by Irumba Juma Siriwayo, Director, Katumba Parents’ Humanist Primary School
A Cry from the Mountains
The Rwenzori Mountains stand tall, silent witnesses to centuries of human struggle. Their snow-capped peaks have seen kingdoms rise and fall, rivers nourish life and blood soak the soil.
This plea is written to heal wounds and to prevent new ones. It is written for the widows who never buried their husbands, for the children who grew up calling grief “normal,” and for the youth who were taught to die before they were taught to think.
This is a humanist plea—for reason over superstition, for thought over blind belief, and for life over ritualised death.
Cycle of Blood
For decades, the Rwenzori Region has been trapped in a tragic rhythm. Every few years, often around four to 7 years, a cycle of violence erupts. Strong men leave their homes with promises of power and protection. Youths follow them with hope and fear. What returns instead is death, displacement, and broken families.
Bundibugyo, Ntoroko, Bunyangabu, and Kasese are districts blessed with fertile land and resilient people have become synonymous with mourning. Each uprising leaves behind hundreds of dead, thousands traumatized, and entire communities destabilized. The pattern is familiar. The justification is always different, but the result is always the same.
Cost to Women and Children
When men die in wars built on lies, women inherit grief. Single mothers and widows become both parents overnight. Children become adults too early—or remain children too long, frozen by trauma. Orphans roam villages without school fees, guidance, or hope. Some are taken in by relatives already struggling to survive. Others are forgotten entirely. The uprisings do not only kill bodies, they kill futures.
No magic healer buries these children. No witch doctor educates them. No cult leader feeds them. They are left to society yet often abandoned by it.
Katumba families deserve a future of peace and stability
Magic, Myth and Manipulation
At the heart of every Rwenzori uprising lies a dangerous belief that magic can defeat reality. Witch doctors and self-proclaimed spiritual leaders convince people that rituals can make them bulletproof. Charms are sold. Incantations are recited. Youths are assured that guns will fail, that soldiers will fall, that blood will not be spilled. Then military installations are attacked.
Bullets do not ask about beliefs. They do not respect charms. They do not fear spirits. And bodies fall again and again Proving too late that belief is not rooted in evidence.
Unforgettable Dates: 5 April 2014, 28 Feb 2018 and 1 Nov 2025
The uprisings of 2014 carved deep scars into the Rwenzori conscience. Families were wiped out. Entire villages were destabilized. Promises of supernatural victory collapsed under the sound of gunfire. Then came 1 Nov 2025—a reminder that lessons had not been learned. Once more, lives were sacrificed at the altar of ignorance. Once more, belief replaced reasoning. Once more, mothers cried, and children were orphaned. History repeated itself not because it had to but because people were taught what to believe, not how to think.
Ignorance as a Weapon
Ignorance is not harmless. It is weaponised when leaders exploit fear, poverty, and cultural myths. When people are discouraged from questioning, they become tools. The most dangerous phrase in the Rwenzori uprisings has never been a war cry—it has been:
“Do not reason. Just believe.” Once reasoning is surrendered, humanity follows.
Humanism – The Path Not Taken
Humanism teaches a simple but powerful truth that human life is valuable because it is human not because of spirits, prophecies, or promises of the afterlife.
If people reasoned before acting If evidence mattered more than myths If leaders were questioned rather than worshipped Then no youth would march toward bullets believing in magic. No mother would bury a son because of a lie. No region would bleed every five years. Humanism does not reject culture it rejects “unexamined beliefs”.
Religion, Cults and Uganda’s Painful Lessons
Uganda’s history is not free from religious extremism. Cult-related tragedies have repeatedly claimed lives under promises of salvation, miracles, and divine protection. The lesson is consistent:
When belief discourages questioning, it becomes dangerous. When faith replaces responsibility, it becomes deadly. Humanism does not ask people to abandon meaning. It asks them to “anchor meaning in reason and compassion”.
Teaching Children to Think
The future of the Rwenzori Region depends on one revolution only, the revolution of critical thinking. Children must be taught:
To ask why To demand evidence To value life over legends To reject leaders who profit from death Education is the most powerful anti-uprising weapon.
A Call to the Living
Our argument is not against people. It is against ideas that kill people.
The Rwenzori Region deserves peace, not periodic graves. It deserves schools, not shrines of deception. It deserves thinkers, not followers marching toward death. Let us break the cycle. Let us reason. Let us choose humanism. Because “no belief is worth a child’s life”.
About the Author
My name is Irumba Juma Siriwayo. I am an educationist, humanist thinker, and social advocate from the Rwenzori Region of Uganda. The picture was taken at my Postgraduate Certificate in Education graduation. I am an educationist, humanist thinker, and social advocate from the Rwenzori Region of Uganda. I am the Managing Director of Katumba Parents Humanist Primary School (KPHS), an institution founded in the aftermath of the 2014 Rwenzori uprisings. The school has been funded and supported by the Uganda Humanist Schools Trust (UHST) and other well-wishers since 2016, with the mission of restoring hope through education for children affected by violence, displacement, and poverty.
