Embracing the Struggle for a New Political dispensation Without
Museveni. A Call to rescue Uganda and build a new nation where all can live in
peace, harmony, political tranquillity and socio-economic justice.
Signed by Dr
Vincent Magombe, Secretary Free Uganda Leadership Committee and Press Secretary
FU, also head of PRU Diaspora Mobilisation.
Platform to Rescue Uganda Leaders - General David Sejusa,
the PRU National Coordinator and Alhaji Ntege Nasser Sebaggala ‘Seya’, the PRU
Head of Mobilisation – Strategizing for Change.
The
current struggle for political change in Uganda has arrived at a pivotal stage.
The warning lights for Mr Museveni to leave power, in order that Ugandans can
begin to construct a new society that is politically stable, socially cohesive
and economically fair and progressive, are no longer mere warning lights, but
flood lights, foretelling the coming victory of the People in the decisive
final battles for change.
The
dismantling of Mr Museveni’s corrupt and repressive regime has entered a new critical
phase where all the patriotic freedom forces, be they political opposition
groupings, youth movements, religious organisations, civil society activists or
even progressive Ugandan citizens within the NRM ruling party, are converging
into a formidable anti-regime frontline determined to deny any political oxygen
to Mr Museveni and the few remaining supporters of the embattled regime.
And
for those who may not know, there is now clear evidence that even Mr Museveni
himself is aware of the disastrously fragile state of his government and the
unstoppable and incredibly formidable forces that are now assembled against the
regime.
Unfortunately
for Mr Museveni, the goings-on in Uganda’s current political space are rapidly
becoming an inextinguishable political dynamite, and his usual ‘bully-boy’
tactics and violence-parked survival antics are edging to near-obsolete. The
fear-factor and scaremongering techniques which he has habitually applied to
tame and silence anti-regime activists is no longer applicable, as the people
have lost their fear and their determination to stand up and be counted is at
its highest since Museveni came to power.
Within
the ruling echelons, not only have the topmost government leaders and party functionaries
abandoned Mr Museveni, but, even the NRM youths and grassroots activists, who
have always been the mainstay of the ruling establishment, are now actively
involved in the struggle to take Uganda to the next juncture beyond Museveni.
In the next few months this precarious situation for the president will unravel
into an unstoppable dynamic of revolutionary activism for change even within
his own NRM party.
In
the meantime, the traditional opposition political parties and formations which
have, hitherto, been divided and fragmented in their approaches to the regime, and
also indecisive as to which path to take in regard to the way forward, are now beginning
to unanimously echo one serious message between them – they are all starting to
call upon the masses to prepare to confront and disable Mr Museveni’s final tramp
card in his floundering survival game-play – i.e., the 2016 election.
The
resounding message, that is shaping up by the day, right across the nation is that
the masses will not allow Mr Museveni to ever again organise and make happen
the type of sham and fraudulent elections that have been the norm throughout
the nearly three decades of his rule.
The
people of all political persuasions are preparing to prevent Mr Museveni to
operationalise the nakedly fraudulent processes and illegalities which have
qualified the 2016 elections, even before they can happen, as being “already
rigged” and incapable of being free or fair.
The
2016 elections are “already rigged” because of the fraudulent processes of ID
provision, which are involving the giving of Ugandan IDs to foreigners, while
denying them to many Ugandan citizens without any reason, unacceptable
practices of bribing some sections of the electorate, and the wanton misuse and
abuse of state resources and institutions to ensure a Museveni victory, not to
mention the absolute determination by Mr Museveni to maintain the current biased
and zealously pro-regime electoral commission structures and processes
unreformed.
Truth
be told – the Mr Museveni, with his entrenched undemocratic credentials, is not
about to suddenly change his colours and deliver the necessary electoral and political
reforms to ensure free and fair elections in Uganda. Whoever is hoping for this
eventuality must be the greatest day-dreamer in the country.
The
hard choices before the Ugandan people, therefore, are only two:
1) Whether
to allow Mr. Museveni to remain in power indefinitely, by letting him to carry
through his 2016 and post-2016 “family project”, which seeks to create a
life-presidency for the incumbent and his family,
2) Or,
on the other hand, to say NO – IT WILL NOT HAPPEN, and proceed to dismantle the
regime, in accordance with the provisions of the constitution, whereby the
people are supreme and are required to express their patriotism by intervening and
putting a stop to the type of grievous violations and rape of the constitution witnessed
by Ugandans across the decades.
.
Embracing the Struggle for a New Political
dispensation Without Museveni.
