{UAH} Embassy Official Paid For What?!

For sometime now, I have been saying that we have to respect the constitution as it is        written...until it is changed.

 

But I have also been advocating for going back to the old constitution. In addition to all the reasons I have advanced in the past, events of the past few weeks have helped strengthen my position.

 

1. many of the people that drafted the constitution have also come to the realization that the new constitution doesn't work. e.g I doubt that drafters like Mr Gaburungyi and Mr Kimbugwe would still advocate for the existence of the Board of Trustees (BoT), since their camp (Brain's) has decided to ignore the BoT rulings.

 

The creation of the BoT was largely Mr Wilson's idea but I doubt that he'd still want it either.  I heard that he's been boycotting many BoT meetings or storming out of some BoT meetings.  Meantime, UNAA activities keep going forward...driven by the Executive as it ignores the BoT.

Together, the above examples support my view that the BoT was not necessary.

 

2. We have seen that UNAA can do stuff that require Council approval without input by the Council. Currently, we have TWO Councils (for lack of better description, I'll call them Brian's and Francis'). Francis' Council is ignored by the Executive and Brian's Council seems to rubber stamp Executive decisions (e.g Brian's Council was asked to just vote for a hotel WITHOUT deliberations...and they did so!).

Anyone can imagine what will happen when Brian's Council approves its Directors, choose to send the 2015 convention as close to Dallas as possible, approve increased membership fees, approve Brain's BoT, vote to amend the constitution to its liking, etc.

I wonder if some drafters like Ms Wamala Brown who serves in Francis' Council would not prefer to be in a combined body with Brian's Executive.

That supports my view that it was a terrible idea to split the Council from the Executive.

 

3. Abuses by the EC have convinced many supporters of the current constitution that we should disband the EC or request the VP (Mr Michael Kimbugwe) to resign. Under the constitution, this EC has another TWO years! Anyone doubt that they will not double the candidate fees in order to have more unopposed candidates?  Of course money is NOT a problem for one camp...didn't a lady Uganda Embassy official [Tatyana Owampuro] living in Maryland  pay candidate fees for a Canada-based candidate???

Does anyone think this EC will be less secretive in the next elections?  I can go to the Federal Election commission and see their minutes but I can't see the UNAA EC minutes! They asked candidates to bring observers but then chased out election observers BEFORE vote counting started!!!  You can imagine what would have happened had Brian or Francis lost to the other by one vote!

 

4. Mr Gaburungyi is punishing members on orders on a previously unknown Disciplinary Committee (it is rumored that Mr Gaburungyi is probably the ONLY member of that Disciplinary Committee).  The constitution provides that the BoT would appoint such a body. I don't know when that Committee was created! How many members want that provision to stay in the Constitution?

 

thanks

 

Joseph Musoke