{UAH} RESPONSE TO GABURUNGYI: EDWARD SEKANDI, ELLY KARUHANGA and WINNIE BYANYIMA

Tim,
I don't like responding to surrogates...but I wholeheartedly agree with you that I am "a follower", if you mean that I prefer to say/do what most Ugandans in North America want.  Most people that come to the conventions pay for themselves and if you factor in registration fees, flight charges, hotel charges, missed work, etc, they spend thousands of dollars.  I trust that know what they want, if they are going to spend that kind of money.  So I choose to listen to them.  I don't want to tell them what is good for them.
I think you must remember the tiny percentage of votes you got that one time when you run for office at the convention in San Francisco. Obviously members did not want you telling them what to like. 

As for the "experience of running UNAA", I think you are still doing your exams...if I were you, I'd wait until after the Dallas convention ends before bragging (you might break attendance records...right?).
thanks

 

For a faster response please contact me at 415.789.6427

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From: Timothy Gaburungyi <timothy.gaburungyi@gmail.com>
To: joseph.musoke@ymail.com
Sent: Sunday, August 18, 2013 5:07 PM
Subject: UNAALIST EDWARD SEKANDI, ELLY KARUHANGA and WINNIE BYANYIMA

Joseph,

 

A leader is one who influences others to follow him/her. Note that it is not about holding office. A leader needs to have a core set of principles to stand on and while a leader should be flexible, one who blows with the wind is no longer a leader but rather a follower.

 

It is understandable that you are still acquiring knowledge on how UNAA is managed and Dr. Muniini has explained some of the value of having dignitaries like the Vice President at our events. The expectation is that you acquire this information and then explain to your constituents. If to you an influential dignitary like the Vice President is nothing but a politician who can only be divisive to UNAA, then of course that is what you are going to propagate to your constituents.

 

Now if you do not think Uganda's Vice President has the profile to address an assembly of UNAA delegates then I can only recommend a deeper appreciation of protocol and diplomacy in leadership. If the Vice President sends you a note saying he would like the opportunity to address an assembly of UNAA Members, are you telling us you are going to turn him down just because he is a politician. So are you unhappy that Mayor Nutter addressed UNAA in Philly last year? He is a politician and in a democracy leaders including UNAA's are going to be politicians. So where do you draw the line.

 

Then the other process you have mixed up in all this is linking speaking to sponsorship. Normally UNAA should rather pay a speaker to grace our event. That would make the costs of a convention even higher and thank full you seem to be opposed to that the difference being that some of us roll up our sleeves and innovate to make it a reality. To this end in UNAA we had got people to pay to speak. How brilliant!!! Then of course someone who is opposed to politicians (like you) went all sectarian with hate speech and cost UNAA $40,000 in sponsorship in a single day. In my opinion that was a complete disaster and I do not know how any leader could celebrate such an outcome.

 

Finally you completely misunderstood my explanation on demographics. Your interpretation of my posting is completely inaccurate. Kindly reading it again in full context.

 

Tim Gaburungyi

UNAA Member

On Sun, Aug 18, 2013 at 6:53 PM, Joseph Musoke <joseph.musoke@ymail.com> wrote:

1. Several people have contacted me to clarify my position on politics in UNAA. As many of you know, one of the four reasons why I run for UNAA Presidency was to remove politics from UNAA. I do not intend to ask ANY politicians for money and I will not invite them as main speakers (please see my emails below dated June 2nd and June 26th...just replace Mr. EllyKaruhanga/Ms.Winnie Byanyima for Mr. Edward Sekandi).

Obviously, I want politicians to attend the convention and speak at political forums. Any delegate that wants to hung out with politicians should be able to do so during the forums, in the lobby, at the bars, during dinner, etc. But I strongly believe that it is disingenuous for any person to claim that they can only hobnob with politicians if that politician is a main speaker. When the politician is giving a speech, how can anyone talk to them? One can only talk to them before or after the speech...unless the politician has given a condition that they'll only attend the convention if they are invited as a main speaker!

2. all 3 presidential candidates have taken a position on this matter. Mr Kwesiga and I have publicly taken opposite positions. Mr Senoga has taken both positions. That is why I wanted him to clarify his position so that voters can tell the difference between the 3 of us.

