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The Monitor (Kampala)
OPINION
November 15, 2003
Posted to the web November 17, 2003
Sam Njuba
Kampala
On October 31, both The Monitor and The New Vision newspapers carried President Yoweri Museveni's long article in which he spent his energy and time criticising Reform Agenda vice chairman Reagan Okumu (also Aswa county MP), associating him with the old regimes and completely diverting his argument as usual.
Mr Okumu was only 15 years old and in Senior Two when Museveni came to power in 1986 and therefore was not his generation.
In the article, Mr Museveni defended his thirst for 3rd (5th) term (25 years - i.e a quarter century demand to rule) by concluding that "Nevertheless, what he told the lawyers (at Entebbe) remains valid".
He went on to talk, about his vision, rebellion, body politics, constitutionalism, etc with a focussed attack on Reagan Okumu.
The president wrote: " once we clearly understand what needs to be done then we can better judge who among us is better suited to lead us in order to do the needful".
This reminds us of the ANC struggle and former South African president Nelson Mandela who opted for just one term and the organisation found a perfect Thabo Mbeki to replace.
The difference with ANC and NRM is that ANC has operated with organisational strength while the NRM is just Museveni. While Mandela was more popular in South Africa than Museveni in Uganda; Mandela had the will to allow organisational interest to be instituted.
Now 25 years down the road from the bush days Museveni has deliberately not "identified" or even "seen" any leader within the Movement with a vision.
This is deliberate, selfish, strange, and despotic. It's typical of self-achievers and life empire tendency.
The deliberate propaganda of painting credible leaders, especially those who do not agree with him, like Okumu is just an NRM programme. We have a degree of respect for the president.
Definitely he has offered leadership and there has been credible achievements in Uganda.
These achievements however were not achieved singly. There were people who worked with him, Ugandans gave him the good will, and the international community was crucial.
But Museveni loves self-patronage. Where government has failed, it's other people but where government has succeeded it's "him" personally.
For instance, Kony has not been defeated because it's the commanders doing a poor job forgetting that he himself has been the longest serving commander in the war against Kony.
Our dear president should not undo his achievements. The positive things he has done for Uganda should be protected but where he himself is derailing or about to derail the very achievements or wishes to reverse the clock, we shall push him by the very means he would use.
This question of a vision is also lacking substance. The only vision of Museveni which I know was barter trade which collapsed badly because it was primitive and could not fit modernity.
The other vision of Museveni is personalisation of state institutions so that he Museveni is the State and the State is Museveni.
This is what we detest because Uganda is not his personal property. His other vision has been to fight imperialist tendencies, neo-colonialism, capitalist exploitation, etc as were taught in Kyankwanzi National Political School.
And what has become of those visions? Well, the president is in reverse gear and as one African leader said of Museveni; he has become a disgrace to Africa.
It's misleading and cheap for Museveni to turn the world millennium goals on education (UPE), health, poverty etc into his vision. It's also ridiculous for Museveni to turn World Bank programmes like structural adjustment programmes, liberalisation, privatisation, debt relief, etc as his programmes.
This is empty! The president should know that visions are long term and cannot opportunistically shift goal posts.
Reform Agenda's vision, the president should know is to forge nationalism and build a strong state in order to have stable, prosperous, free, peaceful, democratic, sovereign Uganda that relies not on individuals but institutions.
This would enhance equitable and just distribution of wealth, equality before the law, smooth and predictable transfer of power and programmes.
Our vision of co-existence with our neighbours would enable us to formulate a policy that would translate into free movement of goods and services hence economic integration.
Our vision of the global era is to accept universally acceptable standards and co - existence as partners in all aspects with mutual respect for our values and sovereign rights to choose our priorities.
It's out of this vision for Uganda that we have programmes to transform Uganda. This programme has to be presented as a choice before the people. These programmes will vary from policies to management methods and with full desire to deliver.
Reform Agenda is therefore not short of brains, experience, expertise, good will and ideas.
