GROUP PHOTO: Bishop Luwalira with visiting ANT Party leaders. On his right is Hon. Sarah Kiyingi. On left is Gen. Mugisha Muntu
NEWS EDITOR MEDIA
HON. SARAH Kiyingi Musoke, former Internal Affairs minister in President Museveni’s caninet and Woman member of Parliament for Rakai District has fully joined Gen. Mugisha Muntu’s Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) Party and appointed member of the interim committee.
ANT says, she is on the team that is mobilising and lobbying religious leaders to speak out against bad governance, corruption and all acts of torture in the country.
Together with other leaders from ANT Party, Gen. Muntu and Hon. Sarah Kiyingi today morning visited The Bishop of Namirembe Diocese Rt. Rev. Wilberforce Kityo Luwalira at his office. At Namirembe, ANT leaders were received by Bishop Liwalira, Diocesan Secretary Canon Henry Ssegawa, The Ven. Rev. Can. Jonathan Kisawuzi Ssalongo, Rev. Samuel Muwonge (Diocesan Mission Secretary) and other clergies.
For starters, Minister Sarah Kiyingi was fired by President Museveni for opposing lifting of presidential term limits in 2005.
At a time when the majority Cabinet members kept quiet about deleting presidential term limits from the Constitution, Sarah Kiyingi was one of the few who spoke against it and got fired.
She however told media in an interview recently how she has no regrets for that.
“Even before the presidential term limits were removed from the Constitution, I had seen it coming and I actually went to one of my church leaders and I told him that Mr. Museveni wants another term. But I made it clear to him that if the matter was passed in Cabinet, I would oppose it and thereafter resign because it was unconstitutional.
I opposed it in Cabinet but they passed it and when it was brought to Parliament, I still told them not to pass it but they insisted.” A fearless Sarah Kiyingi told media recently.
Asked her reasons for opposing lifting of the presidential two term limit’s, Sarah Kiyingi said, “You see, people ought to be honest. For me, I really believe that [President] Museveni did a good job in the beginning. We went through difficult times during Idi Amin and Milton Obote’s regimes and we didn’t have structures. We needed somebody who would build structures and Museveni did this. A constitution was made, Judiciary formed and many others. Now after forming these structures, you need a leader who will abide by the law and honour institutions, but that’s not Museveni. He doesn’t believe in structures.”
She has now joined the front with Gen. Mugisha Muntu who was the Army Commander of UPDF before him and President Museveni parted ways in the early 2000s.
Once a legislator in the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) for two terms, Muntu served as FDC President, a party he left to form ANT.
BISHOP LUWALIRA – GEN. MUNTU MEETING DETAILS
Speaking to The News Editor Media about their visitation to Namirembe Diocese, Gen. Muntu told us that they are going to visit all religious leaders of different religions to share notes on how they can embrace the call to good governance in the Country.
“After here, we are heading to the Seventh Day Adventists Headquarters at Makerere to meet SDA top leaders. We shall also visit The Arch Bishop of Kampala His Grace Dr. Paul Ssemwogerere, then to the Namungoona Authodox, to the Muslim leadership and The Born-Again Pentecostal Church leadership.” Gen. Muntu revealed to this news Website.
Asked to explain why ANT party leaders are visiting religious leaders, without mincing words, Gen. Muntu said, “First of all, we wanted to tell them what we are, our belief in religious leaders that they are influential and pivotal in guiding political leaders on how to serve all Ugandans in a democratic way.”
Gen. Muntu told us that, the relationshipbetween religius leaders and politicians had weakened, political leaders had turned deaf ears to the wise counsel from religious leaders and that is why the country is totally messed up.
“As ANT party, we want to strengthen the relactionship between religious and political leaders, for they lead the same people. Because religious leaders are God’s ambassadors, we the political leaders must abide by their guidance.” Said Gen. Muntu.
He said, their meeting with Bishop Luwalira and other clergy was successful.
Thanking Bishop Luwalira for the great welcome, Gen. Muntu said, “We have reminded them their responsibility given to them by God to influence a number of things for a democratic, better, stable, peaceful and corrupt-free country so that we can all enjoy it.”
During their meeting, Muntu asked Bishop Luwalira and the clergy present not to lose hope like the people they lead, saying, with their guidance, things will change for better in the country.
Gen. Muntu believes that in all developed countries transparency in service delivery is paramount. Let religious without fear or favour speak against bad governance, corruption and torture, insisting that with their bold voice, sanity will come back into the country.
Muntu was accompanied by Owek. Ssewava Sserubiri (former Buganda Kingdom Minister), Hon. Sarah Kiyingi (Member Interim Committee), Nelson Agaba (National Youth leader), Aisha Nabasirye (ANT flag bearer for Woman MP Kampala 2021), Martin Okum, Euunice Okullo (coordinator religious affairs) Ochaya Kevin (youth rep. Northern Uganda).
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