Zombo: Concerns as Youth’s vulgarities take toll on leaders

Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity, respect and honor. However this in Zombo district is diminishing as many leaders say they are being subjected to both online and physical insults and abuse by some disgruntled youths.

The leaders say those on the forefront of the immoral acts are majorly the youths, most of whom are so obsessed with hand outs demand from leaders.

The LCV chairperson of Zombo district James Oruna Oyullu said the increased abuse and disrespect of leaders by youths are instead exacerbating frosty relationship between either parties which to him is so unhealthy.
Speaking during a Press conference in Paidha town council cultural centre recently, Oyullu said some of them (leaders) feel like not associating with the disrespectful youths.

“Some of us have reached a stage where if we find youths we feel we shouldn’t greet them, then again they say we are neglecting them. In many occasion I respect them wherever they are seated but their response, go away or come out of your vehicle and come and greet us here. Others even insult and abuse us seriously which is totally wrong” Oyullu recounted at a recent press conference of the homecoming launch for queen of west Nile beauty pageantry at Paidha cultural centre in Paidha town council recently.

Many of the leaders have encouraged the youths to demand for services from leaders using appropriate way noting that vulgar rhetoric doesn’t advance any course.

To the LCIII chairperson of Paidha town council Innocent Godfrey Onega, demanding for service delivery from leaders is everyone’s constitutional mandate, but should be done in an appropriate manner that shouldn’t tantamount into infringement of someone else rights.

Some leaders that this publication talked to, said the youths have become abusive and too demanding to the extent that many leaders decline to grace public gathering for fear of being attacked through open abuse and insults.

One of the LCIII chairpersons told this publication under condition of anonymity that “when we were doing campaigns in 2021, some of us promised a lot yet nothing is being done, I think that is the reason some youths have become so abusive to us. They feel cheated to some extent because they are not seeing the impact of our leadership but it shouldn’t go beyond insults.”

Nonetheless some stakeholders opined that the whole debate should be zeroed on “morals of the youths and the kind of political parties they subscribed to”

Youth leaders speak out

Derick rwothongeyu Ocweda, the male district youth councillor for Zombo district acknowledged the spiralled abuse against leaders especially by the youths. He regretted the vice calling upon his fellow youths to desist from the demeaning practice.

He majorly blamed the spiralled insults of leaders on inability of most youths to stand firm and fend for themselves thus exacerbating the culture of demanding for hand-outs from politicians.

“We see young people attacking leaders without any respect, today it has caught our attention and we are saying that it is not a good practice. Me as a youth leader I think the youths don’t know where the roles of leaders are and they have too many expectation including their own personal expectation, that is unacceptable and it should stop” Ocweda told this publication in an interview.

The insults against leaders has spiralled lately on different social media platforms like whatsApp messaging app, Facebook, tik tok, X formerly twitter amongst others.

Early this year, the then state minister of northern Uganda now the senior presidential adviser Hon Grace Freedom Kwiocwiny, whilst for the tareasita belated celebration for Zombo at Zeu police ground, equally raised concerns over the hike in insults of leaders in the area, calling for sanity from members of the public.

Over time, disparaging remarks about leaders and influential people more especially online has seen a couple of youths being jailed in Uganda under the cyber security law.

Oyullu has appealed to the newly crowned Queen of west Nile Patricia Jane Alobo, to invest in sensitization and mind-set change amongst the youths to curb the vice expressing worry about the unbecoming behaviour that has become unbearable lately.

Uganda’s computer misuse Act outlaws cyber harassment and offensive communication with hate speech added on to it in 2022.

Last Year, a section of youths in Zombo led a demonstration about the sorry state of the 119 kms Nebbi-Goli-Paidha-warr-Vura road. However one year later, the demonstration yielded no tangible outcome. One of the youth activists who was the brain child behind that demonstration in an interview with this publication said many youths “have resorted to insults of leaders because they feel the government doesn’t listen to their plights”

Situated along Uganda-Dr Congo border, since its inception in 2011, Zombo district has been a strong hold of the current establishment. This is imminent in how they fully and wholesomely vote for leaders under the National Resistance Movement Party, right from the village up to the district level.
Apparently many leaders feel unease as they are tasked to answer questions on the ongoing progressing or failing government projects in the district, thanks to different social media platforms.

This publication has learnt that, a handful of whatsApp groups messaging app in the area has been exited by many leaders who feel their criticism by youths laced with abuse has gone overboard.

Bolingo francis, the district councillor of Athuma sub county also the chairperson of opposition coalition in Zombo district said “ with all the support the NRM leaders boast off, I think they should get down to the ground and understand why the youths are becoming so aggressive to them other than lamenting. These youths sometimes are disappointed by the leaders’ action and many things happening in the area, but all in all, open insults towards leaders are not good.”
Recently, Amos Jacan the Zombo district Youth chairperson called upon the youths to take up different government programmes put in place to impact their livelihoods. This he believes will make youths self-reliant than mere road side beggars.

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