Museveni wants to topple Constitution It is always interesting to read missives from President Yoweri Museveniâs heart and mind, including the latest in which he responded to the late James Wapakhabuloâs written advice against holding a referendum on changing articke 105 (2).
It is one of the few endangered vestiges of sanity that the president responds to other opinions in a fairly civilised manner. But while to some extent I agree with the more logical assertions he made, I find much of his disposition, irrational. It goes without stating that his excellency the president of the republic of Uganda, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, the very first line of defence of the peopleâs constitution, made several strategic but grave fallacies and distortions tantamount to toppling the 1995 peopleâs Constitution. Hiding behind the universal and divine supremacy of the people is escapist. The presidents over zealousness with âthe peopleâ, can only serve to indicate that we are not so detached from pre-historic times, which Museveni has been fighting to deliver us from. In his Green Book, Col Muammar Ghadaffi, the self proclaimed life president of Libya, tried hard to underplay representative politics instead expounding psychic virtues or notion of the co-called popular congresses. Why would Museveni become an advocate of such a deranged philosophy? The reason is that it is a populist potential in the scheme of self-preservation (otherwise self-destruction) Parliament has power and that is why it is charged with making laws on behalf of the people. In simple terms, parliament is the equivalent of the majority of the people. About judges belonging only to the professional cadreship of doctors, accountants, teachers etc, I beg to be educated. I had always thought the judiciary is a third arm of government manned by distinguished persons devoid of political undercurrents who are supposed to provide checks and balances and act as final arbiters and custodians of the very doctrines that hold together our civilisation. Article I of the 1995 Constitution is more beautiful when read as a whole. It gives joy that the discretion to determine the exercise of the peoplesâ power is vested in clearly stipulated guiding principles and not left to the whims of selfish greedy mortals. So you ask; Who are the people? Who makes an issue contentious? Why hold fiveâyear elections then? Why do we have courts of law? What is the equation of officers and men of UPDF? And the big one - why canât the president address the real issue of life presidency? John Martin Obbo, Kampala. -------------------------------------------- This service is hosted on the Infocom network http://www.infocom.co.ug