With
the Uganda nation firmly positioned at the cross roads of its political
destiny, Ugandans are not only becoming bold enough to publically and
determinedly demand for their rights and freedoms as citizens and human beings,
but they are also starting to engage in an open debate about the type of society
they would like to live in, post-Museveni.
Of
course, it is only logical that a fully-fledged national dialogue will be
inevitable to harmonise all the various strands of political, economic,
socio-cultural aspirations and ideas that have been taking shape in the diverse
public spaces, be it among political activists, civil society campaigners,
religious fraternities, youth forums, rural community settings, market places,
work places and all other such localities.
That
dialogue will capture the unavoidable practical realisms, such as how to set up
an all-inclusive transitional political governance arrangement to oversee the
creation of a new constitutional framework that can ensure that Uganda is a
truly modern state with all the inherent rights and freedoms for the country’s
citizens not only guaranteed as such, but permanently safeguarded with the
necessary enforcement and actualisation systems and institutions.
It
is worth noting that, already, a national consensus does exist around the
fundamentals of the new society that has to emerge once the dictatorship is
fully dismantled
The
fundamental pillars for building a new society will include a properly
functioning and unadulterated judiciary and legislature, an unviolated Bank of
Uganda and the rest of the banking sector; security services that are
non-partisan and are not subjected to abuse by those in power; the all-important
conducive democratic infrastructure that is fortified by an independent
electoral commission; and all the other associated democracy-defining indices, such
as the citizens’ right of assembly and freedom to protest; as well as a free
press and the media in general that is nourished by the core values of freedom
of expression and freedom of speech, and not one that lives in total fear and
gets calls from state operatives and is under constant threat of closure.
Regrettably
for Uganda, the last three decades have seen Mr. Museveni, capture, subvert and
personalise the only existing institutions of state, an incredible idiosyncrasy
that has, for example, transformed the country’s elections from a process of
democratic contest into a presidential procession, where a disempowered,
choice-less electorate and subservient institutions, such as the police and the
security services, merely escort the incumbent president and his ruling party
to statehouse.
To
bring about an enduring and sustainable democratic infrastructure in a post-Museveni
Uganda, all the citizens will have to embrace, the virtues of constitutionalism,
and, in particular, the principles of accountability for those tasked with
managing the country’s affairs. It is important to note that this is not just
about any reforms that would merely alter the status quo, but rather a systemic
overhaul of the decayed state.
The
new Uganda will be a place where public institutions are respected and
protected, and not abused or misused; where corruption and nepotism and all
manner of bad governance, are not tolerated; where tribalism is rejected, and
multiculturalism and inter-ethnic co-existence are upheld; where religious
tolerance is the norm, and social harmony as well as mutual inter-dependence of
all the people of Uganda define the collective
identity of the New Uganda – a Uganda where all citizens are equal
before the law of the Land.
The
emergence of a totally new political dispensation will help to usher in a pro-people
governance and societal management ethic, where those in power are subservient
to and not masters over the people.
Federal Arrangement for the New Uganda
nation:
Power
will be devolved away from State House right to the people, through a mutually
agreed Federal governance arrangement that emphasizes the centrality of the
people themselves in developmental decision-making.
Accordingly,
all the nation’s economic advancement and development will manifest through the
principles of equitable sharing and distribution of the country’s wealth and
resources to ensure progress for all.
Fellow
citizens, lets us all work for a new future and destiny. Let us embrace a new
beginning that will bring love between the peoples, rather than hatred;
reconciliation and forgiveness, rather than revenge and retribution.
Message to Mr Museveni:
As
for Mr Museveni – the special message to you is as follows – you have made your
contributions to Uganda during the nearly 30 years of your presidency - some
positive, but others grievously negative. Your time to retire from public
office is HERE AND NOW. And it makes great sense for you to retire peacefully
and honourably, just like the First Lady, Mrs Janet Kataaha Museveni has
pledged to do in her recent proclamations.
It
does not make any sense whatsoever for you to wait to be forced out of power in
ways that could sink the country into the ultimate abyss. Uganda is bigger than
any individual, including you, Mr Museveni. It is a Land of 35 million citizens,
and we all, in our individual capacities, have a choice to make – either to destroy
ourselves and our Motherland and have nowhere to call home, or to embrace the
promise of hope for a better future for us and our children to come, and to
work for that future by doing the right and honourable thing.
Truth and reconciliation:
In
the spirit of mutual understanding, and through the inevitable processes of
TRUTH AND RECONCILLIATION, Ugandans, in the new Uganda, will be capable of
examining what went wrong in the past, and going forward, they will seek ways
to unite the country in a manner that ensures that the ominous and ruinous demons
and nightmares of our dark past do not rear their ugly heads ever again.
