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I AM A MUGANDA: Obote |
Former President Dr. Milton Obote is expected to return on May 27. BBC’s Veronica Edwards caught up with him to explain his plans. Below is the interview
Q: When, and if, do you intend to return?
Answer: I will go home. There is no question about my not going home. I will go home when conditions about the dictatorship have been removed.
Q: What do you mean by conditions of dictatorship?
Answer: Oh! One party state and matters like that.
Q: You are talking about one party dictatorship, but now we understand that multipartyism is allowed and will flourish in Uganda. So that is a good beginning?
Answer: What do you mean by a good beginning? In the Constitution, there is Article 80 about parliamentary candidates. But there is also something about regulation, which they have not removed. Regulation does not allow anybody to be a member of a party in order to be a parliamentary candidate.
Q: When exactly do you now think you
will go
home because obviously President Museveni.... (Obote interrupts)
Answer: We are campaigning, since 1986, I did not know that I would reach this condition, this situation where you can ask me Answer: I am already off age. I don’t want to be an MP. I have produced very many young men. I want them to be MPs.
Q: Are you too old to be president.
Answer: Well if other people think that they are not too old, I’m certainly not with them.
Q: What makes you think you cannot be a good president. Obviously you still have your faculties, you have the common sense to be able to know whether you are old.
Answer: I still have my faculties I can still be a good president. But I have been there I know how vexing it is. I don’t want to be president again.
Q: Why not? If your UPC people ask you to stand. Will you say no?
Answer: I am a leader, I m not to be led. If people ask me I will tell them what I think. I will tell them I don’t want to stand.
Q: Do
you think people in Uganda will be very excited to see you or there will be some mixed feelings?
Answer: They will be very excited to see me.
Q: What about those who are not so excited to see you, for example, the Baganda who are not happy that you kicked out their king.
Answer: Baganda are my friends. I am married to a Muganda, my children are Baganda, I am a Ugandan and therefore I am a Muganda.
Q: What about people who are now getting upset with you that you kicked out all the top executive people in the UPC who would have made your party a strong party?
Answer: UPC is very strong. I have not kicked out anybody at all. I have just reorganised the party. I have been advised. I don’t do things on my own, I get advice from home. The names came from home, the materials came from home. I have already decided a new party reorganisation. I have already put up candidates of advisors. And they have got to advise me on two matt
ers,
which I think are very important.
One is the relationship between the UPC and the G6. G6 are other parties opposed to Museveni. Secondly is the level playing field with Museveni.
Q: What exactly is the future of UPC? Can you see them making any difference at all?
Answer: Oh yes, UPC will win the elections because we are the oldest party and know our country.
Q: So May 27, you will definitely arrive in Kampala?
Answer: No, no, no, May 27 is not my problem. My problem is the dictatorship to go out of Uganda. If dictatorship can go out tonight. I would be there by tomorrow.
Q: Can you ever see yourself in the same room with President Museveni to sit down and talk?
Answer: No, no, no, the man killed my father, killed my mother. I don’t want to meet him.
Q: Because of that, you are not prepared to forgive and forget?
Answer: Oh no! Would you do that when a person kills your father and mother?
Q: You don’t seem to see any
thing
good in President Museveni, do you?
Answer: NoI don’t see anything good. A person kills my father, killed my mother and he killed very many Ugandans; I am very hurt about it. My age does not take care of my being hurt.
Published on: Wednesday, 13th April, 2005
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