Peace Service Ambassador, Milton Kambula has warned that Africans should stop looking at sanctions from western countries to fight corruption and end bad governance on the continent.
He was speaking in response to the recent sanctions that were slapped against Ugandan leaders including; the Speaker of Parliament, Anita Annet Among, former Ministers in charge of Karamoja Affairs, Agnes Nandutu and Mary Goretti Kitutu.
Amb. Kambula said that much as sanctions may put leaders to order, these should not be abused and used to score other benefits on the expense of a country’s sovereign power.
“The nation of Uganda has a constitution and her courts of law are operational amidst corruption challenges, even in this situation were some Ugandan leaders have been slapped with sanctions,” Kambula said.
The ambassador stressed that before any foreign country would issue sanctions against any national or regional leader, it would have allowed opportunity for due domestic or regional process to function and respond to such issues.
“After being convinced that these national and regional courts of law and structures have failed then international sanctions would be issued with backing of local and regional grassroots populations which would see it as an opportunity to make leaders accountable to national and Africa development priorities,” Kambula noted.
He highlighted that it’s time for Africans to fix their own challenges.
“We want parents, students, religious, cultural, business, Civil Society and policy leaders to join hands to fight corruption, crime and terrorism. We cannot wait for sanctions from western countries to help African leaders account,” Kambula noted.
He added that African structures must work to protect the rights and freedoms of the 1.4 billion people in Africa.
As a Pan-Africanist, Kambula observed that sanctions don’t fix nations, but rather make local people pay the cost while those sanctioned continue in their luxury.
“This inspires us to rethink on the role of family institution to start nurturing and producing morally upright, socially responsible, economically productive and spiritually aligned population so that all sectors get transformed and Nation realizes peace and development,” Amb. Kambula noted.
