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Matek
Museveni went to the bush for Uganda elections were
ridged.
Just to remind you
Em
The Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni, Uganda is
in
anarchy"
Groupe de communication Mulindwas
"avec Yoweri Museveni, l'Ouganda est dans
l'anarchie"
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, June 28, 2004 11:31
AM
Subject: [Ugandacom] Owangee...I present
to you the ravings of a madman from none other then Nyakatura
Museveni Rejects Referendum
Ruling
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The Monitor (Kampala)
June 28, 2004
Posted to the web
June 28, 2004
Richard Mutumba
Kampala
President Yoweri
Museveni last night rejected the Constitutional Court ruling that nullified
the 2000 Referendum, saying the government will not accept the contents of the
ruling.
"The Government will not allow any authority including the
courts to usurp people's power in anyway. We shall not accept this. It will
not happen. This is absurd and unacceptable," the President said in a Radio
and TV address to the nation.
The five judges of Constitutional Court
on Friday annulled the Referendum (Political System) Act 2000 and the June 29,
2000 referendum because Parliament did not follow the Constitutional procedure
when enacting the Act.
Court also ruled that no other mandatory
referendum can be held, because article 271 of the Constitution that provided
for the referendum was not complied with and had expired, rendering article 74
that should have been activated for the purpose of changing into another
political system redundant.
General Museveni said a closer look at the
ruling reveals an absurdity and shocks the general moral of common
sense.
The President said under the 2000 Referendum, Ugandans exercised
their right to choose a political system. He said these rights are not given
to the people by the judges.
"The work of the judges is to interprete
the Constitution or the laws but not to enact the laws," he said. "The power
of the people to choose how they should be governed lies with the people
themselves. We chased Idi Amin and Obote because they wanted to grab this
power and this is re-affirmed by our revolutionary struggle against those
foolish people who thought they could usurp that power," Museveni
said.
He said judges had no power to change this arrangement, saying
that they were even less qualified than the people. The General said the
Movement had a duty in accordance with article 271 to organise a referendum to
take place in the fourth year of its term in which millions of Ugandans took
part.
"It is therefore totally unacceptable that anyone should try to
reverse this exercise. You can play with any other thing but not this one.
When you say Ugandans have no power to choose their destiny, that is a no go
area for any authority other than the people themselves," he
stressed.
The President said he couldn't believe the fact that the
court that derives its authority from the people could turn around and usurp
their power.
He cited article 126(1) on administration of justice,
which provides that "Judicial power is derived from the people and shall be
exercised by the courts in the name of the people in conformity with the norms
and aspirations of the people." He said this was a decision the judiciary must
respect.
The President assured Ugandans that there was no cause for
alarm, saying the world of anarchy ended and the Movement restored
constitutionalism and the rule of law. He said this was the reason why judges
could even make decisions against the government.
He said if these
judges made such a ruling during the past regimes, they would not live to see
the next day. "This government has changed all this and we don't want to get
back to those days. There is total adherence to the rule of law and
constitutionalism under the Movement," he said.
Museveni said some
people were taking Ugandans for a ride. "We cannot accept this. No authority
will usurp the power of the people or even nullify the existence of the
Movement by any other means other than the vote. The sovereignty of Ugandans
cannot be taken away by court manoeuvres or Ssemogerere and his group," he
said.
"We are planning to propose to Ugandans that those who don't want
to be in the Movement should leave and form their own parties where they will
be happy. If people don't want to be in the movement, they should be allowed
to go away, and we are going to do this in a referendum," he
said.
Museveni said, "article 74 is not dead. the Movement is not dead
and Ugandans are not dead." He said the government lawyers were studying the
ruling and shall take appropriate legal redress. He said in the meantime, the
Movement shall ensure that harmony and adherence is maintained.
He said
the government is proposing a number of amendments to Parliament to tie all
the loose ends and to ensure that the contradictions don't happen again. "Each
organ of government should know its jurisdiction," Museveni said.
10
Key Quotes
The judgment reveals an absurdity. The ruling means the
Movement system does not exist, that all elections held under it are null and
void, that all actions taken by the government including the appointment of
judges are a nullity.
The judges are saying the country is in a state
of anarchy. They have usurped the power of the people to choose their
political system.
Our power to choose how to be governed does not
derive from judges, but from the people's intrinsic right granted by the
Constitution.
Who are you? Even you judges have no power. you even have
less power than the people to choose how they should be governed.
5. It
is totally unacceptable that any one can allow the reversal of the 2000
Referendum.
Those who want to play games can play with other things but
not this one. No authority, not even the judges, will be allowed to usurp the
power of the people to choose how they will be governed.
We restored
constitutionalism and the rule of law. That is why judges can rule like this
against the government. There were times when if a judge made such a ruling,
he would not live to see tomorrow.
The ruling will not work. It is
simply not acceptable. Judges say Article 74 has evaporated. Article 74 is not
dead. The Movement system is not dead. We are all here.
Relevant Links
East Africa
Uganda
Legal and Judicial Affairs
There is no problem. Courts are making mistakes, but these
will be redressed legally, politically, legislatively and
constitutionally.
There will be referenda. I repeat. I assure you these
matters will come to a referendum. When you get a court to make a law or to
legislate or write their own constitution, then you run into
problems.
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