Supporters of Kizza Besigye yesterday clashed with those of President Museveni in Kasese as the political battle for control of the district ensued.
While addressing a rally at Mubuku Sub-county in Busongora North, a group of 20 NRM youth draped in dry banana leaves arrived.
Dr Besigye’s supporters then seized the dry banana leaves from the group and set them on fire. It took about 10 minutes for the police to restore calm between the two parties.
Freedom to assemble
Mr Monday Karim, the district police officer in-charge of electoral offences, told Daily Monitor that two NRM supporters were arrested for trying to disrupt Dr Besigye’s rallies. He said they will be charged with violent conduct.
The IPC presidential candidate also tried to calm his supporters.
“Leave those sanja (dry banana leaves) people alone. They have failed to learn that we also have freedom to assemble.”
Dr Besigye’s party, the FDC, is fighting to consolidate its presence in this area, the only district in western Uganda where FDC has representatives in Parliament.
Dr Besigye, who carried out door-to-door campaigns in some villages and was set to address a rally in Kasese town later in the evening, was thanked for having advocated the restoration of the Rwenzururu Kingdom. He was accompanied by former army commander Maj. Gen. Mugisha Muntu and Busongora South MP Christopher Kibazanga.
Mr Kibazanga, who opted not to run for Parliament but for the district leadership position, said the NRM has resorted to organising “hooligans” because they are losing out to the opposition.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Museveni, Besigye battle for Buganda
The political battle to win the Buganda vote is hotter than ever. Inter-Party Cooperation flag bearer Dr Kizza Besigye has already completed his tour of the region while the NRM party flag bearer, Mr Yoweri Museveni, who also started his campaign in Buganda, is expected to end in the region.
Four of the seven opposition candidates, each while delivering their maiden post-nomination message, dug deep to get Buganda on their side. They all extolled the kingdom as the heartbeat of Uganda’s politics and competed in honouring its king, the Kabaka, who under the current Constitution, is supposed to be apolitical.
The political significance of Buganda region in the forthcoming elections cannot be underrated. It is the region with the biggest number of voters and it also has the highest number of elite voters than any other region in the country.
It is also home to presidential candidates Ms Beti Olive Kamya of the Uganda Federal Alliance (UFA), Mr Jaberi Bidandi Ssali of People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Dr Abed Bwanika of the Peoples Development Party (PDP) and independent candidate, Mr Samuel Lubega.
Unique region
Buganda is a unique region because of the things it has been demanding from the central government among which is a federal system of governmence, the 9,000sq miles of land and abolition of the land law.
Kampala Central MP Erias Lukwago who has been instrumental in agitating for the return of Buganda properties said the Baganda will not vote individuals they perceive to be anti-Mengo establishment because they always pay special allegiance to their king.
“The people of Buganda will definitely listen to Mengo,” Mr Lukwago said, adding, “the current land tenure system, which was introduced by this government, is only intended to grab Buganda land and people know that Mengo opposed the Land Bill.
“Buganda is a more institutionalised society. The people know that the current political dynamics do not work in favour of their Kabaka and there is no way they will support this government which created a legal framework that is hostile to the Buganda interests,” Mr Lukwago said.
The recent drafting of the Kampala City Bill, was the latest in a string of confrontations between Mengo and the central government.
The resolution of the current feud over land, power and money in Buganda will depend primarily on Mr Museveni’s NRM party’s calculated gains and losses from pursuing a political agenda at odds with the desires of Mengo.
The height of the confrontation between Mr Museveni and Buganda Kingdom was seen during the September 2009 riot that left at least 28 Ugandans dead and more than 50 injured. This exposed the tension between State control and the ambitions of the traditional Buganda Kingdom.
This violence erupted after supporters of the king were angered by the alleged government’s blocking of their cultural leader from attending a youth ceremony in Kayunga District, where a section of the local community, the Banyara, is trying to break away from his rule.
Some political pundits believe that Mr Museveni has not been happy with Buganda Kingdom that looks like a government-in-waiting, a kind of an alternative centre of power with all the trappings of a political administration. It seems he was left with no alternative but to take action in an attempt to reverse this trend.
In what is seen as a calculated move to exploit tensions between Mengo and Mr Museveni, Dr Besigye has promised to grant federal to any region of the country that wishes to have it.
“The problem is when people start thinking that they should be given their rights by the State,” Dr Besigye said in an interview with The East African newspaper this week. “The Justice Odoki Commission, which gathered views across the country, found out that over 65 per cent of Ugandans wanted to be governed under a federal system of governance.
All that we are saying is that if power belongs to the people, then we shall implement the peoples’ will.
“There is nothing bold or unique about what we are saying needs to be done in the case of Buganda. Some people think that a federal system of governance is only needed by the people of Buganda but that is not the case.”
The IPC leader contends that the other issues of concern to Buganda relate to debts owed by the central government and properties still being held that the kingdom wants returned.
“These are very minor issues and are not contentious because if you have a debt, what is contentious about that? Nobody is saying the debt is not there, only that they are refusing to pay,” he said.
Dr Besigye, who is believed to enjoy a cordial relationship with the King of Buganda, hopes to capitalise on his new promises to sway Baganda voters away from NRM’s Museveni.
However, this will not come easy and Dr Besigye knows it. Mr Museveni’s strongholds have always been western and central Uganda. Support in these regions needs to be consolidated, especially considering that Mr Museveni’s support nationwide has been falling by around 10 per cent in each of the past presidential elections. Buganda has been the source of a large percentage of Mr Museveni’s votes, even if the Mengo establishment itself has supported the opposition.
In 2001, Mr Museveni won about 70 per cent of votes in Buganda, although this included the support of a large number of non-Baganda. By 2006, his support had decreased, largely as a result of the strong
Nevertheless, of the 168 sub-counties in which Baganda are the majority ethnic group (which does not include all the sub-counties in the region of Buganda, explained by the fact that there have been many migrants to the area), Mr Museveni won just over a million votes. Dr Besigye won 700,000.