On Joseph Kony, the president accused Reagan Okumu of putting pressure on him to negotiate with killers. He went further to state that we have "never" condemned Kony. He challenged Okumu to take up arms to fight Kony instead of thinking of future constitutional violators.
The President forgets that Okumu has been supporting the defence budget for the last seven years, and demanding improvement of the welfare of UPDF and home-guards.
Wars are fought differently but for gunmen, they only appreciate when they see you carrying "a gun" This defeats institutional building and regulation of powers between the executive and parliament.
As a member of Parliament, article 79 (3) of our constitution enjoins Okumu to protect this constitution and promote the democratic governance of Uganda.
Therefore future violators are warned that any undemocratic tendencies should not be attempted. And if the president thinks he could be one, he would be taking a big risk. He should preserve himself and prepare to retire.
The president knows Okumu's condemnation of Kony several times both at personal and collective levels. Because he has failed to defeat Kony, he prefers to shift blame that the war has not ended because 'some' people have not condemned Kony.
The president argues he is a great fighter of terrorism but how many times has he condemned State terrorists who torture hundreds of Ugandans?
Today there are many official torture chambers and safe houses; why is the president silent?
We in Reform Agenda agree with the president when he condemned RC killers and Kony's killings of innocent people. But the president himself had a hand in the NRA killing of all the UPC chairmen and UPC supporters while he was in the bush in Luwero Triangle.
Killers and violators, whether they are Kony's or in government are the same. Museveni knows how innocent civilians were buried alive in Burcoro-Gulu; how some elements of NRA murdered innocent Acholi civilians and also committed homosexual acts; how Maj. Gen. David Tinyefunza's Operations North violated basic rights including right to life, etc.
We have the record and the president should lie to the Chinese who do not live here.
So when the president wrote: "Neither the NRM nor myself has violated an iota of this constitution in any way," it defeats our collective wisdom with this amount of open and naked lie!
The LRA rebels are bad enough, uncivilised and primitive murderers. But they continue to abduct innocent children who may comprise more than 85% of their rank and file.
The President knows this. One would think of an exit way for these victims of abductions - which is dialogue.
Reagan Okumu will continue to advocate for it because we know Museveni who failed to protect these children does not have any moral right to follow the same children and kill them.
We in Reform Agenda always note with pain government statements. When children get abducted, government says terrorist have abducted; when children escape they are children but when they are killed in combat zone they are terrorist killed!
Indeed the children who return always say very few real LRA are killed. So in effect, most of the figures given by government as rebels killed are actually victims of abduction.
The question of those who killed RCs in the north and east plus those who murdered UPC chairmen and supporters in Luwero triangle can be handled by Truth and Reconciliation Commission which we shall establish as a healing process in Uganda but everybody must prepare to speak the truth to be forgiven.
It has always been typical of Museveni and his people to criminalise the opposition and associate them after September 11 to terrorists in order to divert local attention on real issues being raised and catch sympathy from the Americans and Western world.
We are afraid this may not work for long as Museveni's true colours, methods, interests and lack of original vision are exposed.
We shall however, protect President Museveni's achievements and safeguard his freedom. We in Reform Agenda know that humans have weaknesses, especially when they over stay in power.
No body will touch Museveni. In this spirit Museveni should not get scared that leaving power would expose him to the Fredrick Chiluba type of risk.
Our history is different from Zambia's and we shall not tolerate any individuals or organisations who would wish to take advantage and pinch him.
We assure him of his personal safety, freedom and welfare. But our request to the president is that he should not get misled by those who see their selfish political and economic survival only through him.
The Monitor newspaper is very innocent. Differences in opinion on an issue of national importance are useful and that is what democracy demands.
On our part we shall not only use newspapers and radios while the president and his team goes to the villages as he wants it to be; but we shall go out to the grassroots as well to give our alternative views to the people of Uganda.
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We would request that the president for once should become democratic and not block our consultations. For God and my Country.
Mr Sam Njuba is deputy chairman of Reform Agenda.
