{UAH} Bobi approached for talks with Museveni

The acrimonious exchanges of insults between the ruling NRM, which won the January 2021 presidential election, and the losing opposition National Unity Platform has further diminished the already remote prospects of talks to resolve the impasse over elections.

According to NUP insiders, there are efforts initiated by foreign groups to have both President Museveni and his fiercest challenger in the January poll Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu to sit down for talks.

"They are establishing contact with the president to see how the country moves forward after a bitter election. Even at NUP, there have been a number of meetings to try and convince Kyagulanyi to talk to Museveni," an insider said.

The Observer has learnt that the Commonwealth, a voluntary association of 54 independent and equal countries, has a delegation in the country, sent to broker a peaceful resolution to the impasse brought on by the dispute over election results.

Another person close to Kyagulanyi, who declined to be named to speak freely, confirmed that indeed there are people who have talked to their principal about the need for dialogue. He, however, declined to name names.

"That option is very risky for him [Kyaggulanyi], he fears to be misunderstood if he were to speak to [president] Museveni," the source said.

Interviewed for a comment, NUP spokesperson Joel Ssenyonyi confirmed the party has received suggestions for dialogue with Museveni. However, Ssenyonyi said accepting to speak to Museveni presupposes there is something personal between him and Kyagulanyi.

NUP IS SKEPTICAL

"There are people who try to reach out but we have consistently said there is nothing personal between Kyagulanyi and Museveni that they have to iron out. These are matters of the country; so, if there is going to be any kind of talks, it must be by Ugandans and about Uganda," Ssenyonyi said.

He said NUP is also skeptical of Musev-eni's intentions.

"We are not interested in talks with Museveni if the aim is to throw money here and there or positions. Him saying he will drive and meet us wherever we will be; we are not interested in such an arrangement that doesn't involve all Ugandans," Ssenyonyi said.

Speaking during the weekend Capital Gang political programme on Capital FM, Ofwono Opondo, the government spokesperson, said people calling for talks are nothing but hawkers aiming to make quick money from foreigners who will bankroll the negotiations.

He said Ugandans willingly voted for President Museveni and, therefore, there is no issue between him and the opposition that requires negotiations. Last week, President Yoweri Kaguta Tibuhaburwa Museveni said he doesn't need anyone to mediate a political solution between him and his opponents.

This proclamation came two weeks after the Electoral Commission declared him as the winner of the hotly contested January 2021 presidential election. Museveni polled 58% of the 10 million votes cast. His closest rival and runner-up, Kyagulanyi polled 35%.

Kyagulanyi has since dismissed the results as fraudulent and has run to court. Until Monday last week, he was under house arrest. According to security officials, he was considered a national security threat. Before the High court ordered an end to the army and police siege of Kyagulanyi's home, a number of prominent leaders had called for national dialogue to calm tempers.

Monsignor Charles Kasibante, the vicar general of Kampala Archdiocese, used his opening prayer during celebrations to mark NRM's 35th year in power to implore the president to reconcile with his opponents for the good of the nation.

"As Ugandans, we all need to reconcile ourselves with one another at all costs. Forgive each other for whatever went wrong on both sides and reconcile with those who have different views from ours. As religious leaders, we request that Hon Robert Kyagulanyi has his freedom of movement and expression; let us promote general reconciliation with each other and one another," Kasibante said on behalf of the archbishop of Kampala Dr Cyprian Kizito Lwanga.

In response, Museveni said he didn't need any mediators because he knew where opposition members stay.

"I don't want any mediation; everybody knows my address, I know the address of these opposition people, I can drive there and we talk. We don't need any mediation; it's an insult to tell me about mediation," Museveni said on January 26.

Before elections, a team from Buganda had offered to calm tempers heightened by the highly militarized political campaigns. But the Shs 15bn price tag scuttled the effort. The president reportedly declined to pay before seeing some results.

A LOOK BACK

After the equally contentious 2016 general election, which former FDC presidential candidate Dr Kizza Besigye claimed to have won, there were efforts to reconcile the two men who had faced off in elections four times.