Thus, in 2006, the Baganda provided Mr Museveni with nearly a quarter of the total votes he received countrywide.Presidential spokesman Tamale Mirundi whose relationship with Mengo has been as icy just like that of his boss, believes that Mr Museveni by large remains the most popular political figure in Buganda whose following cannot easily get destroyed by Mengo’s smear tactics.
Buganda Kingdom, Mr Mirundi argues, has little capacity to influence voting patterns, especially that of the poor Baganda, whose support for Mr Museveni has remained, is believed to be high.”
“The Buganda Kingdom made one serious mistake whose consequence they are still suffering,” Mr Mirundi said. “They tried to undermine political parties after their fall out with Milton Obote and when Mr Museveni came to power, they (kingdom) helped to entrench the NRM system, which they are now trying to fight.
“People cannot take them seriously. You cannot every year be celebrating the restoration of the kingdom by the president whom you are denying. People will not agree with you and that is why you have seen the local Baganda voting against Mengo’s positions.”
Four of the seven opposition candidates, each while delivering their maiden post-nomination message, dug deep to get Buganda on their side. They all extolled the kingdom as the heartbeat of Uganda’s politics and competed in honouring its king, the Kabaka, who under the current Constitution, is supposed to be apolitical.
The political significance of Buganda region in the forthcoming elections cannot be underrated. It is the region with the biggest number of voters and it also has the highest number of elite voters than any other region in the country.
It is also home to presidential candidates Ms Beti Olive Kamya of the Uganda Federal Alliance (UFA), Mr Jaberi Bidandi Ssali of People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Dr Abed Bwanika of the Peoples Development Party (PDP) and independent candidate, Mr Samuel Lubega.
Unique region
Buganda is a unique region because of the things it has been demanding from the central government among which is a federal system of governmence, the 9,000sq miles of land and abolition of the land law.
Kampala Central MP Erias Lukwago who has been instrumental in agitating for the return of Buganda properties said the Baganda will not vote individuals they perceive to be anti-Mengo establishment because they always pay special allegiance to their king.
“The people of Buganda will definitely listen to Mengo,” Mr Lukwago said, adding, “the current land tenure system, which was introduced by this government, is only intended to grab Buganda land and people know that Mengo opposed the Land Bill.
“Buganda is a more institutionalised society. The people know that the current political dynamics do not work in favour of their Kabaka and there is no way they will support this government which created a legal framework that is hostile to the Buganda interests,” Mr Lukwago said.
The recent drafting of the Kampala City Bill, was the latest in a string of confrontations between Mengo and the central government.
The resolution of the current feud over land, power and money in Buganda will depend primarily on Mr Museveni’s NRM party’s calculated gains and losses from pursuing a political agenda at odds with the desires of Mengo.
The height of the confrontation between Mr Museveni and Buganda Kingdom was seen during the September 2009 riot that left at least 28 Ugandans dead and more than 50 injured. This exposed the tension between State control and the ambitions of the traditional Buganda Kingdom.
This violence erupted after supporters of the king were angered by the alleged government’s blocking of their cultural leader from attending a youth ceremony in Kayunga District, where a section of the local community, the Banyara, is trying to break away from his rule.
Some political pundits believe that Mr Museveni has not been happy with Buganda Kingdom that looks like a government-in-waiting, a kind of an alternative centre of power with all the trappings of a political administration. It seems he was left with no alternative but to take action in an attempt to reverse this trend.
In what is seen as a calculated move to exploit tensions between Mengo and Mr Museveni, Dr Besigye has promised to grant federal to any region of the country that wishes to have it.
“The problem is when people start thinking that they should be given their rights by the State,” Dr Besigye said in an interview with The East African newspaper this week. “The Justice Odoki Commission, which gathered views across the country, found out that over 65 per cent of Ugandans wanted to be governed under a federal system of governance.
All that we are saying is that if power belongs to the people, then we shall implement the peoples’ will.
“There is nothing bold or unique about what we are saying needs to be done in the case of Buganda. Some people think that a federal system of governance is only needed by the people of Buganda but that is not the case.”
The IPC leader contends that the other issues of concern to Buganda relate to debts owed by the central government and properties still being held that the kingdom wants returned.
“These are very minor issues and are not contentious because if you have a debt, what is contentious about that? Nobody is saying the debt is not there, only that they are refusing to pay,” he said.
Dr Besigye, who is believed to enjoy a cordial relationship with the King of Buganda, hopes to capitalise on his new promises to sway Baganda voters away from NRM’s Museveni.
However, this will not come easy and Dr Besigye knows it. Mr Museveni’s strongholds have always been western and central Uganda. Support in these regions needs to be consolidated, especially considering that Mr Museveni’s support nationwide has been falling by around 10 per cent in each of the past presidential elections. Buganda has been the source of a large percentage of Mr Museveni’s votes, even if the Mengo establishment itself has supported the opposition.
In 2001, Mr Museveni won about 70 per cent of votes in Buganda, although this included the support of a large number of non-Baganda. By 2006, his support had decreased, largely as a result of the strong
Nevertheless, of the 168 sub-counties in which Baganda are the majority ethnic group (which does not include all the sub-counties in the region of Buganda, explained by the fact that there have been many migrants to the area), Mr Museveni won just over a million votes. Dr Besigye won 700,000.
Thus, in 2006, the Baganda provided Mr Museveni with nearly a quarter of the total votes he received countrywide.Presidential spokesman Tamale Mirundi whose relationship with Mengo has been as icy just like that of his boss, believes that Mr Museveni by large remains the most popular political figure in Buganda whose following cannot easily get destroyed by Mengo’s smear tactics.