3. unlike Mr Kwesiga and Mr Senoga, I was not well known when I started my campaign and I did not have their resources. So I've built my campaign the old fashioned way...by contacting each voter on my own to introduce myself. Consequently, I have spoken to over 1,300 Ugandans in North America and I can confidently say that MOST of them agree with my position. It is the main reason why UNAA lost popularity in places like Boston, NY, NJ and California where most Ugandans live. That's partly why I laughed when I saw Mr Gaburungyi assert (in one of the secret email exchanges he had with Dr Muniini last week) that the "demographics of Ugandans have shifted"...meaning that the current voter registrations indicates that most Ugandans now live in Dallas? The fact is that MOST people don't want to deal with UNAA because they think it is too involved in Ugandan politics and that UNAA favors the NRM. We can choose to pretend that that perception problem doesbn't exist...but that won't change reality!

thanks

For a faster response please contact me at 415.789.6427

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Joseph Musoke <joseph.musoke@ymail.com>
To: Uganda Heart Forum <ugandans-at-heart@googlegroups.com>; "UNAANET@yahoogroups.com" <UNAANET@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, June 26, 2013 10:11 PM
Subject: ELLY KARUHANGA and WINNIE BYANYIMA

On June 2nd, I noted in the email below that Ms Nairuba, Mr Kwesiga and his dad (Mr. David Mureeba, the head of Uganda's consulate in Dallas) had quietly decided to invite Mr Elly Karuhanga as the main speaker during the UNAA luncheon on Saturday Aug 31st. It was being floated that the opposition parties in Uganda would apparently balance out with a main speaking slot for Ms Winnie Byanyima during dinner on Sunday, Sept 1st.

Though Mr Mureeba is a Ugandan living in Texas, I don't think it is a good idea to have an official of the government of Uganda to choose the main speakers at the UNAA convention. e.g officials at the Uganda embassy in DC told me that they are not even allowed to vote in UNAA elections though they live here!

We've been told that Mr Karuhanga was chosen because he'd made a large "donation to help UNAA get out of debt" and that efforts to stop him from being a main speaker would make him withdraw his "donation". I don't how much he is donating and I don't know how much goes to UNAA (a relatively new incentive in UNAA allows a person that brings a donor to keep a percentage of the amount donated).  This is a very strange reason to choose a main speaker. Does UNAA auction the Saturday slot? 

Mr Karuhanga is also allegedly supposed to talk about oil jobs in the company whose board he leads. I do not think Mr Karuhanga needs to address us in order to show jobs in his company.  UNAA has a has a web page for jobs.  He can post them there.

Likewise, I do not think that Ms Byanyima should be a main speaker at the convention. Of course I do not know either politician and I have no problem with any politicians  coming to the convention as long as they are not main speakers. Both politicians should be invited to address the political forums rather than the main gatherings.

Not everyone goes to the forums (e.g Mr Kamugisha has pointed out that when he sees me at conventions, I spend time in the lobby or at the bar...that's because I mainly go conventions to meet my friends and to make new ones and you can't easily to either f those in a forum because you've to listen to politicians!).  People that go the political forums enjoy political talk and want to hear the competing views of the politicians. 

However, everyone comes to the main meals. Everyone that pays for the convention pays for that meal.  In other words, unlike audiences at the political forums, people at the meals are captive audiences because they have to be there...they paid for the meal! We should therefore avoid subjecting them to politician's speeches.

Worse, if you invite Mr Karuhanga and Ms Byanyima this year, fairness would require that you invite members of other political parties to speak in subsequent years. Assuming that every political party in Uganda and the US/Canada has a supporter in UNAA, are we ready to offer a main speaking slot to representatives of all political parties???  Which political parties will speak for free and which one will have to "donate"?

That is why I strongly urge our leaders to drop the politicians and invite non-partisan speakers.  In the email below, I mentioned an example of the exceptional speaker we had in Denver. 

If our leaders can't think of alternatives, I can suggest the following for consideration...all fit in this year's chosen theme "harnessing the power of the diaspora":

1. Robert Ocaya: he works the German International aid agency (GIZ) and edits the excellent annual Agricultural Finance Yearbook. He can talk about the various effective but cheap ways of increasing small-scale modern farming and the financing available. UNAA's platform can help pass on his work to our relatives around the country...or even to help UNAA members start farming back home.

2. Dr. Baterana Byarugaba: last I heard, he was the head of Mulago hospital. He can update us on the status of Mulago. UNAA members that are knowledgeable about health issues can liaise with him and offer help where they can. e.g I recently talked to a Ugandan nurse that works in an ER and had just got back from Kla where she was shocked on a visit to Mulago's ER.  She thinks UNAA can help get US based nurses in touch with each other and then they could talk about coordinating their vacations in Kla and help train Ugandan nurses in modern medicine. 

3. Godfrey Alenyo: he's a senior immigration officer in Kla. I saw him give a good talk about dual-citizenship laws at the Ugandan convention in London.

