OPINION:

I HAVE followed posts and commentaries from FDC social media activists plus some prominent figures like Hon Betty Nambooze about the KCCA speaker elections.

I penned an article previously stating how I opposed the Lord Mayor taking sides in that election and predicted the likely outcome. Abubakar Kawalya’s win was so painful to the losers and the commentaries that have followed the loss have exonerated my optimism.

There is a group of people in opposition that have made it their business to tarnish people’s names to earn themselves political capital. Hon Nambooze is one of them.

In her consolation letter to Doreen Nyanjura and her camp at KCCA tilted, “sometimes we lose in order to win,” the honourable MP intimated that those that supported Kawalya Abubakar are NRM in opposition uniform. And that Mr Museveni has always wanted to defeat Lord Mayor, Erias Lukwago but found allies in Kawalya supporters.

Such rhetoric is meant to earn political capital by tarnishing others. This is sadistic.

When I read her commentary, my minds ran to the incident where she appeared on CBS Radio and started to bad-mouth my party president for sitting with Gen Muntu and Hon Mao to deliberate on issues to do with opposition unity.

JEEMA Youth League Vice Chairperson wrote to her an open letter and wondered how the holy spirit descended on Museveni government to amend the KCCA law to add the political wing more powers yet yesterday they were planning to have the Mayor elected amongst councillors.

She wondered how the government softened that most of the amendments were proposed by Hon Nambooze and the government Chief Whip only conceded to the amendments.

In Mrs Nambooze’s reply, she wondered why fellow opposition can feel so bad if they snatch anything from the Junta! It’s saddening that today Nambooze calls those that get concessions from NRM as NRM in opposition. Is her group the only one that get concessions from NRM but others can’t if it’s true?

I have spoken to different NRM councillors and told me they voted for my colleague Nyanjura Doreen and that there were serious talks between their leader in council (chief whip), Buruhan Byaruhanga and Hon Nambooze. 

The hurried congratulatory message from the NRM Secretary General, Hon Kasule Lumumba was calculated to paint a picture that NRM had a hand in Kawalya’s victory and thereafter taint people power in the public eye because Kawalya identified himself as a people power supporter.

Lastly, even if there were engagements between Kawalya and NRM councillors or Hon Nambooze and Buruhan Byaruhanga to secure a win for her candidate, I call upon colleagues in the struggle to desist from the temptation of using such relationships to demonize our compatriots.

There is no wrong in mobilising NRM colleagues to achieve our objectives. In general elections, I always see NRM people campaigning for opposition and vice versa. In 2016, Hon Muwanga Kivumbi supported Hajat Aisha Kabanda and in many areas, that was the case. We should not sow seeds of hatred because we have to prove the correctness of our grouping.

The writer Ssentongo Kyamundu is the spokesperson of Justice Forum/JEEMA. Reach him on: 0772 675 957

OPINION:

Political madness is when some self proclaimed opposition actors/analysts in the city start attacking the KCCA opposition speaker Rt.Hon.Kawalya (FDC/people power leaning) simply because he defeated the FDC official candidate Doreen Nyanjura.

Why dont they attack the Majority FDC councillors who in their wisdom (which i respect) saw it fitting to vote Kawalya as Speaker and Lord councilor Bruhan Byaruhanga (NRM) as KCCA deputy speaker?

Okay, lets take their fake reasoning that there was a secret political alliance but didnt FDC councillors who are the majority in council have the capacity to elect the FDC official candidates for speaker and deputy instead of voting Hon Kawalaya(FDC& people power leaning) and Bruhan(NRM)?

Have such weak minds taken them bother to investigate the reasons why the honourable councillors acted that way?

What can explain the winning of NRM in all the 4 divisions of Kampala? Was it an alliance also? Do such idle talkers know that because of the uncalculated strategy of fighting fellow opposition candidates in 2016, NRM got the majority councillors in all the kampala divisions?

They will call us names for our indipendent opinions (which is okay ) but some of us cant be party to such shallow reasoning.

The writer Bernard Luyiga is former Lord councilor representing Makerere University now Personal Aide Nakawa Mayor. Reach him on 0705514203

OPINION:

……therefore the People Power Movement suited it’s self to this direction. 

However, the time it’s architects opted to take part in an election in which Mr. M7 is a party, it fell a victim as well.

HOW DID WE GET HERE

Ugandans had many elections. The first elections were conducted in 1958. They were organised by the colonial government, to enable the entity now Uganda, prepare a government to lead to the attainment of independence. 

The results were as follows; Uganda National Congress (UNC) got 5 seats, Democratic Party (DP) 1seat and independents 4 seats.

The second election, was in 1960. It saw DP winning 43 seats, UPC 35 seats,  and others took 13 seats to the Legislature. 

Following this victory,  DP formed  a government, under the leadership of Benedict Kiwanuka. His government however, was short lived, since another election was conducted in 1962 on April 25th. 

This election, its argued, was designed to defeat DP. Infact as a result of the coalition between UPC and KY (Kabaka Yekka or King only)party,  the coalition scored 58 seats.

The fourth election,was the referendum on the lost counties of  Bugangaizi and Buyaga. This was two years after independence attainment.

The British had given the two lost counties to Buganda from Banyoro as a reward for supporting the imposition of colonial rule to Uganda . 

However Bunyoro kingdom kept on claiming and crying for their return.  

In the referendum later arranged, three questions were asked-  To unify the counties with Bunyoro kingdom? creation of a separate district that would be part of neither kingdom?  or remaining a part of Buganda kingdom?

From these elections there were never any other elections in Uganda until 1980.

The 1980 elections arguably won by Uganda People’s Congress, is the index of assessing what an election means to a certain  part of  Uganda’s modern electoral  History. 

Under the Uganda Patriotic Movement (UPM), M7 did take part in this election, scoring 1 seat.  DP got  50 seats and Uganda peoples’ Congress scoring 72 seats. While conservative party got 00 seats.  

The 1980 elections had two features; first it was the first elections in Uganda to have electoral observers.

The turn  up was so high, whilst there was no civic education. 

The election was tainted with massive voter intimidation and vote rigging. 

Neither the international  observers nor the majority of the population, including some members who were candidates, accepted the results. 

The following words from one of the 1980 election participants explain the character of these elections ;

“……Muwanga’s government refused to amend the electoral law, hoping to use it’s loopholes to cheat through double voting, switching ballot boxes, false counting, gerrymandering constituencies, hooliganism and so on.”

“My own constituency in Nyabushozi was gerrymandered. Taking advantage of the fact that voting was likely to be on a religious basis, the sub counties of Nyakashashara, Sanga and Kashongi were removed from Nyabushozi and made part of another constituency. ” 

“These subcounties were mainly protestant, cattle keeping areas, and they were exchanged for Ibanda county which was occupied by Catholics. Both the UPC and the DP were involved in these practices in my area as both parties had an interest in making it difficult for me to win……” Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, pages 122 and 123 of the book, Sowing the Mustard seed (Original Edition)

How did Uganda’s 1980 elections leave a scar to our democracy 39 years later?

To be continued in Part II

The writer Denis Nyombi is an Advocate and Presidential Historian.

For comments reach him on 0754592447

denisnyombi@yahoo.com