Buganda Kingdom, Mr Mirundi argues, has little capacity to influence voting patterns, especially that of the poor Baganda, whose support for Mr Museveni has remained, is believed to be high.”
“The Buganda Kingdom made one serious mistake whose consequence they are still suffering,” Mr Mirundi said. “They tried to undermine political parties after their fall out with Milton Obote and when Mr Museveni came to power, they (kingdom) helped to entrench the NRM system, which they are now trying to fight.
“People cannot take them seriously. You cannot every year be celebrating the restoration of the kingdom by the president whom you are denying. People will not agree with you and that is why you have seen the local Baganda voting against Mengo’s positions.”
Friday, October 15, 2010
Uganda's Electoral Commission not ready for elections - report
Failure by the Electoral Commission to address constant harassment, arrests and intimidation of politicians has largely dented its credibility four months to elections, says a new report. The findings, assessing Uganda’s compliance with international standards of conducting elections, notes that the whereas the EC is legally empowered to ensure a smooth playing field ahead of elections, it has not satisfactorily done that. The report asks Mr Badru Kiggundu’s team to ensure all political players gain fair access to public broadcast media in the electioneering season.
Violence cases
Authored by Ms Margaret Sekaggya, the former Uganda Human Rights Commission head and the current UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights Defenders, the report notes, “The EC’s failure to address the constant harassment, arrests and intimidations which political groups and some individuals are subjected to by the police and kiboko squads, has severely undermined its credibility.”
Launched in Kampala yesterday, the 70-page report published by the Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa and AfriMAP, also raises concerns about voter registration and polling processes. “Problems with the voters’ register cited in previous elections, including duplicate names, missing names and names registered in the wrong district, have not been adequately addressed, and have already seen in advance of February 2011,” it notes.
Ms Sekaggya said although time has run out to implement most electoral reforms, civic education and human rights awareness are a quick and sure way to prepare voters for times ahead. She also made a case for dialogue among the political players to avoid a scenario of violence as it was in Kenya after the 2007 presidential elections. “There should be a provision in the law to ban individuals found guilty by courts of law of electoral offence,” she added.
The keynote speaker at the launch, retired Supreme Court Justice George Kanyeihamba said under the current conditions, it will be improbable to orgnise free and fair elections come 2011. “No substantial reforms have been conducted. The ground is not level. Candidates like President Museveni have unfair advantage, launching development programmes one year or several months before elections yet the EC does not see this as a problem,” he said.
According to Prof. Kanyeihamba, he’d advised EC head Kiggundu to ask President Museveni to reform the electoral processes or resign if his request was ignored. “It is no secret. We advised him (Kiggundu) to table the recommendations with the President. He asked us, ‘what if the President refuses them?’ We told him, then resign but as you see he didn’t,” said Prof. Kanyeihamba.
The retired justice also warned church leaders against receiving gifts from politicians, saying they could be construed as bribes. “I asked one church leader that when the congregation asks him the candidate to vote for, won’t that Prado guide his judgment to advise them to vote for the candidate that cares for the church? He kept quiet,” he said.
Besides recommending that the EC be empowered further to deal with violence by suspending violent candidates and calling for more financial support to the commission, the report also recommends streamlining the electoral laws—like drafting a code of ethics for political parties.
It also urges the Uganda Human Rights Commission to carry out constant mass sensitisation on fundamental freedoms such as freedom to associate and assemble, including circumstances under which such rights can be restricted
Violence cases
Authored by Ms Margaret Sekaggya, the former Uganda Human Rights Commission head and the current UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights Defenders, the report notes, “The EC’s failure to address the constant harassment, arrests and intimidations which political groups and some individuals are subjected to by the police and kiboko squads, has severely undermined its credibility.”
Launched in Kampala yesterday, the 70-page report published by the Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa and AfriMAP, also raises concerns about voter registration and polling processes. “Problems with the voters’ register cited in previous elections, including duplicate names, missing names and names registered in the wrong district, have not been adequately addressed, and have already seen in advance of February 2011,” it notes.
Ms Sekaggya said although time has run out to implement most electoral reforms, civic education and human rights awareness are a quick and sure way to prepare voters for times ahead. She also made a case for dialogue among the political players to avoid a scenario of violence as it was in Kenya after the 2007 presidential elections. “There should be a provision in the law to ban individuals found guilty by courts of law of electoral offence,” she added.
The keynote speaker at the launch, retired Supreme Court Justice George Kanyeihamba said under the current conditions, it will be improbable to orgnise free and fair elections come 2011. “No substantial reforms have been conducted. The ground is not level. Candidates like President Museveni have unfair advantage, launching development programmes one year or several months before elections yet the EC does not see this as a problem,” he said.
According to Prof. Kanyeihamba, he’d advised EC head Kiggundu to ask President Museveni to reform the electoral processes or resign if his request was ignored. “It is no secret. We advised him (Kiggundu) to table the recommendations with the President. He asked us, ‘what if the President refuses them?’ We told him, then resign but as you see he didn’t,” said Prof. Kanyeihamba.
The retired justice also warned church leaders against receiving gifts from politicians, saying they could be construed as bribes. “I asked one church leader that when the congregation asks him the candidate to vote for, won’t that Prado guide his judgment to advise them to vote for the candidate that cares for the church? He kept quiet,” he said.
Besides recommending that the EC be empowered further to deal with violence by suspending violent candidates and calling for more financial support to the commission, the report also recommends streamlining the electoral laws—like drafting a code of ethics for political parties.
It also urges the Uganda Human Rights Commission to carry out constant mass sensitisation on fundamental freedoms such as freedom to associate and assemble, including circumstances under which such rights can be restricted
Besigye treason trial quashed
Dr Kizza Besigye yesterday called for the resignation of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Attorney General after the Constitutional Court ordered that he and 10 others be discharged from any further prosecution arising from the treason charges they have been facing since 2005. All the five judges said they could not allow continued trial of the suspects when their fundamental human rights were being grossly violated by state agents.