4. Ben Mukasa: he is a  dean at the University of New Hampshire. He can talk about higher education paths in the US.

5. A Ugandan-American high school teacher (Faith Kyomuhendo?): she recently won accolades for the way she overcame lots of hardships and became a great high school teacher.  Her moving story may resonate with many UNAA members that came as youngsters or families that came with little children and later had more kids. e.g her elder kids could not fit well in US life but then the little kids also went into bad habits. These are challenges that many UNAA members might relate to. With all her trials at home, she also stick with a failing school that she worked hard to turn around (and won the hearts of racist parents and a racist town...parents would throw stones into her house and tell her to leave town!).   

6. Moses Wilson: he can talk about pooling resources for investment here in North America and in Uganda (okay, this one definitely would have to speak on Sunday after elections...we don't want him to use his speech to politic for Brian or against Francis and I!).

Let us keep politicians from main speaking slots at the convention.  They should speak in political forums. We should not ask for money from politicians (as I said before, "he who pays the piper calls the tune").  Having politicians as main speakers and getting money from politicians have both caused divisions in UNAA. e.g that is largely why Gwanga Mujje started and that's why many people erroneously look at UNAA as a NRM organ. We should not keep repeating the same mistakes all the time and expect that somehow, this time the results would be different.

thanks

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From: Joseph <jmusoke98@yahoo.com>
To: "unaalist@unaa.memberclicks.net" <unaalist@unaa.memberclicks.net>
Sent: Sunday, June 2, 2013 11:15 AM
Subject: UNITY IN UNAA

We have recently read that the keynote speaker at the convention will be Mr Elly Karuhanga. That revelation was greeted with much enthusiasm from many NRM supporters in UNAA but condemned by many UNAA members opposed to the NRM, as well as independents.

We have also read that the choice of speaker was quietly made by the UNAA Executive (the Secretary flew to Kla to get the donation). In addition, Mr. Brian Kwesiga and his dad (uncle?) David Mureeba of Texas played a big role and it is Mr. Mureeba that revealed that Mr. Karuhanga was the choice that he might contact Ms Byanyima to balance out on the closing ceremony. Since Mr Mureeba is one of the representatives of the government of Uganda in the US (http://ugandaemb.org/honoraryconsuls.htm), how is he allowed to get involved in the convention planning and choice of speakers???

1. When I announced my candidacy, I promised to limit situations that lead to squabbles over politics. UNAA has members that are Republicans, Democrats, Independents, NRM, DP, FDC, KY, Bataka Bbu, Libertarians, Greens, etc. I will try to keep UNAA out of politics and create an environment where all members feel comfortable and welcome, regardless of their political affiliations. I believe that no one political group should dominate UNAA. If a member left the convention feeling that any political group has dominated the convention, that will be a failure on my part as an organizer.

Choosing a keynote speaker is of those things that have brought disunity in UNAA. I believe that it is not too late to change course. Of course, I have nothing personal against Mr Karuhanga. We don't know each other. My advice would be the same if the keynote speaker came from any party and elicited similar polarizing reaction from UNAA members.

My goal is simple: I want UNAA to be like my local chapter. In my local chapter, we don't care what party members belong to. We don't impose any political view on anybody. But we discuss politics but we avoid polarizing events. That's how UNAA should be too. Many of us remember the keynote speaker in Denver. He probably gave the best keynote speech I've ever heard at a UNAA convention...and his presence wasn't questioned by anyone, at least not to my knowledge! Why don't we get someone like that?

2. When I declared my candidacy, I also mentioned that I want to limit the influence of donors/sponsors on UNAA's activities. If UNAA keeps its expenses within its means (i.e what the members have paid), we will stop relying so much on donors/sponsors. I will not ask politicians to give money to UNAA. We all know that he who pays the piper calls the tune. If someone gives you thousands of dollars, it is only fair to give them what they want in return.

I don't know the criteria used to choose politicians/parties that donate to UNAA and I don't know if opposition politicians are also asked to donate money to UNAA. What I know is that we should keep politics a bay...because we can't promote all political parties. If we get money from CP, (and promote CP at the convention) I am sure DP, UPC, NRM etc supporters will complain. That's partly why Gwanga Mujje broke away...they wanted Mengo speakers to get as prominent a role as NRM speakers.

If elected, I will not seek donations from political parties and I'll treat all political parties the same. I'll welcome politicians and give them a platform at the political forums. But I will not choose them to give the keynote speech.

For a faster response please contact me at 415.789.6427

Ugandan North America Association . 1337 Massachusetts Avenue . Suite 153 . Arlington. MA . 02476

Email: info@unaa.org

Ugandan North America Association . 1337 Massachusetts Avenue . Suite 153 . Arlington. MA . 02476

Email: info@unaa.org