{UAH} Allan/Pojim/WBK: When Besigye, Mbabazi took on Museveni

http://www.observer.ug/news-headlines/42615-when-besigye-mbabazi-took-on-museveni

When Besigye, Mbabazi took on Museveni

Written by EDWARD SSEKIKA & SULAIMAN KAKAIRE

Created: 15 February 2016

And so the long-awaited debater arrived, and Saturday's second presidential debate was truly under way. But not without some drama.

When the organisers called out the name of Yoweri Museveni who cut the first debate, he was nowhere to be seen. For about a minute, the country – some will say 'the world', with #UGDebate16 trending globally on Twitter – held its breath.

Museveni eventually emerged from a different direction of the stage compared to the other candidates. The country breathed a collective sigh of relief. Yet Museveni was the lesser time-management problem, with the debate starting more than an hour late - after 8pm. 

Museveni arrived at 6:57pm and joined fellow candidates Mbabazi, Venansius Baryamureeba, Abed Bwanika, Biraaro, and Maureen Kyalya. Besigye was nowhere to be seen. He arrived at 7:30pm, in the company of his wife Winnie Byanyima and top FDC leaders.

Kizza Besigye and wife Winnie Byanyima

Candidate Elton Mabirizi only joined the debate in the second session, and claimed he had issues to sort out first with the organizers. FDC presidential candidate Kizza Besigye would make most capital out of Museveni's stance, telling the audience that Serena hotel conference centre, where the debate took place, was where he was detained before the joined the war that brought Museveni to power.

"I was incarcerated here, in the direction where candidate Museveni came from," Besigye said.

The symbolism in that statement was unmistakable. It set the tone for the most tension-ridden moments of the debate: exchanges between Museveni and candidates who served him before deciding to seek his job – Maureen Kyalya, Besigye, Amama Mbabazi, Benon Biraaro.

"I am sure that everyone in this House is familiar with statements we were associated [with], statements made by candidate Museveni about the problems of Africa emanating from leaders that didn't want to leave power. So, my engagement in politics is to really to help in whatever humble way I can to reset that foundation for stability of peace in our country, for peace that can only come when there is justice, when there is fairness, when all of us share equally in our country," Besigye said.   

The Uganda Farmer's Party candidate, retired Maj Gen Benon Biraaro,  placed his bid in the context of the unfulfilled promises of the NRM/A revolution.

"The politics of this country was shaped by two opposing forces...one was believing in the hearts and minds of the people...the other was fascists. So, when we came into government...we took that message of winning hearts and minds," Biraaro said.

The candidates hold their hands in prayer

He added, however, that with time, another thinking came in, "a line that was not respecting the peoples wishes...that brought in refusal to leave office."
Independent candidate Amama Mbabazi, too, used his opening remarks to castigate Museveni's pride in peace and stability.     

"Uganda may not be at war but certainly we are not secure...we cannot be fully secure until we have reclaimed good governance," Museveni's former prime minister said.

Unsurprisingly, when time came for Museveni to make his statement he scorned at his rivals' opening statements.

"I am here to talk about Uganda not fiction. If you want fiction and you want a Nobel Prize for literature...then you can talk whatever you want to talk,"

Museveni said, adding that he had expanded Uganda's economy from an enclave economy to where it is today. 
DIVERGENT VIEWS

The main exchanges of the night were the different views between Besigye and Mbabazi on the one hand, and Museveni on the other on the issue of Uganda's plunder of Democratic Republic of Congo.  Uganda invaded Congo in 1996 and 2001 in a bid to flush out "Ugandan rebels" operating from there.

President Museveni consults his notes during the debate

However, the Ugandan army was implicated in looting Congolese natural resources and other human rights violations. The matter went to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which ruled that indeed Ugandan soldiers plundered Congolese natural resources. Uganda was fined $10 billion, money we are yet to pay. Besigye was asked how he would handle the issue.

He said the country invaded Congo without the necessary approvals and said he would ensure the issue is handled through a negotiated settlement with DRC.

Immediately, Museveni's hand shot up: "Is there a right of reply here?"

He was allowed to reply.

"I reject what Col Besigye is saying. It is false. We intervened in Congo to defend ourselves. Congo was harboring our enemies, I couldn't accept that…." Museveni said.

Then he wondered why the Ugandan legal team at ICJ didn't win the case, because he had volunteered to be a witness.

"Nobody can play with our security when I'm  president of Uganda" he said.

Besigye acknowledged the president's mandate to defend Uganda, but said it should be done within the law. He said at that time he was in government and no organ of the state discussed and approved the issue of invading Congo.

Maureen Kyalya talking to Museveni

Mbabazi then chipped in that he was part of the legal team that represented Uganda at ICJ, and clarified the decision was based on UPDF's plunder of Congolese natural resources and not weather the necessary procedures were followed.

Another point where Museveni clashed with Besigye was on the management of oil, gas and other natural resources. Although Bwanika said oil can never be a curse with proper management, Besigye used the issue to make a veiled attack on the Museveni government.

"Oil is certainly a curse in the hands of unaccountable and corrupt regime," Besigye said before articulating his policy proposals. 

Museveni boasted that oil was discovered by the NRM and that he trained the  scientists that did the job. He was not entirely accurate: whereas commercial viability was confirmed under the NRM, it had been known that Uganda had oil as early as the 1930s.

It is even reported that between 1983 and 1985, the Obote government tried oil exploration but the activities were hampered by the war that swept Museveni into power 30 years ago. 
ssekika@observer.ug 
skakaire@observer.ug

When Besigye, Mbabazi took on Museveni

http://www.observer.ug/news-headlines/42615-when-besigye-mbabazi-took-on-museveni

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