Uganda’s Catholic bishops have expressed concern over the increasing number of kidnappings and killings in their country.
Agenzia Fides reports that in a statement made at the end of a gathering earlier this month, the bishops said they noted “with great concern that there has been an increase in kidnappings, organised crime and killings in our country”.
The bishops appealed to the government and security forces to “scale up their efforts to protect the life and property of Ugandans” and for criminals to “stop committing these senseless criminal acts, and respect human life”.
Fides says that during the first four months of this year, Uganda police registered 42 kidnappings for the purpose of extortion in the country, particularly around the capital, Kampala. The victims were mostly women and children and the payment of ransoms did not always ensure those kidnapped were returned home.
On 6th June, people protesting the rising number of kidnappings put empty coffins in front of the nation’s Parliament due to what they say is the inactivity of the police.
Elsewhere in their statement, the bishops also expressed their opposition to a new National Biosafety Act which would allow the use of genetically modified organisms.
The bishops said the act does not offer adequate guarantees to protect human health and the environment from the negative effects of GMOs and “opens the doors for companies which will practically enslave our small holder farmers, creating dependence through the exclusive use of their GMO products”. The bishops have recommended changing or withdrawing the law, which is waiting to be signed off by the nation’s president after it was passed last year, in order to adopt a new text.
The bishops also launched an appeal to help refugees who have sought help in Uganda, including more than a million South Sudanese and announced the creation of a Catholic television station called Uganda Catholic Television.