Unfair trial
“No matter how strong the evidence against them may be, no fair trial can be achieved and any subsequent trial would be a waste of time and an abuse of court process,” read the lead judgment, written by Justice Alice Mpagi Bahigeine.
The other justices were George Engwau, Amos Twinomujuni, Constance Byamugisha and Augustine Nshimye. Dr Besigye, the opposition Forum for Democratic Change president, who was present at court, said the DPP Richard Buteera and AG Khidhu Makubuya should resign because state agents had used them to concoct charges.
But Mr Buteera said Dr Besigye’s conclusions were baseless because the evidence was not the subject matter at the trial. “As you know, I have never investigated that case. Personally, I have never concocted anything against Dr Besigye,” he said. “But I don’t know on what grounds somebody can jump to such conclusions when the matter has not been determined before the trial court, where the evidence was presented,” Mr Buteera told Daily Monitor by telephone.
Prof. Makubuya yesterday declined to comment, saying he had not read the judgment.
The landmark ruling, which now blocks Dr Besigye and his co-accused from any further trial at the High Court, Bushenyi and Arua Chief Magistrate Courts, forestalls a situation like in 2006 where Dr Besigye spent much of his campaign time between prison, court appearances and campaigns.
State prohibited
Yesterday’s ruling also permanently prohibited the state from using any process to initiate and prosecute the petitioners in connection with the alleged treason charges. Yesterday’s ruling will be another major victory for Dr Besigye, who was arrested in 2005 upon return from exile and charged with rape but was found innocent by the High Court. The government yesterday was non-committal whether it would appeal the Constitutional Court’s verdict. “I cannot determine whether government will appeal unless I read the ruling,” Prof. Makubuya said.
In their ruling, the judges said the petitioners’ lawyer, Mr David Mpanga, adduced evidence with “mathematical accuracy”. In ordering for the discharge of the Dr Besigye and his co-accused, the judges pointed out that the attack on the High Court premises by security agents on November 16, 2005 and March 1, 2007 had created conditions whereby the accused were at the danger of failing to get rights to – fair trial, presumption of innocence, had violated the cardinals of separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary.
“Can any trial resulting from tainted proceedings as has been described in this petition be fair within the meaning of Article 28 and 44(c) of the Constitution? We have anxiously examined evidence from which the petitioners draw this conclusion. We have arrived at a similar conclusion that no trial arises from proceedings bearing a history like the one described in this petition can ever be said to be fair within the meaning of [the Constitution)”.
Principal Judge James Ogoola’s poem “The Rape of the Temple”, chronicling the two absurd sieges at High Court, was quoted by the judges as a testimony of a colleague who saw security agents invade court.
The recitation of this poem in court yesterday by registrar Asaph Ntegye was one of the few comic moments, in what otherwise seemed to be a tense session.
However, at the conclusion of the 56-page ruling and with clarity that the state had lost, the crowd of mainly opposition supporters ruptured into roars of “Besigye Oyee! FDC Oyee! Winning Oyee!” Opposition MPs led by Erias Lukwago (Kampala Central) hugged Dr Besigye as they congratulated him. And Dr Besigye used the moment to ask the electorate to vote the “disgraceful” government out of office next year and pick leaders with integrity.
Some of the main issues determined by court
* Whether the security personnel’s conduct contravened the Constitution.
* Whether murder charges in Bushenyi and Arua murder charges contravened the Constitution.
* Whether the cumulative effect of the conduct of the state towards the judiciary and the petitioners in the matter connected with the Treason trial contravened the Constitution. The Judges answered all the issues in the affirmative – granting the petition
Unfair trial
“No matter how strong the evidence against them may be, no fair trial can be achieved and any subsequent trial would be a waste of time and an abuse of court process,” read the lead judgment, written by Justice Alice Mpagi Bahigeine.
The other justices were George Engwau, Amos Twinomujuni, Constance Byamugisha and Augustine Nshimye. Dr Besigye, the opposition Forum for Democratic Change president, who was present at court, said the DPP Richard Buteera and AG Khidhu Makubuya should resign because state agents had used them to concoct charges.
But Mr Buteera said Dr Besigye’s conclusions were baseless because the evidence was not the subject matter at the trial. “As you know, I have never investigated that case. Personally, I have never concocted anything against Dr Besigye,” he said. “But I don’t know on what grounds somebody can jump to such conclusions when the matter has not been determined before the trial court, where the evidence was presented,” Mr Buteera told Daily Monitor by telephone.
Prof. Makubuya yesterday declined to comment, saying he had not read the judgment.
The landmark ruling, which now blocks Dr Besigye and his co-accused from any further trial at the High Court, Bushenyi and Arua Chief Magistrate Courts, forestalls a situation like in 2006 where Dr Besigye spent much of his campaign time between prison, court appearances and campaigns.
State prohibited
Yesterday’s ruling also permanently prohibited the state from using any process to initiate and prosecute the petitioners in connection with the alleged treason charges. Yesterday’s ruling will be another major victory for Dr Besigye, who was arrested in 2005 upon return from exile and charged with rape but was found innocent by the High Court. The government yesterday was non-committal whether it would appeal the Constitutional Court’s verdict. “I cannot determine whether government will appeal unless I read the ruling,” Prof. Makubuya said.
In their ruling, the judges said the petitioners’ lawyer, Mr David Mpanga, adduced evidence with “mathematical accuracy”. In ordering for the discharge of the Dr Besigye and his co-accused, the judges pointed out that the attack on the High Court premises by security agents on November 16, 2005 and March 1, 2007 had created conditions whereby the accused were at the danger of failing to get rights to – fair trial, presumption of innocence, had violated the cardinals of separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary.
