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Saleh writes to Museveni on third term
By Vision Reporter
LT. Gen. Salim Saleh has written to President Yoweri Museveni, advising him to abandon the third term project for the sake of unity of the Movement, The Vanguard newspaper has reported.
The Vanguard is rumoured to have close connections to Movement insiders.
Saleh is said to have told Museveni, his elder
brother, that he was worried that the Movement was losing important cadres and comrades, at a time when they were needed most.
Yesterday evening Saleh said, “I have to seek the clearance of the commandant of the College before I can talk to you.”
He is attending a senior commanders’ course at the Senior Staff College in Kimaka, Jinja. “When the commandant allows, I will talk to you,” he said on phone.
The Vanguard article runs as follows: Lt. Gen. Salim Saleh wrote a confidential letter to his elder
brother President Yoweri Museveni advising him to abandon the third term bid for the sake of unity in the Movement.
In his letter to the president, which he wrote a couple of weeks ago, Saleh says it worries him to see most of what he called important comrades abandon the Movement at the time of need over an issue that could be solved.
Saleh says he has talked to most of the Movement colleagues who defected to the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) and the only disagreement was the third term.
Saleh quotes Kategaya and Pulkol as saying should the President change his mind, they are more than ready to rejoin the Movement.
He also advises President Museveni to be mindful of the people around him as some of them could be championing their own interests. Saleh says if Museveni decided against the third term, FDC would be nowhere since their only unifying factor
is the fight against President Museveni’s third term.
On receiving Saleh’s letter, the President reportedly called him in the presence of Hon. (Sam) Kuteesa, Amama Mbabazi and a few others to explain his position so others can get to know better, which Saleh did.
The President reportedly told Saleh that he had never asked for a third term but insisted that if Ugandans decided on amending the Constitution through a referendum, nothing would stand in their way and that it would be done as people wish.
Asked to clarify on the letter, he said, “I don’t believe in media these days because you carry a lot of lies” before he asked that we call him after class and hang up. When we raised him later, he would not pick his phone.
In a related development, he secretly said he was not interested in running for another term but had insisted that if Ugandans decided to
remove term limits through a referendum next year, it would be done.
He is reportedly vetting Amama Mbabazi to stand as a presidential candidate for 2006. We wait and see.
Published on: Wednesday, 1st December, 2004 |
