We have heard about UNAA New York 2006 and the tips given to the organizers for UNAA San Francisco 2007 from UNAA members and more so, more tips from UNAA Boston 2003. I have also revisited my archives from UNAA Minnesota that I wish to share with you.Reflecting on one past UNAA convention as a precursor for UNAA San FranciscoUNAA CONVENTION 2005, MINIAPOLIS, MINNESOTAThe convention was very vibrant, interactive and one would say, up-close and personal when it came to canvassing or soliciting for votes. It is not every day that you camp with over 800 Ugandans for a weekend. Noticeably this year, many Ugandans flew in from the United Kingdom. The Ugandan government sent a high packed delegation headed by Prof. Tarsis Kabwegyere. The delegation had cabinet ministers, members of parliament, special presidential aide, ambassadors and other embassy officials. One of the government officials, Catherine Naava Nabagesera presentation, she told the community (UNAA) about the governments achievements specifically concerning those in the Diaspora.As a Ugandan, I feel honored and grateful to the Ugandan government and political leaders availing me a chance to meet and interact with so many officials for the whole weekend. The fact that some government officials ran out of business cards, is evidence enough that many Ugandans were eager to meet and exchange their business cards and contacts of some sorts.The UNAA Election:As scheduled by its constitution, it was time for UNAA members yet again, to elect their International Executive Board whose service is purely voluntary. The UNAA presidential campaign was magnificent and very animated and one would be excused to think that they were vying for a parliamentary seat. The zeal shown in the campaign must be kept alive to realize the goals and objectives of the organization and not wait for an electioneering year to show such enthusiasm and the desire to play a role or two to uplift the communitys well-being. Credit should go to Margaret Musoke to have raised the campaign standards as the first person to come out with a campaign website and sensitize members on issues and possible solutions faced by the organization. Agreeably, Abdul Kalema-Kimbugwe had the best UNAA Christmas tree as far as the ticket, campaign team, and most probably, the voting constituency was concerned. His team seemed to have gone ballistic as far as campaign materials were concerned.Then cyber heckling and the quarterbacking ensued up to the wire. I enjoyed the Word of the Day from Ed Kironde during the vote-soliciting period. Then, the immediate responses from Reverend Joseph Kamugisha, swatting anyone who was unfavorable to his candidate. One would think that the man of God had his anti-scuds missiles mounted in cyber space. On the other hand, Dr Frank Matovu, on entering the race, had his paintbrush ready whenever anyone threw dirt at his running mate; the Doctor heavily applied the brush to cover any of that dirt. Albeit, as the paintbrush swayed from one side to the other, a number of UNAA local chapters got the ink splashed on them. One thing that crossed my mind came from Dr Matovus forgiveness to Ed Kironde. Though it came to pass, and I would like to believe that it was a bluff and would not put a question mark on what would have been the Executive Boards impartiality and ability to follow UNAAs guidelines on bidding cities, had his ticket prevailed...But Margaret and I forgive you in advance of our winning on Sunday 09/05/2005. Remember, Margaret and I will sit on the UNAA Board that will evaluate Denvers suitability for hosting UNAA-20 in 2008 Dr Matovu [during the campaign heat]The Ugandan community in the Diaspora is a cross-section of Ugandas diversity. If you find that politics played a major role in UNAA elections and find that it was a little uncharacteristic, you need to be reminded that it is the rebirth of political party politics in Uganda and politicians will go a long way to garner support from all possible corners of the globe. Some voted with friends and families, others were swayed by who they knew, and I want to believe that however impressive either platform may have been, few, if any voters, cast their votes simply because of such impeccable credentials. Past elections never generated any steam and fewer people participated in previous elections, and strangely enough, quite a few people expressed that it was the first election of any kind they have ever participated in. In the end, we had victors and no victims. Emotions were high, and it is possible that some people could have been scarred, and opted to bottle the anger, but it will heal with time. When Mr. Nekyon called Ms Musoke on stage after the announcement of the results, the action sent a powerful message to our present and future leaders. Whether those not elected will create a virtual-bush, or work with elected executive, time will tell.The Electoral Commission under the Chairmanship of Mr. Patrick Ayota, should get thumbs up for its professionalism, impartiality and watertight confidentiality. Omugave Ssemakula, clad in his blue T-shirt, embarked on a Kabbo Ka Muwala mission dishing out entugo and some other delicacy of sorts, to those waiting in line to vote, saying that he had greetings from those he was openly campaigning for. One Electoral Commission official (Moses Wilson) intervened and Omugave Ssemakula was asked to move his ntungo at a distance, he obliged and that was most probably the last time we saw much of him in public.One Georgian Doctor who declared himself candidate as well, threatened to sue the outgoing UNAA President and the Electoral Commission for closing the nominations prematurely. He was heard saying that the amount of money he makes in a day, will take UNAA a whole year to make it. This Doctor, clothed in his Kanzu, later made headlines news in the Ugandan Press, as he was frog-marched by security personnel, obviously having had one-too-many. Had he been elected UNAA President, the Georgian Doctor would have missed the closing highlights.Miss UNAAAs other activities took place, a flag bearer to carry the beauty mantle for Miss UNAA was taking place and few have any information when and how the finals went. Understandably, the panel was homegrown and already handpicked well, according to some participant and a panel of five had a couple as in spouses and dominantly Minnesota. Beauty contest participants traveled from near and far, with expectation of sharing their talents with fellow Ugandans. Once it was discovered that some of the contestants could sing and one of them actually was at the verge of releasing an album in the studio, this showcasing was killed off for obvious reasons. UNAA members now have to buy her music from record stores. The judges eventually declared a Minnesota resident as the winner.They held an interview with the five judges on Friday night Sept 2nd.The organizers had put down rules that if any contestant failed to reach, would be disqualified. One of the rules was being punctual. I am surprised that each of the contestants from MN was late at all events but still they had the carriage to crown Miss MN and put almost all MN contestants in the top five. One of the beauty pageants wrote.Political and Interest Groups:I was surprised not to see Madam Anne Mugisha in the FDC political forum I attended despite the fact that she was in the vicinity. Most probably there is much more than meets the eye.Ugandans have differing political ideologies and backgrounds, and it was good to see them share a single platform; address the same people, who have different political opinions without the need to clobber each other. All, I hear, in the name of finding solutions for a common good. On the panel of politicians, UPCs representatives were visibly missing. NRM, FDC and DP were well represented.. Judging the length of the line of those waiting to fire their questions, future political forums maybe need a whole days workshop.The NRM session was jammed to capacity though it was minutes before the Boat departure. The FDC forum attracted many members of various political interests who bought a few party items in the name of fundraising.The Basoga leaders had something going on somewhere upstairs.AbbeyW
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