:
Rev. K.There are a couple of other problems too: what is the number of prisoners? And, are prisoners on remand also eligible to vote or only convicted ones?
Status 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Convicted 5,283 5,594 5,380 6,169 6,908 Remand 10,630 9,815 9,853 10,901 11,044 Total 15,913 15,409 15,233 17,070 17,952 Source: Uganda Prisons
Joseph Kamugisha <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:Mw. Ssemakula:This is absurd! Acts of desperation have now sent the NRM-O all the way to Luzira in an effort to manipulate the prisoners.Clearly these are "fixes" as you put it. The way i understand it, inorder for one to vote, he/she must know what the incumbent and his opponents stand for and all this comes through open campaigns in a free environment. How in the world are the prisoners going to be subjected to such conditions without causing chaos and unnecessary overtime for the prison gurads?Is it going to be only for prisoners in Luzira Prison or in all upcountry prisons? Will all political parties in the race be freely allowed to go in and out of jails without a problem?Now that prisoners can be allowed to vote, what other priveledges are left for them to enjoy? Attending their family wedding cerebrations, attending funnerals ceremonies or attending graduation ceremonies?Only in Uganda can these crazy things happen.KamugishaSsemakula <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:Mr President, your help will be a great relief to me
SIR — I joined the NRA forces in July 1981 when I was already trained by the Uganda Army. I worked hard in our struggle and was one of the first commanders who recruited and trained NRA soldiers at Kijjaguzo and Bulamba primary schools in 1982.
Today many relatives and friends of fallen NRA soldiers are sad that they were not able to take the remains of their loved ones for a decent burial.
June 9 is commemorated as Heroes Day. However, many of us who fought and those who lost their loved ones have been forgotten to suffer the pangs of poverty.
On July 1, 1998, I met President Museveni at Kisozi, and we talked for more than four hours with Mrs Miria Kyambadde. The President asked us to go back to him after two weeks. I was promised a house for my family but up to now I am still renting.
I assure the President that I am still his staunch supporter and request him to remember his promise. It will be a great relief to me and others in the same category.
RA.0180 Sgt (Rtd) Stephen Sekyanzi
New Vision: Wednesday, 27th April, 2005
My, oh my, for an adult man to have to grovel like this!
Institutional weakness is Africa’s trouble
SIR — Recently, Bob Geldof kicked up a political storm when he declared that President Yoweri Museveni’s time was up. Some of us supported him, or at least gave him the benefit of the doubt, while others questioned his knowledge and moral authority.
Seezi Cheeye, for example, pointed to Geldof’s private life — his wife left him for another man — and wondered how the pop star who had failed to keep his wife could now presume to tell Ugandans how to govern themselves. I believe a person’s private life may influence a person’s public life and even signal whether they can be trusted or not.
However, I do not believe that personal morality or private life is necessarily indicative of who can make a good leader.
The prominent American ethicist, Reinhold Niebuhr spelt this out in a famous book Moral Man and Immoral Society (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1960).
Morality that may apply in the personal sphere may not apply in the public realm. He had in mind Christian personal morality. The conduct of public life depends on putting in place structures for delivering certain intended outcomes.
Politics in Africa did not fail because the people are immoral but due to institutional weakness.
The Rev Amos Kasibante
Leicester, UK
Published on: Wednesday, 27th April, 2005
Bodaboda Candidate Petitions EC Over 'Illegal Registration'
New Vision (Kampala)
April 27, 2005
LAWRENCE kushemererwa, a bodaboda cyclist competing for the Mbarara municipality parliamentary seat, has petitioned the returning officer, William Kanyesigye, over the "on-going illegal registration of voters."
Ebenezer Bifubyeka reports that at a press conference at the Voice of Toro office on Saturday, kushemererwa displayed a copy of over 300 names that he said had secretly been registered.
In a letter dated April 22, Kushemererwa said a group of people claiming to be from the office of Mbarara mayor Wilson Tumwine were registering voters.
"This registration was being directed by Hajji Bakawonga, a re-known supporter of candidate John Arimpa Kigyagi, who was travelling in the mayor's Land Cruiser UAF 514T," he said.
Ps: Did I mention that the fix is in?
Prisoners to Vote in 2006 Elections
The Monitor (Kampala)
April 27, 2005
By Mercy Nalugo
Parliament
If the government gets its way, prisoners will vote in the 2006 general elections. This would be the first time in the country's history that prisoners are allowed to vote.
The Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs has written to the Electoral Commission asking that Uganda's over 21,000 prisoners should be included on the updated voters' register ahead of the 2006 elections.
The ministry argues that prisoners too have a right to vote and should be considered. The Minister of Internal Affairs, Dr Ruhakana Rugunda, announced the government proposal while appearing before the House committee on Defence. He said the Justice ministry contends that since voting is a constitutional right, every Ugandan should enjoy it. Rugunda was in Parliament to defend his ministry's budget estimates for the financial year 2005/2006. He said the details of conducting campaigns in prisons would be left to the Electoral Commission.
More than 8,874,744 people have been registered to vote in 2006 compared to the 8,125,666 people who registered in 2001.
This is the first time the prisoners are being considered as voters in the country's history. Electoral Commission officials told The Monitor yesterday that they had heard about the letter from the Ministry of Justice. "I have heard that the letter has come [from the ministry] but I have not seen it," EC Secretary Sam Rwakoojo said.
He concurred with the ministry that prisoners have a constitutional right to vote. "There is no reason why they should be denied their right to vote," Rwakoojo said. He said the Commission would go ahead and include them on the national voters' register. He was however wary of the resources.
Rwakoojo said the Commission had in the past asked the Attorney General whether the prisoners have a right like any other Ugandan to vote for a candidate of their choice. He said the Attorney General said it was okay. The Justice ministry letter was in reply to the EC's query, Rwakoojo added. Asked how candidates would go about campaigning in prisons, Rwakoojo said their role would largely focus on ensuring free and fair elections.
Dr Joe Oloka-Onyango, an associate professor in the Faculty of Law at Makerere University, said it was okay for prisoners to vote. However, he questioned the timing of the proposal. "Why should someone in prison not be allowed to vote? It is their constitutional right," Oloka-Onyango said. "But generally speaking one can ask why at this point in time."
The Deputy Commissioner of Uganda Prisons, Mr John Byabashaija, told The Monitor that prisoners have never voted in the country's history. He said implementing the voting might be hard. He wondered how one would campaign in the condemned areas such as the Upper Prison, in Luzira.
"But we shall comply with the directive," Byabashaija said.
According to the budget framework paper for the financial year 2005/06, the prison population has increased from the daily "average of 12,000 prisoners in 1997/98 to 21,000 in the 2004/2005."
OK, in case you missed the point, the fix is in.
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