Some Ugandans still doubt my sincerity that I didn’t join Uganda politics for personal gain in glory or wealth. I joined politics because I was and still am disturbed by what is happening to a country that with patriotic and capable leadership should be among the first world countries and not drifting to the fourth world. Uganda, however, you describe it is decaying. It is a failed state under military dictatorship concerned about keeping citizens silent and exploited at gun point disguised as maintaining national peace and security. What about peace and security for individual citizens? What about job security, food and nutrition security, health and education security and ecological security to mention just a few? I went to school to gain knowledge and skills with which to help others help themselves and I expect others to do the same. When leaders fail to do so or create conditions for citizens to help one another, then something has to be done about it, beginning with pointing out what is wrong and the cause of it without fear or favor. We have to call a spade a spade if we are going to recover our sanity and humanity as Ugandans.
I have spent many years researching into Uganda’s endemic challenges and the underlying causes. I have come to a firm conclusion that Uganda has had leadership not qualified for the job. One can excuse Obote regime for lack of experience in independent Uganda. The second Obote regime faced tremendous difficulties but managed to grow the economy at a real GDP growth rate of six percent but its program was cut short by a military coup of incompetent leaders. One can excuse Amin for lack of education. For NRM it is a different matter.
NRM led by Tutsi military men came to power with a different agenda of colonizing Uganda and impoverishing and marginalizing Ugandans in order to rule ad infinitum. Anybody who misses this point will not understand why Uganda has become messy and is getting worse each passing day. Museveni who is government and state doesn’t care about school dropout, Ugandans going to bed hungry, women dying in child birth, rising unemployment, human trafficking and sacrifice and losing land to the rich and ending up in town slums where they are harassed by police and urban authorities etc. These actions have impoverished and marginalized Ugandans and made them powerless and voiceless. Anybody who has followed Uganda developments since Museveni came to power in 1986 can’t fail to see this tragedy. Those who are arguing that Tutsi as a whole are not involved in this mess and should be left alone don’t understand how they work. They know one another more than any group in the Great Lakes region. They help and protect one another even when they appear to be opposed to one another and have a common goal: to dominate Bantu in the Great Lakes region. Look at the people in key and strategic positions. The problem is that they are difficult to identify because they disguise themselves by adopting local names and local languages without socializing with communities in which they live including intermarriage. If you are looking for General David Tinyefuza you are not going to find him in Uganda records because he has adopted a new name of Sejusa, I am told. Batutsi women are being used as political tools to marry non-Batutsi men and convert them into Tutsified men who abandon their relatives in order to gain access to the corridors of power in return for pushing Tutsi agenda which excludes indigenous interests. This is a fact and there are no conspiracy theories about it.
I keep reminding Ugandans why our so-called representatives in parliament and district councils are passing decisions that are hurting indigenous people because these representatives have been bought with money and/or Tutsi women to serve Tutsi interests. If you don’t understand this and address it, you are going to find yourself a serf on your own land and in your own country. To report these developments isn’t sectarianism or promoting genocide as I have been accused of doing. It is the right thing to do in national interest. I am neither ashamed of it nor intimidated by saying it. I have confronted those who have challenged my ability to lead by publishing my resume. Good leaders don’t necessarily need to be tall and huge or young. We have had both in Uganda and it has been a disaster depending upon what you are looking at. So let us try a short and not so young a leader like Deng of China who came to power at the age 73 and was five feet tall. What do I want for Uganda?
My goal is to form a transitional government of all Ugandans including NRM to clean up the mess and prepare a platform for free and fair elections. This new platform should have a truly independent electoral commission, standardized campaign finance and an independent committee to vet candidates based on agreed criteria. It is sad to hear that we have leaders that can’t speak or read English well. How do you expect a minister or MP to conduct business with counterparts if they can’t speak and read English? According to the 1995 Uganda constitution, the minimum qualification to become a Member of parliament, Vice President and President is Advanced level (High School) qualification.
I am fully aware that education requirement for contesting elections and holding public office is a very sensitive matter, but surely this low requirement can’t be allowed to stand for long. It works against Uganda interests while it may protect individual ones. But Uganda comes first. Another complaint I have expressed is that military professionals while I appreciate their comparative advantage are not suitable for civilian administration. They don’t understand the art of listening to another’s view, much less negotiating a win-win deal. Theirs is “I will crush those who oppose me”. What is being revealed has cast a dark shadow on the credibility of soldiers to hold elective offices.
Museveni is fond of referring to those who question what he does as idiots and bankrupt and always threatens to crush them. We are told instructions have been issued to parliament to pass a law that prevents members of parliament from opposing the president. We have anti-sectarian law that prevents Ugandans from commenting about sectarianism. We have such a broadly defined anti-terrorism law that anyone can be arrested and put away indefinitely for making a political, economic, religious or cultural remark etc that the government may not like. This Christmas season religious leaders in Uganda appear to have said nothing about the suffering of their flocks as they did in the 2011 Christmas sermons. Does that mean that the suffering has vanished within 12 months or are they afraid of being crushed by General Museveni.
These sad developments have created an atmosphere that has forced me to enter Uganda politics. I have written at great length explaining what I stand for and what I want for Uganda. My message is simple. I want a Uganda where present and future generations have an opportunity to improve their quality of life, where there is liberty and justice and dignity that translate into happiness for all Ugandans. Those still doubting I just don’t know what else they want to know or they will never support my cause no matter how I explain it. I am a committed citizen with Christian values of helping those in need to the best of my ability whether or not I know them. My political ambition will not go beyond creating and participating in a transitional government to level a playing field for all political aspirants. I can’t say it better that this. Those willing to work with me for the good of our country you are welcome. Those still doubting let me have your specific concerns and I will address them and put the matter to rest once and for all. Let 2013 be a year of positive action and not expressions of doubt.
Happy New Year
Eric