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The Other Side of the Coin with Paul Waibale Senior
Those who are asking whether Yoweri Kaguta Museveni should accorded an opportunity to contest for a third term in State House or not, are, in my opinion, posing the wrong question at the wrong time.
I contend that the right question to ask is whether a President should be eligible for election for a third or fourth term, irrespective of who the candidate might be.
In that context, therefore, it is not logical to argue that Museveni should be given a third term as a bonus for excellent work done or that all Uganda’s future presidents must be limited to two terms merely because Museveni does not deserve a third.
the merits for amending the constitution to change the number of terms a president can serve do not have any direct link with whoever happens to be in State House at the time the matter is debated.
Consequently, the fear that if the constitution is amended in that respect a precedent will be created which will encourage future leaders to amend the constitution in order to serve their personal interests is grossly misconceived. If there were justification for such fear to be tailored to the practical aspects of Uganda politics, the existence of the Constitutional Review Commission, headed by Prof. Fred Ssempebwa, would be rendered superfluous.
But the situation dictates otherwise, which is why even the well known political bigots have not gathered the appetite to condemn its existence.
As far as I am concerned, there is not a single provision in the constitution that cannot be changed, provided the change is effected in a manner, which the constitution itself has prescribed.
I am conviced that it is political cowardice to desist from legitimate constitutional reform merely because of fear, real or imaginary, that any amendments will create precedents that might justify similar amendments in the future. The prescribed procedure for amendment of various parts o!
f the co
nstitution, which ranges from a two-thirds majority in Parliament to national referenda, constitute the safety valve against the sinister manoeuvres of any political adventurers.
Be that as it may, my own view about the number of presidential terms, is that one individual should be limited two presidential terms of seven years each. This would have the effect of automatically adding two years to the second term of the incumbent, a development that is politically desirable and economically prudent. It will also ensure that in future a president would in two terms have a reasonable period of l4 years in which to effectively execute his or her development plans.
Interestingly, the Constitutional Review Commission, or the Ssempebwa Commission as it is popularly referred to, has had the opportunity to receive views from every conceivable section of Uganda’s diverse society.
I understand that tomorrow, the Katikiro of Buganda, Joseph Mulwanyamuli Ssemogerere will present a document embracing Buganda’s proposals to the Ssempebwa Commission. The proposals have been compiled by a special committee set up by the Kabaka under the leadership of a prominent Kampala lawyer, John W. Katende. The proposals have been duly endorsed by the Buganda Lukiiko and can therefore be considered to be Buganda’s official submission to the Commission.
Most of the proposals, such as the quest for Buganda acquiring federal status, or the return of the 9,000 sq mile land, are purely Buganda issues in respect of which I do not have substantial comments to advance at the moment.
But there is one that concerns every Ugandan — the demand that Kampala, the capital city of Uganda, should be placed within the administrative boundary of Buganda. While the fact that Kampala is geographically part of Buganda must be acknowledged, it is politically prudent to have the capital as an independent district, just as Washington DC, the capital of the United States is an independent district which does not fall und!
erany of
the 52 states in America.
A Kampala with an independent status will insulate the nation against misconceived claims by some misguided Baganda who think that Kampala belongs to them. Some extremists have already began agitating that the capital should be “moved somewhere else’’. A reminder of the Lukiiko resolution, which demanded that Obote, should remove the UPC headquarters from Buganda soil, and precipitated the 1966 crisis.
I have a lot of sympathy for the sentiments of the Baganda in that respect, without the least degree of support.
Published on: Monday, 27th January, 2003 |