“Can any trial resulting from tainted proceedings as has been described in this petition be fair within the meaning of Article 28 and 44(c) of the Constitution? We have anxiously examined evidence from which the petitioners draw this conclusion. We have arrived at a similar conclusion that no trial arises from proceedings bearing a history like the one described in this petition can ever be said to be fair within the meaning of [the Constitution)”.
Principal Judge James Ogoola’s poem “The Rape of the Temple”, chronicling the two absurd sieges at High Court, was quoted by the judges as a testimony of a colleague who saw security agents invade court.
The recitation of this poem in court yesterday by registrar Asaph Ntegye was one of the few comic moments, in what otherwise seemed to be a tense session.
However, at the conclusion of the 56-page ruling and with clarity that the state had lost, the crowd of mainly opposition supporters ruptured into roars of “Besigye Oyee! FDC Oyee! Winning Oyee!” Opposition MPs led by Erias Lukwago (Kampala Central) hugged Dr Besigye as they congratulated him. And Dr Besigye used the moment to ask the electorate to vote the “disgraceful” government out of office next year and pick leaders with integrity.
Some of the main issues determined by court
* Whether the security personnel’s conduct contravened the Constitution.
* Whether murder charges in Bushenyi and Arua murder charges contravened the Constitution.
* Whether the cumulative effect of the conduct of the state towards the judiciary and the petitioners in the matter connected with the Treason trial contravened the Constitution. The Judges answered all the issues in the affirmative – granting the petition
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Launch of book critical of Museveni cancelled
The author of the book thought to be critical of President Museveni’s reign yesterday announced that she was deferring its launch because the government is yet to release a consignment held at Entebbe Airport. Dr Olive Kobusingye, the author of “The Correct Line? Uganda under Museveni”, also reportedly received a telephone call from a hotel that had been booked for the launch, slated for today, that it could not host the function.
Meanwhile, Parliament chaired by Speaker Edward Ssekandi has tasked the minister of finance to explain why customs was holding Dr Kobusingye’s books. The matter was raised by opposition MPs Alice Alaso and Elijah Okupa who sought an explanation for the seizure. “The lady is going to lose the money she has put in her work. She won’t even get refund from government. If it is for security reasons, tell the country,” Mr Okupa said. Ms Alaso added: “It is our inherent right as Ugandans to read whatever we want. We ask that finance directs the immediate release of those books because books don’t pay taxes.”
Govt tasked
Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu, the State Minister for Planning, said: “It could be tax issues, maybe another law like pornography,” throwing the House into laughter.
He, however, was given up to today to explain the seizure of books that normally enjoy a tax waiver.
Dr Kobusingye yesterday said she was taking the legal path, starting with the courier company paid to deliver her books from London to Uganda. “I have instructed my lawyers to start the process,” she said. The consignment of books that largely profile opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye’s challenge to President Museveni in the 2001 and 2006 general elections, were seized by government officials on Sunday. Dr Kobusingye is sister to Forum for Democratic Change leader Kizza Besigye.
The book questions the fundamental changes promised by President Museveni when he took over power in January 1986 to-date and goes into detail to explore at what points and how the promise failed and the movement got derailed.
Published in London, The Correct Line? Was couriered into the country by a major international courier but was seized at Entebbe International Airport by the Uganda Revenue Authority Customs department under pressure from another unnamed arm of government
Meanwhile, Parliament chaired by Speaker Edward Ssekandi has tasked the minister of finance to explain why customs was holding Dr Kobusingye’s books. The matter was raised by opposition MPs Alice Alaso and Elijah Okupa who sought an explanation for the seizure. “The lady is going to lose the money she has put in her work. She won’t even get refund from government. If it is for security reasons, tell the country,” Mr Okupa said. Ms Alaso added: “It is our inherent right as Ugandans to read whatever we want. We ask that finance directs the immediate release of those books because books don’t pay taxes.”
Govt tasked
Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu, the State Minister for Planning, said: “It could be tax issues, maybe another law like pornography,” throwing the House into laughter.
He, however, was given up to today to explain the seizure of books that normally enjoy a tax waiver.
Dr Kobusingye yesterday said she was taking the legal path, starting with the courier company paid to deliver her books from London to Uganda. “I have instructed my lawyers to start the process,” she said. The consignment of books that largely profile opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye’s challenge to President Museveni in the 2001 and 2006 general elections, were seized by government officials on Sunday. Dr Kobusingye is sister to Forum for Democratic Change leader Kizza Besigye.
The book questions the fundamental changes promised by President Museveni when he took over power in January 1986 to-date and goes into detail to explore at what points and how the promise failed and the movement got derailed.
Published in London, The Correct Line? Was couriered into the country by a major international courier but was seized at Entebbe International Airport by the Uganda Revenue Authority Customs department under pressure from another unnamed arm of government
To have or not to have; inmates speak out on right to sex
Should prisoners be allowed to make love to their partners? Is incarceration and denial of conjugal rights double punishment?
These were questions prisoners and students grappled with recently at a debate in Luzira Maximum Prison.
On Wednesday, inmates at the prison’s upper section took on students of Bishop Cipriano Kihangire SSS in a lively debate—where ironically—they were to make a case against conjugal rights, while the students pressed on that the men in detention should not be denied one of life’s greatest pleasures.
Davis Aleper, the lead prison debater, argued: “The government should first revise the laws to provide us with shorter sentences. This will enable us serve our punishments fast enough and go back home to meet our spouses other than providing us with conjugal rights which we shall not enjoy when locked up.”
With over 60 colleagues applauding, Aleper, who is serving time in jail for defilement, added: “Even then, conjugal rights can only be enjoyed if prisons are improved. We need more space for privacy, respect for prisoners and provision of finances to our families while we are in detention.”
This argument was taken up by the second speaker in the three-prisoner team, Julius Ogasi, who in fluent English said: “If our families are provided for, then our wives will be patient enough as we are locked up.