The efforts were led by the Women's Situation Room [WSR] and later joined by the Elders' Forum. Speaking to this newspaper on condition of anonymity, one person at the center of the talks said the efforts started almost immediately after the election.

The Women's Situation Room is an Africa-wide platform for women and youths, which plays an active and direct role in peace and conflict prevention. It started in 2011 during the Liberian presidential and parliamentary elections. It is made up of prominent women and whenever there is an election, these, women travel to support each other.

So it was WSR that first established contact with President Museveni and asked whether he would be willing to talk to Besigye. He immediately accepted and their next move was to contact Besigye who also broadly accepted talks that would especially result in Uganda having a transitional government.

Museveni appointed Prime Minster Dr Ruhakana Rugunda and Minister Mwesigwa Rukutana as his contact persons. Besigye appointed FDC Secretary General Na-than Nandala-Mafabi and the former leader of opposition Wafula Oguttu as his main contact persons.

The WSR had active participation from former Judge Mary Maitum and the former Vicar of All Saints Cathedral, Rev Diana Mirembe Nkesiga. The other women were mainly from outside the country. Besigye's team insisted on having structured dialogue between him and the president.

They would write down their demands and positions, which WSR would take to government and then return days later with the government stand. Museveni had two major demands; to meet Besigye personally and also for him to denounce violence. Besigye demanded an international audit of the election results as the first step for him to continue with the talks.

"Surprisingly, Museveni had accepted to look into those results because it seemed the pressure was too much on him," the source said. But Besigye refused to commit to personally meeting Museveni.

"He feared to be misunderstood because you know, Museveni is very cunning, he will take pictures with you to send a signal to especially investors who are mostly worried about the instabilities in the country, that everything is OK," the source said.

With the talks on the right track albeit through the exchange of documents, they were joined by Sweden, as the mediator. FDC had rejected Rev. Nkesiga as mediator. But as the parties came close to signing the final agreement after a painstaking exchange of documents, the talks were abandoned.

Asked why, the source said the situation in the country had gone back to normal.

"Now the military was off the streets, Ugandans had gone back to business as usual and Museveni was not under any form of pressure. So, as they neared the end, that's how they ended," the source said.

HAS BOBI WINE PUSHED MUSEVENI TO THE WALL?

Unlike Kyagulanyi, Besigye refused to commit to non-violence. He kept on talking about defiance and civil disobedience as means through which to take on Museveni. However, last week Kyagulanyi categorically said he has no Plan B like many of his party members had said after winning local government positions.

Even the USA and UK diplomats asked him not to engage in violence but seek all legal means to challenge the results.

"I have never said there is plan A or B; how many people have heard me say the word plan B. The only plan we have is to remove Museveni from power through legally accepted plans," Kyagulanyi said moments after his longtime ally David Lule aka Selector Davie was arrested two days to elections.

He said throughout the 10 days in detention, his captors kept asking him about Kyagulanyi's Plan B.

"I was badly tortured for days when they were asking me about things I don't know," Lule said.

For now, Kyagulanyi is headed to the Supreme court to prove the January 2021 presidential election was stolen. This is a long shot to the presidency but nonetheless, Kyagulanyi says at least he will not only be able to expose the Electoral Commission and President Museveni but also the lack of judicial independence.

bakerbatte@gmail.com

https://www.observer.ug/news/headlines/68335-bobi-approached-for-talks-with-museveni

--

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

--
Disclaimer:Everyone posting to this Forum bears the sole responsibility for any legal consequences of his or her postings, and hence statements and facts must be presented responsibly. Your continued membership signifies that you agree to this disclaimer and pledge to abide by our Rules and Guidelines.To unsubscribe from this group, send email to: ugandans-at-heart+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ugandans at Heart (UAH) Community" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to ugandans-at-heart+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/ugandans-at-heart/CAFxDTfqNkhUCVFyNoSSRMuEqzR153aEwVaTSgmaw78sLrXJqRA%40mail.gmail.com.