{UAH} Mbabazi: my crowds bigger than NRM’s

Mbabazi addressing crowds at Mbale Cricket Grounds. Photo: Sadab Kitatta Kaaya

Presidential aspirant JOHN PATRICK AMAMA MBABAZI on Monday began consultative meetings in Mbale, drawing crowds in town and at a public rally. Later, the former prime minister and former NRM secretary general briefly talked to an NBS TV journalist. Lawrence Misege listened to the recording and below is the transcript.

It has been a very long day for you, what do you have to say about it?

It's been a fantastic day in my life because the welcome was awesome. I was received at Kamonkoli as you know; it took us more than two hours to arrive in Mbale town.

Eventually when we got to Maluku, we had a huge crowd and the meeting with leaders took a very short time because we didn't have much time and many of our supporters were very enthusiastic about being involved in all the day's activities. So, we did postpone that and it took a while from Maluku to the cricket ground where there was a massive, very massive turnout. Did you record it?

Some who were on Twitter and Facebook doubted whether the crowd was genuine.

What was wrong with your camera? (Laughs) because the camera doesn't tell lies. I have not seen…you know I have been organizing meetings, rallies for the NRM, I don't think we have ever had such a rally outside Kololo [airstrip].

Your dress code today is quite different, where did you get that?

Well, this is a gown which is special for this culture. I think if I understood very well, it is only the "Omukhuuka" the cultural head of Bagisu that is given this gown; so, I am certainly very delighted and proud and even overwhelmed by the honor accorded to me.

That is why you can see I am putting it on, and I accepted it; I accepted the honor of being [a cultural head]. It is like enthronement.

You registered as an NRM member in Kanungu; today we are seeing you contesting as an independent. Which is which?

I did not register in Kanungu, as I have occasionally said. This exercise [registration] was alright as an administrative measure simply to record membership of the party. I am a member [of the NRM] historically. I am in the party constitution.

I am a founder member of NRM under article 10 of the constitution, which talks about the membership of the party. Anyone who subscribes to the principles of the movement, the old movement principles, automatically is a member. I am a member.

Are you really interested in joining The Democratic Alliance?

What I have said I think the principles underlying the cooperation behind the TDA are good. I support them. I had the honour of attending the meeting last week and we exchanged a number of things and I will continue engaging with them.

I subscribe to the principles of TDA, the fact that I am going through a consultative process, does not contradict at all what TDA stands for. There are one or two things we are sorting out.

Why did you decide to launch your campaigns in Mbale and not Kanungu, where you hail from and where you have a lot of support?

Incidentally I think that analysis is not entirely accurate. The fact that people voted for an FDC Member of Parliament [in Mbale municipality] is conclusive that they are FDC.

Rukiga constituency in Kabale district, elected Hon Jack Sabiiti of FDC but I know for sure majority of the people there are NRM. So they elected Sabiiti on individual merit, and here in this region previously it was held by NRM, so yes FDC trounced us in the last elections. The issue at hand has nothing to do with FDC.

With all these differences, I think the issue is so fundamental that those [political] differences fade away completely because what we are talking about is change of direction of Uganda and change of system, peaceful transition of power. These are critical issues which ought to be bipartisan.

They don't have to divide us along partisan lines and I believe what I sense, our people are rallying around the ideas in spite of the party affiliation. In Kanungu there are of course many NRM supporters but they also want change and this is the trend in Uganda within NRM, FDC and even those who have no party affiliation.

What is your message to the people of Uganda?

My message today to the people of Uganda is that it is time for change. The things we have achieved as NRM over the last 30 years are visible. They are known, I have listed them though I was not exhaustive.

So, it is time to go to another level and I think we will require that change of leadership in order for us to achieve that objective of rising to a different level.

https://observer.ug/news-headlines/39751-mbabazi-my-crowds-bigger-than-nrm-s

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"When a man is stung by a bee, he doesn't set off to destroy all beehives"

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