{UAH} Eviction Notice For Gen Museveni --
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8:17 AM |
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As the world now knows, one day after the Feb. 18 General Election in Uganda Dr. Kizza Besigye, presidential candidate of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), Mugisha Muntu the FDC president, Bigirwa and activist and FDC leader Ingride Turinawe have all been arrested this morning and taken to an unknown location by the police.
The Police Commander is Gen. Kale Kayihura who previously said the pro-government crime preventers militia should be armed with weapons to prepare for "war."
Election day was expectedly eventful. Citizens woke up at the crack of dawn to go and exercise their rights to vote. Polling Stations were supposed to have opened and voting to begin from 7am.
Some polling stations did not get ballot papers until midday. Incompetence by Badru Kiggundu the chairman and his Electoral Commission (EC) or deliberate ploy to suppress the vote especially in known opposition strongholds? Understandably some voters became agitated. The police responded by teargassing them. Talk about NRM's version of "steady progress," where teargas arrives faster than ballot papers.
Some polling stations did not have any officials around, for reasons among others, strike due to poor pay; leaving voters stranded and unsure of what to do.
However, my sources in Uganda reported that some polling stations were orderly and peaceful albeit they started the process late. Loftus Martin Owor, who voted from a polling station in Luzira said there was a huge turnout but it was difficult to gauge who people were voting for because it was a secret ballot as it should be. Another source, Ayaa, who voted at a polling station in Mbale, Eastern Uganda, said that she arrived at 9 am and the polling station was already opened and officials ready to begin the process.
The local officials were helpful including ushering the elderly and pregnant to the front of the line. Ayaa was not aware of any irregularities at this polling station and commended the officials on site for a job well done.
There were however widespread allegations that some ballot papers arrived at polling stations pre-ticked in favor of the incumbent Gen. Yoweri Museveni. Indeed, there are several videos on social media showing angry citizens waving pre-ticked ballot papers at cameras.
It appears that the incumbent and his supporters, with complicity of the EC whose members are all hand-picked by Gen. Museveni are up to their old tricks of election-rigging yet again. For example, at a polling station in Rushere Primary School, where the incumbent voted from, 437 voters were registered and yet it was announced that Gen. Museveni got 760 of those votes.
Even before his arrest with other senior party officials today, election day yesterday was further marred by the arrest of Dr. Besigye. It was reported by Al Jazeera and BBC Africa that after a tip- off from a regime official, Dr. Besigye and his supporters went to a house in Naguru, a suburb of Kampala, where alleged election-rigging was taking place by police officers.
His supporters banged on the gates of this property and persons inside attempted to flee using a back fence, running into the road where they were apprehended. They were found to be in possession of hand guns and handcuffs.
One wonders, were these security agents or the notorious "crime preventers"? All report to Gen. Kayihura the partisan and biased police commander.
When police arrived on the scene, Dr. Besigye and his supporters demanded that they open the house. This is how Uganda under Gen. Museveni operates: It was Dr. Besigye who was detained by police and driven back to his residence in Kasangati. His allegations were not even investigated – evidently the officers who arrested Dr. Besigye must have known what was going on in the house.
The US ambassador to Uganda has called this arrest "very unfortunate." Voting was suspended at 4 pm and Kiggundu announced that those polling stations that were not operational on the first day of election would be open on Feb. 19.0
Is it worth all this effort only to announce an illegitimate winner? Is it worth the expense of millions of dollars in tax payer's money?
Is it worth the participation of international election observers only to cowardly and unashamedly rob Ugandans of their votes?
Ugandans and friends of Uganda have followed these election campaigns religiously, almost obsessively. We must tell Kiggundu and his EC Team that international election observers and the whole world are watching.
Why risk becoming pariahs in the eyes of Ugandans and the world?
Ugandans yearn for change. Even citizens who did not vote for the Dr. Besigye acknowledge his unquestioned popularity among the young and the elderly alike.
Compare the mood at his rallies where ordinary citizens hand him cash and livestock to that of the incumbent's where money – public funds – is doled to attract people. There were no buses ferrying recruited "supporters" to his rallies, as was the case with Gen. Museveni's.
People walked for several miles to get there.
Like many Ugandans and friends of Uganda, I have followed preliminary reports from different tallying stations for the better part since they became available.
The EC based on limited returns claimed Gen. Museveni was leading 61.4% to Dr. Besigye's 34.6%.
Yet reports from several tallying stations gave the lead to Dr. Besigye, only to be contradicted by EC chairman Kiggundu's doctored numbers.
As one social media observer, Fredson Mutebi, says, Kiggundu like a serial killer, finally made a grave mistake -- a school boy error. He allowed other organizations to set up their own tallying centers.
FDC, the main opposition party had a tally center and as of today their numbers had Dr. Besigye leading with 54% and the incumbent at 42%.
That tally center has now reportedly been surrounded and sealed off by the police. The Daily Monitor, Uganda's main private newspaper and The Uganda Christian Joint Council also have tally centers. Are these too going to be gagged by Gen. Museveni and Gen. Kayihura?
Why would you want to stay where the majority of the population do not want you? It is humiliating. To borrow from a pedestrian analogy, the incumbent has become like a clingy woman who thinks she can make a man love her. If the love is not there and it has been clearly demonstrated just walk away with your head held high.
What can Gen. Museveni do in the next five years, one presidential term, that he's failed to do in the last 30? He is no longer enough for Uganda – the people want more.
People want roads without potholes that are death traps; people want jobs for all, based on merit; people want schools with teachers who are paid every month, and resources for pupils and students.
People want hospitals with medicine -- not just a building – and doctors, nurses, specialists, and consultants.
People want their children and elderly taken care of. People want a country with the rule of law. People want a police force that will protect and serve the citizens of Uganda – with officers paid so that they don't unleash their frustrations on the very people they swore to serve and protect.
People want a disciplined army. People want a Uganda we can all proudly call home. People want the pearl of Africa; not the pathetic misery you've created.
Even as things look dire, hope must never wane; head of the Commonwealth Election Observer Team former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo in a statement said his group won't endorse a fraudulent election.
We are determined to reclaim our country by any legitimate means necessary and serving an eviction notice to Gen. Museveni; rent is overdue and we want Uganda back.
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