By Robert Mwanje
Sept 23, 2004 - Monitor
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KAMPALA � Traditional leaders have scoffed at a government proposal that would let Parliament remove them. Some suggested that the idea was intended to divert public attention from serious questions about federalism. Officials from Buganda and Busoga Kingdoms said the idea was bad. Buganda Kingdom spokesman and Minister for Youth, Mr Peter Mayiga, said kings were not like ministers or district chairmen who could be replaced any time by any one. He said unless the government intends to abolish kingdoms, it should not squeeze traditional leaders. The remarks come one day after the government recommended that Parliament be allowed to unseat traditional leaders who violate the constitution under a proposed government reorganisation. �A king is born a king and dies a king. You can�t unseat someone you never appointed. They (government) can unseat a person, but not a king,� Mayiga told The Monitor on a phone yesterday. He said the Cabinet was trying to divert attention from the question of federalism to discuss irrelevant issues not recommended by the constitutional Review Commission (CRC). �The terms of reference are very clear. There is no single recommendation from any quarters about this issue in the CRC,� he said. He said people should be talking about the merits and demerits of federalism. He said the government should explain why it believes the federal system is bad. Mayiga said the proposals are not in line with the constitution, which recommends a referendum in cases where traditional leaders must be removed. Busoga Kingdom Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Stephen Nsubuga said the government had no powers over traditional leaders. �Not everybody can become a king and nobody has powers over traditional leaders,� Nsubuga said. He warned that the government should not turn against their cultural norms because of its failure to reach a consensus with the kingdoms. Mengo and the government had been engaged in a series of negotiations about federo, but Kabaka Ronald Mutebi and Museveni failed to reach a consensus. |
� 2004 The Monitor Publications
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