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Crisis of integrity in Uganda's leadership |
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Kizza Besigye |
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South Africa The extent to which Uganda's leaders deceive, manipulate and fleece the people they are supposed to lead has assumed crisis levels. Ordinarily, leaders are supposed to be role models of their societies. In fact, the Constitution provides that the President shall be the "fountain of honour". Yet, you find him, ministers, MPs and other national leaders deceiving infront of cameras. Presently, I have been provoked to express my dismay by publications in the Daily Monitor of July 13. President Museveni, while addressing a press conference on July 12, is reported to have said: "As an army officer, Mutale was forgetting that he is barred from making political statements". He also reportedly said: "Tumukunde's electorate, the Army Council, forced him to resign," adding that "if he had not, the council would have recalled him". It will be recalled that, responding to concerns expressed by the 8th NEC meeting at Munyonyo on June 17, Mr Museveni said: "I will be able to convince the Kakooza Mutales”. This is a person who is directly responsible to him, using or abusing his office and resources (since we are not told that he took leave) with impunity. It is now less than two weeks to the referendum-voting day, and he is telling the nation that Mutale is forgetting that he is committing an offence! Even if an MP has and expresses different views from those of the entire constituency that elected him, it is no ground for recall of that MP. Of course, at the next election, the constituency would determine the fate of such an MP. This is the position of the Constitution that Museveni swore to uphold. If he has any difficulty in understanding the provisions of the Constitution, he has many legal advisors. I challenge him or his legal advisers to contradict the above Constitutional position. Grounds for recall
Therefore, if he wants the Army MPs to only serve as conduits of the Army Councils' views, he should amend the Constitution further to make it reflect his wishes. It should also be remembered that the Army Council is not representative of the UPDF since all its members are appointed by him. However, the above notwithstanding, the President calls a press conference at State House and deceives the nation! As all this is going on, Defence Minister Amama Mbabazi was addressing journalists and writing an opinion article for the country saying that President Bush did not advise Mr Museveni to leave office in 2006. Bribery The whole Constitution amendment process was manipulated right from the appointment of the Ssempebwa Commission, through bribery of MPs and the legal Committee, to the roll call voting in Parliament. This is the background to the case of the two MPs who the US ambassador reported to have confided in him that they were opposed to lifting of term limits but voted for it all the same. The envoy also talked about the disturbing report of a Parliamentary Committee on election violence, which he found in place but is leaving before it is discussed. The MPs are required to openly vote on Museveni's life-presidency project against the background of the fear of similar violence in the upcoming elections. Mbabazi chose to ignore all points that the ambassador raised in suggesting the manipulation of the MPs and dryly puts the question: "Can the ambassador kindly explain? What is this unexplained 'manipulation'?" According to Mbabazi everything is being done openly and transparently! How dishonest, how dishonourable!! The crisis of integrity in Uganda's leadership seems to deepen each passing day. Retired Col. Besigye is the Chairman of the FDC party. ------------ BWambuga |
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