They will not have to look for other men to provide for them financially in exchange for sex.” But how feasible an idea is this in offences of a capital nature that may have an inmate locked up for decades?
Edna Mushabe, an S6 student of Bishop Cipriano, reasoned that the only way families could keep together is by letting spouses make love to their incarcerated partners.
“There is need for continuity in prisoners’ families and this can only be possible if they are allowed to meet and make love with their spouses,” she said, as she, interestingly, got cheered by her school mates and some of the prisoners.
Gideon Kintu of S5 observed that denying prisoners conjugal rights could be a recipe for disaster. “For someone serving 10 years in jail living without sex is like living in denial. It could drive them into committing worse crimes.”
Irony
The irony of teenagers making a case for jailed adults to enjoy sexual rights was not lost to many a watcher. But for Mr Charles Rubongoya, the director of Bishop Cipriano School, the more striking thing was the articulate manner in which the prisoners made their case.
“I came here on Monday and took them through the entire process of how the Karl Popper debate format works. I am surprised that they could argue this well and pull it off successfully.”
Another watcher dazzled by the prisoners’ eloquence was Mr Edgar Kangere, an official of the National Debate Council.
“The prisoners are really amazing and intelligent. Had they taken part in our regional schools championships, I am sure they would have made it to the national contest.”
Yes. Schools championship because actually the prisoners who debated are students—caged students.
The prison’s headmaster, Mr Anatoli Biryomumaisho, said the public should respect prisoners, adding that they are talented and the prisons service was helping them discover their potential.
He told Daily Monitor that the prison provides full education to the inmates from primary to university level—the latter offering diplomas in entrepreneurship and small business management.
The prisoners might have carried the day—but the main celebration was not in the successful defence of restrictions on conjugal rights but rather—that they had proved jail does not mean failure to argue
These were questions prisoners and students grappled with recently at a debate in Luzira Maximum Prison.
On Wednesday, inmates at the prison’s upper section took on students of Bishop Cipriano Kihangire SSS in a lively debate—where ironically—they were to make a case against conjugal rights, while the students pressed on that the men in detention should not be denied one of life’s greatest pleasures.
Davis Aleper, the lead prison debater, argued: “The government should first revise the laws to provide us with shorter sentences. This will enable us serve our punishments fast enough and go back home to meet our spouses other than providing us with conjugal rights which we shall not enjoy when locked up.”
With over 60 colleagues applauding, Aleper, who is serving time in jail for defilement, added: “Even then, conjugal rights can only be enjoyed if prisons are improved. We need more space for privacy, respect for prisoners and provision of finances to our families while we are in detention.”
This argument was taken up by the second speaker in the three-prisoner team, Julius Ogasi, who in fluent English said: “If our families are provided for, then our wives will be patient enough as we are locked up.
They will not have to look for other men to provide for them financially in exchange for sex.” But how feasible an idea is this in offences of a capital nature that may have an inmate locked up for decades?
Edna Mushabe, an S6 student of Bishop Cipriano, reasoned that the only way families could keep together is by letting spouses make love to their incarcerated partners.
“There is need for continuity in prisoners’ families and this can only be possible if they are allowed to meet and make love with their spouses,” she said, as she, interestingly, got cheered by her school mates and some of the prisoners.
Gideon Kintu of S5 observed that denying prisoners conjugal rights could be a recipe for disaster. “For someone serving 10 years in jail living without sex is like living in denial. It could drive them into committing worse crimes.”
Irony
The irony of teenagers making a case for jailed adults to enjoy sexual rights was not lost to many a watcher. But for Mr Charles Rubongoya, the director of Bishop Cipriano School, the more striking thing was the articulate manner in which the prisoners made their case.
“I came here on Monday and took them through the entire process of how the Karl Popper debate format works. I am surprised that they could argue this well and pull it off successfully.”
Another watcher dazzled by the prisoners’ eloquence was Mr Edgar Kangere, an official of the National Debate Council.
“The prisoners are really amazing and intelligent. Had they taken part in our regional schools championships, I am sure they would have made it to the national contest.”
Yes. Schools championship because actually the prisoners who debated are students—caged students.
The prison’s headmaster, Mr Anatoli Biryomumaisho, said the public should respect prisoners, adding that they are talented and the prisons service was helping them discover their potential.
He told Daily Monitor that the prison provides full education to the inmates from primary to university level—the latter offering diplomas in entrepreneurship and small business management.
The prisoners might have carried the day—but the main celebration was not in the successful defence of restrictions on conjugal rights but rather—that they had proved jail does not mean failure to argue
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Untold story of FDC primaries
Just like the ruling National Resistance Movement Party internal elections, the on-going Forum for Democratic Change polls have not been devoid of allegations of vote-rigging.
Unlike the NRM which used the universal adult suffrage system, FDC elections are being conducted through the electoral college system, where few parish, district and division officials decide the flag bearers for members of Parliament and local council seats.
Lacking enough manpower and facing other logistical challenges, the FDC decided to carry out voting in different regions of the country on different days. But even this did not guarantee a fair electoral process. In Arua District where voting was largely peaceful, the district FDC leadership was forced to postpone the exercise to the next day due to late delivery of electoral materials.
Related Stories
Stolen elections and the curse on Kigongo’s team
In Gulu District, a batch of losers is threatening to quit the party for what they called “lack of internal democracy”. The officials claim to have been rigged out.
They have given the party secretariat a two-week ultimatum to organise fresh polls or else they run as independents in the 2011 general elections.
The officials accuse FDC national secretary for campaigns and Aswa County MP, Mr Reagan Okumu, of having acted as a king-maker by endorsing their opponents, who eventually won the primary elections. But Mr Okumu told Inside Politics that he had little to do with elections in Gulu.
Guide voters
“All I did was to guide voters on choice of the best candidate. We needed candidates who are strong enough to beat the NRM flag bearers,” Mr Okumu said.
