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Museveni is not moving he is already a life
president. Only that society is very slow in catching up, those of us who knew
how Museveni came to power we warned about this nightmare more than 15 years
ago, and we were taken to be jokers. Well here we are. Hope next time we become
better critical thinkers that this time around.
Em
Toronto
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: Tuesday, July 26, 2005 3:06
AM
Subject: Re: [Mwananchi] Museveni's Third
Term Sad Moment for Africa
Is this the same Kaguta who used to make fun of
Africa's
Presidents-for-life? Now he's moving in the
same direction.
James
Chikonamombe
--- Edward Mulindwa <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
>
> Museveni's Third Term Sad Moment for Africa
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> The New Times (Kigali)
>
> OPINION
> July 24, 2005
> Posted to the web July 25, 2005
>
> Silver
Bugingo
> Kigali
>
> Finally, the contentious issue of
deleting the two
> five-year term limit clause for presidency
provided
> under the Ugandan Constitution is a foregone
>
conclusion, never mind about the treacherous tactics
> employed.
>
> During the last four years, there has been a curious
> debate
on the switch to multi-party politics which
> has for nineteen years
running, been legally
> prohibited. Thus the more the talk raged on,
the
> more it dawned on the proponents of multipartism
> that
president Yoweri Museveni would obviously seek
> to amend the
Constitution and remain eligible for
> the post he has held for two
decades, for as long as
> he wants.
>
>
> For President Museveni and his
accomplices, it has
> been but a matter of the medieval adage of "the
end
> justifying the means". Last November, 'honourable'
>
legislators were given Shs5m to 'educate' the people
> about the term
limits issue. In May, they were given
> Shs6m refund in taxes they have
paid since November
> 2001. And president Museveni further promised
them
> Shs12m Constituency Development Fund, understandably
>
should they overwhelmingly support his third term
> ploy. This is a very
unfortunate behaviour for the
> 'honourable' law makers for which
history will never
> absolve them.
>
> Constitutional or
any legal amendments the world
> over is a very healthy act provided it
is done in
> good faith and motivated by the desire to see
>
harmonious political development in the country and
> nothing more.
However, the deleting of the
> presidential term limit clause from the
1995
> Constitution of the Republic of Uganda by the
> legislature
a few days ago was a very dangerous
> precedence that will have far
reaching
> repercussions- negative repercussions not only on
> the
socio-economic and the political stability of
> Uganda but also on the
regional political stability.
> What the Parliament did a couple of
weeks ago in its
> feverish haste to uproot presidential term
limits
> from the Constitution was to fulfill a legal
>
requirement to allow Museveni present himself as
> candidate in next
year's general elections and
> nothing more.
>
>
Constitutional amendments are never made for
> individual or political
purposes. In any case the
> term limit clause, which is a very sensitive
issue
> in the context of Uganda's and indeed Africa's
> turbulent
political history had not yet been tested
> for once yet in countries
where it has been tested
> like Tanzania, Kenya it has caused no harm,
rather
> it has resulted into sustainable stability and
>
political discipline.
>
> Again, within the context of regional
integration,
> there is need for political and constitutional
>
convergence in the Eastern Africa, if at all the
> regional leaders are
serious about making a strong
> market entity and the proposed
political
> confederation of the East African Community.
>
> We don't need to scratch our heads to make sense of
> what the
future post-2006 Museveni regime has in
> store for the peace-loving
Ugandans. The ill
> intended and subsequent constitutional amendment
has
> already caused more harm than good. In the words of
>
Museveni's childhood friend and comrade in the
> liberation struggles,
Augustin Ruzindana, who has
> since turned his erstwhile rival: "The
third term
> ploy has ended long established friendships, it has
>
split the movement, it has split the country, it has
> led to the abuse
of elders by youngstersâ-oeit has
> led to all sort of manipulation of
the constitution,
> the law and parliamentary rules, it has led to
the
> promise of innumerable districts and above all the
>
depletion of the national budget" he is reported to
> have painstakingly
told the Speaker.
>
> The essence of including term limit in the
Ugandan
> Constitution and in any other national Constitution
> is
among other things, to curb excessive executive
> powers through various
provisions of checks and
> balances, separation of powers, strong
provisions
> protecting fundamental human and individual rights,
>
creation of independent oversight institutions like
> the Electoral
Commission and an independent
> judiciary. However, the overt spirit
behind the
> untimely amendment is to increase executive
>
authority, castrate the judiciary of its discretion
> by restricting
judicial reviews, intimidate the
> independent voices and emasculate the
oversight
> institutions and water down the checks and balances.
>
In short, what has been a de facto dictatorship has
> been
constitutionalised. What a shame!!
>
> In fact, for
constitutional law scholars, Uganda's
> constitutional review process of
June 2005 will go
> down as the most treacherous political
maneuver
> which subjected the otherwise good Constitution to
> an
emergency surgery- to reconsider 102 articles in
> a desperate effort to
disguise the political greed
> and bad faith in removing the
presidential term
> limit.
>
> Other African rulers tried
the fraudulent attempt
> but were nipped in the bud. Former
Presidents
> Fredrick Chiluba of Zambia and Bakili Muluzi of
>
Malawi, whose constitutional two-term mandates were
> nearing expiry
made desperate moves but were blocked
> by the legislature, opposition
politicians and all
> peace-loving citizens in their countriers.
>
> Ironically, instead of these incidences having
> served as an
eye opener, our 'visionary' man set out
> to exploit the situation to
his insatiable political
> greed, the apparent negative repercussions
likely to
> culminate notwithstanding.
>
> Already, the
most recent press report indicate that
> President Benjamin Mkapa of
Tanzania, whose two-term
> constitutional mandate expires in October
this year
> and who has harboured no intentions whatsoever to
>
seek another term has threatened to pull out of the
> East Africa
Community because of Museveni's Kisanja
> ploy. It must be remembered
that the EAC which was
> revived just a few years ago, had disintegrated
in
> 1977 because of the unbecoming behaviour of then
> Ugandan
military dictator Field Marshal Idi Amin.
>
> What all this means
is that the country's future is
> at cross-roads. What started and was
conceived as a
> united revolutionary political movement or is
it
> political party, has split different political camps
> that
live a 'cat and mouse life'. The harm this is
> likely to cause on the
social fabric of the entire
> society is everybody's guess.
>
> Museveni's strategy of "separating sheep from
> wolves" to be
sure of a dissent-free term will
> definitely leave an insurmountable
number of
> causalities; his priority now is to completely phase
>
out dissenting contemporaries from NRMO and infuse
> in more young
people who can easily toe his line.
>
> Critics of Museveni,
however console themselves in
> the fact that each person Museveni sacks
tears a
> chunk off the Movement. Thus the Forum for
> Democratic
Change, the dumping ground for most
> friends-turned opponents will
hopefully metamorphose
> into a broader and formidable political
force
> capable of restoring sanity. Indeed Museveni's
> former
friend and ally cum strong critic, Jaberi
> Bidandi Ssali has observed
that the presidential
> term limit clause will be reinserted in
the
> Constitution "when a sane government" succeeds him.
> But
for Gods sake, for how long shall people have to
> endure successive
political upheavals?
>
> Surely my humble submission is that the
African
> Union and other credible African leaders must come
> out
and make their positions sound and clear on
> their colleague's
unbecoming political appetite,
> lest his unfortunate legacy will be
followed by
> others.
>
test';
">
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