Guided throughout my life by the principles of Humanism, I strongly believe in reason, compassion, critical thinking, and the intrinsic value of human life. These values have shaped my personal journey and professional achievements. Through resilience and dedication, I have celebrated several milestones, including becoming a trained educationist, having recently graduated in Educational Studies, with a strong academic grounding in philosophy and sociology.
My academic exposure to philosophical inquiry particularly metaphysics deepened my ability to understand reality beyond mere physical appearances, encouraging me to question belief systems, examine truth through evidence, and explore the human condition through reason rather than superstition. This intellectual journey significantly influenced the writing of this book.
Acknowledgement
I extend my sincere gratitude to the Uganda Humanist Schools Trust (UHST) for the invaluable educational support that enlightened my academic path and strengthened my commitment to Humanist values. Without this support, the intellectual growth and confidence required to write this appeal would not have been possible.
Special appreciation goes to my family, whose courage, encouragement, and unwavering support sustained me from the very beginning of my writing journey. Their belief in my vision gave me the strength to confront painful histories and transform them into lessons for future generations.
This appeal is written with the hope that it will serve as a meaningful resource for teachers, young learners, fellow humanists and the wider community of decent people.
It is intended to inspire critical thinking, promote human dignity, and encourage society to break free from the bondage of ignorance through education and reason.
I, Irumba Juma Siriwayo, am a humanist, a son of Uganda, and a witness to repeated tragedy.This article is a plea to think critically, to question boldly, and to protect life relentlessly.
Appeal to Prospective Donors and Well-Wishers
I humbly appeal to prospective donors, partners, and well-wishers to disseminate this article widely. It was written as a response to decades of recurring violence in the Rwenzori Region; violence rooted in ignorance, blind belief, and the manipulation of vulnerable communities.
I seek your help in preventing future cycles of violence through the promotion of education and reason. Please help us by supporting one of the many children at Katumba Parents’ School who have been affected by repeated violence in the Ruwenzori region. Details of how you might help a child who has been affected by the troubles can be found in the following link:
Beyond Blood and Belief: a humanist plea
Posted: December 26, 2025 by Steve Hurd
by Irumba Juma Siriwayo, Director, Katumba Parents’ Humanist Primary School
A Cry from the Mountains
The Rwenzori Mountains stand tall, silent witnesses to centuries of human struggle. Their snow-capped peaks have seen kingdoms rise and fall
This plea is written to heal wounds and to prevent new ones. It is written for the widows who never buried their husbands, for the children who grew up calling grief “normal,” and for the youth who were taught to die before they were taught to think.
This is a humanist plea—for reason over superstition, for thought over blind belief, and for life over ritualised death.
Cycle of Blood
For decades, the Rwenzori Region has been trapped in a tragic rhythm. Every few years, often around four to 7 years, a cycle of violence erupts. Strong men leave their homes with promises of power and protection. Youths follow them with hope and fear. What returns instead is death, displacement, and broken families.
Bundibugyo, Ntoroko, Bunyangabu, and Kasese are districts blessed with fertile land and resilient people have become synonymous with mourning. Each uprising leaves behind hundreds of dead, thousands traumatized, and entire communities destabilized. The pattern is familiar. The justification is always different, but the result is always the same.
Cost to Women and Children
When men die in wars built on lies, women inherit grief. Single mothers and widows become both parents overnight. Children become adults too early—or remain children too long, frozen by trauma. Orphans roam villages without school fees, guidance, or hope. Some are taken in by relatives already struggling to survive. Others are forgotten entirely. The uprisings do not only kill bodies, they kill futures.
No magic healer buries these children.
No witch doctor educates them.
No cult leader feeds them.
They are left to society yet often abandoned by it.
Magic, Myth and Manipulation
At the heart of every Rwenzori uprising lies a dangerous belief that magic can defeat reality. Witch doctors and self-proclaimed spiritual leaders convince people that rituals can make them bulletproof. Charms are sold. Incantations are recited. Youths are assured that guns will fail, that soldiers will fall, that blood will not be spilled. Then military installations are attacked.
Bullets do not ask about beliefs.
They do not respect charms.
They do not fear spirits.
And bodies fall again and again
Proving too late that belief is not rooted in evidence.
Unforgettable Dates: 5 April 2014, 28 Feb 2018 and 1 Nov 2025
The uprisings of 2014 carved deep scars into the Rwenzori conscience. Families were wiped out. Entire villages were destabilized. Promises of supernatural victory collapsed under the sound of gunfire. Then came 1 Nov 2025—a reminder that lessons had not been learned. Once more, lives were sacrificed at the altar of ignorance. Once more, belief replaced reasoning. Once more, mothers cried, and children were orphaned. History repeated itself not because it had to but because people were taught what to believe, not how to think.