Mr Basil Odongpiny, the loser in Amuru FDC LC5 race said he has headed FDC in the district for many years and therefore would not budge after a shoddy electral process.
“I’m not going to accept this. I will contest as an independent candidate in the general elections because I don’t believe that my supporters can vote for someone else,” Mr Odongpiny said.
He said the number of registered voters on the register did not match the actual number of bona-fide voters. This, he argued, is a manifestation that the registers were tampered with.
The loser in the Amuru District race, Mr Gilbert Olany, also said he would stand as an independent candidate. He insists that Mr Anthony Akol who defeated him in the polls, did so fraudulently.
Ms Lily Dranzoa, another loser for the Adjumani Woman MP flag bearer, took the defeat so personally that she refused to sign the declaration forms as this would mean endorsing her opponent, whom she says won unfairly.
It is only the Gulu District vice chairman, Mr Makmot Kirata, who conceded defeat to district Speaker, Martin Ojara Mapenduzi.
Kampala test
The biggest test to FDC’s internal cohesion will perhaps be the elections for Nakawa MP seat and Kampala Woman MP. Kampala Woman MP, Ms Nabila Ssempala, is facing the challenge of her life, with Ms Rashida Naluwoza, a journalist-turned politician, breathing down her political neck. The two women’s camps have already been trading blows in the on-going parish elections in city.
Ms Ssempala seems to have run out of favour with some FDC officials who say she does not respect party leaders, is unapproachable, does not honour her party duties.
“She has spent three years without visiting the party headquarters,” said one FDC official who did not want to be named.
However, other senior party officials still regard Ms Ssempala as a person with good mobilisation skills and capable of retaining her seat. Her development programmes like the candle-making project for women has made her popular among Kampala women.
Even party leader Dr Kizza Besigye seems to be unsure who to back between the two protagonists in the Kampala Woman MP race. In one of the FDC national executive committee meetings, Ms Ssempala reportedly complained that senior party officials were sponsoring her opponent.
To this, Dr Besigye said, “If the two officials (Ssempala and Rashida) cannot agree by consensus, they should be left to face delegates. Even myself, I went through elections and you all saw how transparent it was. No one should be scared of going through the same.”
In Nakawa, FDC’s external relations coordinator, Ms Anne Mugisha is fighting tooth and nail to undo Mr Michael Kabaziguruka, a former FDC deputy electoral commission chairperson.
Ms Mugisha accuses the party electoral commission of incompetence and lack of will to conduct a free and fair election in Nakawa.
“Someone has to blow this out of the water,” said Ms Mugisha in a message posted on her facebook page. “The current FDC leadership has neither the capacity nor the will to conduct free and fair elections in Nakawa. I will not subject myself to the FDC electoral commission to determine my participation in Nakawa politics.” Ms Mugisha, however, insists that she remains a devoted member of the party.
FDC is conducting elections for Polling Area Branch (PAB) and Parish structures in Nakawa Division. But both Ms Mugisha and Mr Kabaziguruka have been on the ground, attempting to control the exercise since parish officials form the electoral colleges that will elect party’s flag bearers.
Related Stories
Stolen elections and the curse on Kigongo’s team
Petitions written
Mr Kabaziguruka is the current FDC chairman for Nakawa. He recently resigned his position as the national deputy electoral commissioner in order to take part in Nakawa polls.
However, Ms Mugisha has so far written three petitions asking the party to disqualify him for alleged interference with the voting exercise. Mr Kabaziguruka denies the accusations.
“At Naguru Community Centre, Ms Harriet Nakweda, who was handing out electoral materials and acting on the instructions of the chief electoral commissioner, left the vehicle of the chairman of Kampala District on the insistence of Mr Kabaziguruka, her former boss, and joined Mr Kabaziguruka in his vehicle with electoral materials and voters cards.
The two proceeded to deliver the materials together and to collect returns from several polling stations at the end of the voting exercise,” reads the September 13 petition by Ms Mugisha to the chairperson of FDC electoral commission.
Ms Mugisha says Mr Kabaziguruka should have disqualified himself from the race because of the conflict of interest. “In Bugolobi Parish, at Kayembe polling station, voters claimed that Mr Kabaziguruka availed them with copies of electoral materials (return forms) with instructions to pre-select names of candidates and demand that the presiding officer copy those lists in the true original return forms,” she says.
Kampala FDC chairman, Mr Livingston Kizito, who oversaw voting for parish elections in Naguru, described the exercise as “sham”.
“I was there and there was nothing like voting,” Mr Kizito said.
“I am the one who saved the returning officer from angry supporters who were accusing her of rigging in favour of Mr Kabaziguruka. I am surprised that she now says she has the results. Where did she get the results from?”
While acknowledging that she was pulled from the angry crowd that was threatening to lynch her, Ms Dembe Catherine, the returning officer who oversaw the voting exercise, told Inside Politics that voting had taken place before chaos broke out.
“I have actually just finished submitting the results. Let any aggrieved party petition the electoral commission. But I have finished my work,”Ms Dembe said.
To Ms Mugisha’s relief, the FDC National Executive Committee on Tuesday cancelled the Nakawa voting and ordered for fresh polls this weekend. It remains to be seen how the FDC will deal with disagreements emerging out of its internal elections
Unlike the NRM which used the universal adult suffrage system, FDC elections are being conducted through the electoral college system, where few parish, district and division officials decide the flag bearers for members of Parliament and local council seats.
Lacking enough manpower and facing other logistical challenges, the FDC decided to carry out voting in different regions of the country on different days. But even this did not guarantee a fair electoral process. In Arua District where voting was largely peaceful, the district FDC leadership was forced to postpone the exercise to the next day due to late delivery of electoral materials.
Related Stories
Stolen elections and the curse on Kigongo’s team
In Gulu District, a batch of losers is threatening to quit the party for what they called “lack of internal democracy”. The officials claim to have been rigged out.
