{UAH} Pojim/WBK: By standing, Dr Besigye has broken no law

http://www.observer.ug/viewpoint/39247-by-standing-dr-besigye-has-broken-no-law

By standing, Dr Besigye has broken no law

Last Updated: 14 August 2015

Dear Mzee Amanya Mushega,
I hope this finds you well. Greetings!

Your interview with The Observer on Monday was both thought-provoking and shocking. Thought-provoking because you raised very pertinent issues relating to internal party politics, the need to evolve democratic ethos and institutionalize management of public affairs. But it was also a little shocking because as a respected elder, yours should be a voice of moderation

In your signature tone, you spoke with candor and argued persuasively. Some of us Ugandans loathe those truths that don't rhyme with our biases and wishes. I liked your emphasis that Ugandan does not need a savior.

We need a unity of purpose in building the institutions and systems that can take our country forward. In the interview, you made a direct and scathing indictment of Dr Kizza Besigye, literally accusing him of being dishonest.

Reason being that after the 2011 elections, he stepped down from the leadership of your party, the Forum for Democratic Change, and also announced that he would not offer himself for president of Uganda again considering the unfree and unfair political environment.

In criticizing Dr Besigye, you spoke in favor of an important principle: that leaders ought to be principled and should be held accountable for their pronouncements. There is no doubt that Dr Besigye has some explaining to do about his surprise decision to offer himself for election as FDC flag bearer.

But there is an equally important principle that you appear to have deliberately glossed over: that Dr Besigye has an inalienable and constitutionally guaranteed right to stand for president of Uganda after every five years until he clocks 75 years. You and I may not like the fact that Besigye is standing again and again, but it is his right, and this is an important principle worth defending, and not denigrating.

Unlike General Museveni who fiddled with the Constitution, bribed MPs and manipulated the whole process to cling onto power, Dr Besigye has neither violated any national law nor used any official position to gain unfair advantage. In fact, he did the most unusual, yet laudable, thing when he cut short his term as FDC president to give his successor ample time ahead of the current contest for flag bearer.

Permit me ask this question, Mzee Amanya: what did you hope to achieve by openly and directly criticizing your old comrade and fellow senior party member? I see one most likely outcome – fanning friction and widening the gulf between those who still fanatically believe in Besigye and those who want an alternative leadership.

But consider this. Your party president, Mugisha Muntu, has consistently insisted that FDC must allow for unfettered competition and that no one should be seen as beyond being challenged. He has used an instructive example to underscore his point.

In the old NRM, or what you used to call, rather vaguely, the "Movement", you let General Museveni carry on without competition for the topmost job. This, it turned out, was the beginning of making a dictator who has now shamelessly become a sole candidate. Mzee Amanya, are you suggesting that Ndugu Muntu should be left to be the FDC flag bearer, unopposed, a sole candidate?

The irony of your comments is that Muntu does not agree with the suggestion that Dr Besigye should not compete against him. But there is an open competition and whoever the FDC delegates prefer should fly the party's flag. Has Dr Besigye used underhand methods and hijacked the party for his own personal and selfish interests?

A more apt approach from a respected and wise elder would have been to lead an internal open debate about what the continued candidature of Dr Besigye means for the party. It would have helped to reflect on why hordes of Ugandans out there still consider Besigye the most credible opposition leader.

Please note that this is an individual who has endeared himself to Ugandans not because he has state largesse to distribute but out of his sheer courage, selflessness, and single-minded determination to stand up against the Museveni dictatorship.

The decision to say I have done my bit and it is time to hang the boots is a personal one, which Dr Besigye should be left to take. To stand again when one has had a shot one too many times arguably raises an important moral question. But this has to take into consideration the actual political dynamics of the day.

The struggle to end the misrule of General Museveni is a tough one, and Dr Besigye has to be saluted for the courage to step forward and stand up to the challenge.

The air of fear, blackmail, and opportunism wrought by 30 years of autocratic rule has left Uganda with very few and credible opposition leaders willing to risk their lives and careers. Perhaps you too, Mzee Amanya, can step forward, articulate an alternative agenda for the country, and inspire confidence. 
moses.khisa@gmail.com
 The author is a PhD candidate and teaching assistant at the department of Political Science, Northwestern University, USA.

By standing, Dr Besigye has broken no law

http://www.observer.ug/viewpoint/39247-by-standing-dr-besigye-has-broken-no-law

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