Ignorance as a Weapon
Ignorance is not harmless. It is weaponised when leaders exploit fear, poverty, and cultural myths. When people are discouraged from questioning, they become tools. The most dangerous phrase in the Rwenzori uprisings has never been a war cry—it has been:
“Do not reason. Just believe.”
Once reasoning is surrendered, humanity follows.
Humanism – The Path Not Taken
Humanism teaches a simple but powerful truth that human life is valuable because it is human not because of spirits, prophecies, or promises of the afterlife.
If people reasoned before acting
If evidence mattered more than myths
If leaders were questioned rather than worshipped
Then no youth would march toward bullets believing in magic.
No mother would bury a son because of a lie.
No region would bleed every five years.
Humanism does not reject culture it rejects “unexamined beliefs”.
Religion, Cults and Uganda’s Painful Lessons
Uganda’s history is not free from religious extremism. Cult-related tragedies have repeatedly claimed lives under promises of salvation, miracles, and divine protection. The lesson is consistent:
When belief discourages questioning, it becomes dangerous.
When faith replaces responsibility, it becomes deadly.
Humanism does not ask people to abandon meaning.
It asks them to “anchor meaning in reason and compassion”.
Teaching Children to Think
The future of the Rwenzori Region depends on one revolution only, the revolution of critical thinking. Children must be taught:
To ask why
To demand evidence
To value life over legends
To reject leaders who profit from death
Education is the most powerful anti-uprising weapon.
A Call to the Living
Our argument is not against people. It is against ideas that kill people.
The Rwenzori Region deserves peace, not periodic graves.
It deserves schools, not shrines of deception.
It deserves thinkers, not followers marching toward death.
Let us break the cycle.
Let us reason.
Let us choose humanism.
Because “no belief is worth a child’s life”.
About the Author
My name is Irumba Juma Siriwayo. I am an educationist, humanist thinker, and social advocate from the Rwenzori Region of Uganda. The picture was taken at my Postgraduate Certificate in Education graduation. I am an educationist, humanist thinker, and social advocate from the Rwenzori Region of Uganda. I am the Managing Director of Katumba Parents Humanist Primary School (KPHS), an institution founded in the aftermath of the 2014 Rwenzori uprisings. The school has been funded and supported by the Uganda Humanist Schools Trust (UHST) and other well-wishers since 2016, with the mission of restoring hope through education for children affected by violence, displacement, and poverty.
Guided throughout my life by the principles of Humanism, I strongly believe in reason, compassion, critical thinking, and the intrinsic value of human life. These values have shaped my personal journey and professional achievements. Through resilience and dedication, I have celebrated several milestones, including becoming a trained educationist, having recently graduated in Educational Studies, with a strong academic grounding in philosophy and sociology.
My academic exposure to philosophical inquiry particularly metaphysics deepened my ability to understand reality beyond mere physical appearances, encouraging me to question belief systems, examine truth through evidence, and explore the human condition through reason rather than superstition. This intellectual journey significantly influenced the writing of this book.
Acknowledgement
I extend my sincere gratitude to the Uganda Humanist Schools Trust (UHST) for the invaluable educational support that enlightened my academic path and strengthened my commitment to Humanist values. Without this support, the intellectual growth and confidence required to write this appeal would not have been possible.
Special appreciation goes to my family, whose courage, encouragement, and unwavering support sustained me from the very beginning of my writing journey. Their belief in my vision gave me the strength to confront painful histories and transform them into lessons for future generations.
This appeal is written with the hope that it will serve as a meaningful resource for teachers, young learners, fellow humanists and the wider community of decent people.
It is intended to inspire critical thinking, promote human dignity, and encourage society to break free from the bondage of ignorance through education and reason.
I, Irumba Juma Siriwayo, am a humanist, a son of Uganda, and a witness to repeated tragedy. This article is a plea to think critically, to question boldly, and to protect life relentlessly.
Appeal to Prospective Donors and Well-Wishers
I humbly appeal to prospective donors, partners, and well-wishers to disseminate this article widely. It was written as a response to decades of recurring violence in the Rwenzori Region; violence rooted in ignorance, blind belief, and the manipulation of vulnerable communities.
I seek your help in preventing future cycles of violence through the promotion of education and reason. Please help us by supporting one of the many children at Katumba Parents’ School who have been affected by repeated violence in the Ruwenzori region. Details of how you might help a child who has been affected by the troubles can be found in the following link:
Sponsor the education of a child at Katumba Parents’ School
If you would like to support our school in other ways, then please contact:
Irumba Juma Siriwayo, Managing Director, Katumba Parents Humanist Primary School (KPHS)
P.O. Box 1119, Bundibugyo, Uganda
Telephone/WhatsApp: +256 782 872431
Email: irumbajuma.siriwayo2017@gmail.com
Category: News