They have given the party secretariat a two-week ultimatum to organise fresh polls or else they run as independents in the 2011 general elections.
The officials accuse FDC national secretary for campaigns and Aswa County MP, Mr Reagan Okumu, of having acted as a king-maker by endorsing their opponents, who eventually won the primary elections. But Mr Okumu told Inside Politics that he had little to do with elections in Gulu.
Guide voters
“All I did was to guide voters on choice of the best candidate. We needed candidates who are strong enough to beat the NRM flag bearers,” Mr Okumu said.
Mr Basil Odongpiny, the loser in Amuru FDC LC5 race said he has headed FDC in the district for many years and therefore would not budge after a shoddy electral process.
“I’m not going to accept this. I will contest as an independent candidate in the general elections because I don’t believe that my supporters can vote for someone else,” Mr Odongpiny said.
He said the number of registered voters on the register did not match the actual number of bona-fide voters. This, he argued, is a manifestation that the registers were tampered with.
The loser in the Amuru District race, Mr Gilbert Olany, also said he would stand as an independent candidate. He insists that Mr Anthony Akol who defeated him in the polls, did so fraudulently.
Ms Lily Dranzoa, another loser for the Adjumani Woman MP flag bearer, took the defeat so personally that she refused to sign the declaration forms as this would mean endorsing her opponent, whom she says won unfairly.
It is only the Gulu District vice chairman, Mr Makmot Kirata, who conceded defeat to district Speaker, Martin Ojara Mapenduzi.
Kampala test
The biggest test to FDC’s internal cohesion will perhaps be the elections for Nakawa MP seat and Kampala Woman MP. Kampala Woman MP, Ms Nabila Ssempala, is facing the challenge of her life, with Ms Rashida Naluwoza, a journalist-turned politician, breathing down her political neck. The two women’s camps have already been trading blows in the on-going parish elections in city.
Ms Ssempala seems to have run out of favour with some FDC officials who say she does not respect party leaders, is unapproachable, does not honour her party duties.
“She has spent three years without visiting the party headquarters,” said one FDC official who did not want to be named.
However, other senior party officials still regard Ms Ssempala as a person with good mobilisation skills and capable of retaining her seat. Her development programmes like the candle-making project for women has made her popular among Kampala women.
Even party leader Dr Kizza Besigye seems to be unsure who to back between the two protagonists in the Kampala Woman MP race. In one of the FDC national executive committee meetings, Ms Ssempala reportedly complained that senior party officials were sponsoring her opponent.
To this, Dr Besigye said, “If the two officials (Ssempala and Rashida) cannot agree by consensus, they should be left to face delegates. Even myself, I went through elections and you all saw how transparent it was. No one should be scared of going through the same.”
In Nakawa, FDC’s external relations coordinator, Ms Anne Mugisha is fighting tooth and nail to undo Mr Michael Kabaziguruka, a former FDC deputy electoral commission chairperson.
Ms Mugisha accuses the party electoral commission of incompetence and lack of will to conduct a free and fair election in Nakawa.
“Someone has to blow this out of the water,” said Ms Mugisha in a message posted on her facebook page. “The current FDC leadership has neither the capacity nor the will to conduct free and fair elections in Nakawa. I will not subject myself to the FDC electoral commission to determine my participation in Nakawa politics.” Ms Mugisha, however, insists that she remains a devoted member of the party.
FDC is conducting elections for Polling Area Branch (PAB) and Parish structures in Nakawa Division. But both Ms Mugisha and Mr Kabaziguruka have been on the ground, attempting to control the exercise since parish officials form the electoral colleges that will elect party’s flag bearers.
Related Stories
Stolen elections and the curse on Kigongo’s team
Petitions written
Mr Kabaziguruka is the current FDC chairman for Nakawa. He recently resigned his position as the national deputy electoral commissioner in order to take part in Nakawa polls.
However, Ms Mugisha has so far written three petitions asking the party to disqualify him for alleged interference with the voting exercise. Mr Kabaziguruka denies the accusations.
“At Naguru Community Centre, Ms Harriet Nakweda, who was handing out electoral materials and acting on the instructions of the chief electoral commissioner, left the vehicle of the chairman of Kampala District on the insistence of Mr Kabaziguruka, her former boss, and joined Mr Kabaziguruka in his vehicle with electoral materials and voters cards.
The two proceeded to deliver the materials together and to collect returns from several polling stations at the end of the voting exercise,” reads the September 13 petition by Ms Mugisha to the chairperson of FDC electoral commission.
Ms Mugisha says Mr Kabaziguruka should have disqualified himself from the race because of the conflict of interest. “In Bugolobi Parish, at Kayembe polling station, voters claimed that Mr Kabaziguruka availed them with copies of electoral materials (return forms) with instructions to pre-select names of candidates and demand that the presiding officer copy those lists in the true original return forms,” she says.
Kampala FDC chairman, Mr Livingston Kizito, who oversaw voting for parish elections in Naguru, described the exercise as “sham”.
“I was there and there was nothing like voting,” Mr Kizito said.
“I am the one who saved the returning officer from angry supporters who were accusing her of rigging in favour of Mr Kabaziguruka. I am surprised that she now says she has the results. Where did she get the results from?”
While acknowledging that she was pulled from the angry crowd that was threatening to lynch her, Ms Dembe Catherine, the returning officer who oversaw the voting exercise, told Inside Politics that voting had taken place before chaos broke out.
“I have actually just finished submitting the results. Let any aggrieved party petition the electoral commission. But I have finished my work,”Ms Dembe said.
To Ms Mugisha’s relief, the FDC National Executive Committee on Tuesday cancelled the Nakawa voting and ordered for fresh polls this weekend. It remains to be seen how the FDC will deal with disagreements emerging out of its internal elections
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