushing to pick a microphone to speak. A leader should think first before speaking.

President Museveni has mastered that, even when we face huge security problems as a country he doesn't usually rush to speak, he usually takes time to study the situation and speaks when he has enough and information about the matter.

I guess that's why he has had the trust of Ugandans both the elite and other Ugandans.

In the statement of apology that Besigye posted on his Facebook page, he regretted his actions and blamed news reports that led him to the conclusion he made.

For the last 35 years, Uganda's opposition has invested much of their time in trading propaganda and using lies to lure Ugandans into riots. Thank God Ugandans quickly understood that trick and did not accept to be lied to.

Yet we've lost some young people because of those lies. Maybe it could be the reason as to why the opposition has never been the choice of Ugandans.

The NRM government has made it possible for almost every district in Uganda to have a radio station including the new districts.

The opposition has access to all those radios and in every political talkshow they trade lies. In some instances they succeed and sometimes create bias against several government programs which would actually help Ugandans in one way or the other.

Besigye's apology on spreading false information on Archbishop Lwanga's death is welcome but it exposes him as an agent of lies and propaganda.

It also exposes him as a weak leader who is taken up by mere rumours and rushes to conclusions without taking time to understand if there's any truth in the rumours.

Dr Besigye and colleagues should rather invest their time in proving to Ugandans that they're different from the current government.

Imagine if he was the president with authority to make decisions?

The writer is a deputy RDC Kitagwenda district.