The unpatriotic Museveni is attempting to take Ugandans for a ride. Let me begin by quoting the preamble of the 1995 Constitution which states in part “WE THE PEOPLE OF UGANDA: RECALLING our history which has been characterized by political and constitutional instability; RECOGNISING our struggles against the forces of tyranny, oppression and exploitation; COMMITTED to building a better future by establishing a socio-economic and political order through a popular and durable national Constitution based on the principles of unity, peace, equality, democracy, freedom, social justice and progress; EXERCISING our sovereign and inalienable right to determine the form of governance for our country, and having fully participated in the Constitution-making process; ….” I purposely italicized and underlined significant phrases to ponder about in the preamble of our constitution as Museveni treads a dangerous path to cast this country into anarchy.
A self-seeking Museveni amends the constitution for the soul purpose of entrenching himself in power. It should be recalled that in 2005, amidst heavy bribery the non-patriotic NRM legislators loyal to Museveni removed the presidential term limit by amending article105(2). Like the 18th century Bourbon monarchy of France who learned nothing and forgot nothing, in 2018 Museveni further pushed for another amendment of article 102(b) that removed the presidential age limit to entrench his life presidency.
During the 2021 elections, Ugandans demonstrated how power belongs to the people and dictator Museveni realized how unpopular, unpatriotic, and irrelevant he has become to Ugandans. The power drunkard Museveni who survives on voter intimidation, suppression, bribery, and mass vote rigging is making yet another move to amend article 103(1) of the constitution to give his easy-to-manipulate members of parliament the right to vote the president on behalf of Ugandans. This move is treacherous, heinous, and disenfranchises Ugandans of their legal right to self-determination. In fact, the parliament of Uganda is under hostage and needs liberation too. A case in point is that we are beginning to see the effects of the 2020 political gerrymandering by Dr. Baryomunsi and team.
President Museveni and his hegemony are non-patriotic and an enemy to our country. If Museveni, his patronage and NRM members claim to care for Uganda, they should forthwith drop the bid to snatch self-agency from citizens, and educate themselves of the national objectives and principles of our nation such as the duties of a citizen: to acquaint himself or herself with the provisions of the Constitution and to uphold and defend the Constitution and the law; to promote democracy and the rule of law; and to foster national unity and live-in harmony with others, among others.
I call upon all Ugandans to embrace the transformation agenda to liberate Uganda from the hands of tyrants, oppressors, and exploiters. To be clear, even President Museveni and the NRM sympathizers and supporters need liberation from themselves so that they are no longer able to lead Uganda to a dangerous path. We can’t watch as the country goes to a mess. We must vehemently fight this monarchy dominance that is going beyond what we can tolerate.
©Francis Kamuhanda is the Diaspora Coordinator for the USA Chapter.