{UAH} WHO GAINS IN ATTACKING DR BESIGYE?
|
12:13 PM |
No comments |
WHO GAINS IN ATTACKING DR BESIGYE?
Written on: 10/02/2019
By Harold Kaija
One of the greatest demerits of President Museveni's longevity has been to deprive the Opposition of leaders with executive experience. Since independence, leaders entering State House tried learning on the job. Ugandans paid the price. Col. (Rtd) Dr. Kizza Besigye is one of the few well-qualified exceptions for the post-Museveni era. Subsequently, a malicious propaganda campaign against him is underway. So, let us examine the man.
Most educated men who went to the bush were unemployed graduates. Dr. Besigye, a medic, resigned a well-paying job in Agha Khan hospital, Nairobi, and joined the bush. A retired UPDF colonel, he was a Member of the High Command, Constituent Assembly, Parliament and Cabinet; hence military, constitution-making, legislative and executive experience. A two-term founding FDC President, he laid the foundation to becoming the biggest opposition party. He is a businessman, a farmer, Vice-President International Democratic Union (IDU), which has the UK Tories, the Australian and Newfoundland ruling parties; and President Democratic Union of Africa (DUA), which has the Ghana and Botswana ruling parties.
He is the most consistent and resilient politician Uganda has had. Despite betrayal, abuse, torture, loss of relatives including a brother (late Joseph Musasizi Kifefe) and attempts on his life, he never gave up the struggle. He is the most arrested/prosecuted Ugandan without a single conviction. The State once opted for private prosecution at a whooping 2.5Bn, making his the most expensive trial in history. He leads from the front; bails out detained activists regardless of party affiliation. He caused the scrapping of Graduated Tax, creation of Student Loan Scheme, Elders Welfare, Abim Hospital rehabilitation, etc. No other Opposition leader has these achievements and credentials under his belt.
Yet on tv/radio, party "reunions", funerals, op-ed articles and social media, politicians and media personalities with minuscule individual contributions attack him. The most vocal is three-time presidential candidate, Dr. Abed Bwanika, who with breathtaking hypocrisy, campaigns on "discarding failure Besigye" and claims to be the new "Head of Opposition". Bwanika has been in the "struggle" longer than Besigye (1993 with UYD vs Besigye's 1999 missive), comes last in elections and is never arrested or tortured. In the 2006 Besigye-vs-Museveni election petition, he swore the affidavit supporting Museveni, which contributed to the court's refusal to overturn the sham election. He is a party "life-president" but is more active promoting disunity in the opposition. Those on whom he is piggybacking ought to be cautious.
Besigye's struggle is not mere populism like Donald Trump, Emmanuel Macro, Adama Barrow or Brexit. Populism hides a leader's inconsistencies and leads to disenchantment as we now see in the United States, France, Gambia and Britain. Challenging populists invites personal attacks. They are big on sentiment, small on policy. Sinister forces frequently hijack populist waves, using them to install worse regimes like we saw in Iran (1979) and Egypt (2011).
Since 2001, some claimed Dr. Besigye's disagreements with Mr. Museveni were personal, that he was an angry dictator, he was anti-Buganda/Federo and had failed leaders rising up in the Opposition. He was later charged with rape so that women shun him. First, he has been out of government for two decades, we haven't achieved Federo. No meeting minutes have been tabled where he expressed anti-Buganda/Federo sentiment. Second, he was away in exile for four years; no one took the mantle despite those making the claim being in Uganda throughout.
They claim his businesses continuity as proof of regime collaboration. Besigye is a Total vendor; he earns a living since he, like everyone else, doesn't feed on grass. All Opposition politicians own businesses, some with regime support. No firms, clinics, hotels, beaches, schools, churches or NGOs have been closed, as Besigye's security firm was. Every time he was imprisoned, his businesses suffered. The regime unsuccessfully lobbied Total to cancel his dealership.
One Observer columnist claimed Besigye was the reason Beatrice Anywar voted to remove the Age-limit. Let's be real, when did Besigye become the Kitgum constituency? Age-limit was about personal conscience, courage and (dis)honesty. They claimed he owns hotels in Kampala. When he challenged Ugandans to demolish them, the real owners withdrew the propaganda. Nowadays they are into doctoring video and audio clips.
One wonders why so much Opposition energy is expended on Dr. Besigye. These schemes are designed by the junta to deflect attention from the real issues; a deeply entrenched corrupt military dictatorship (Patrick Ho), nepotism, etc. Unprovoked intra-opposition attacks are definitely counterproductive. We are aware of the secret Jevine Hotel meetings. During the Arua by-election, NRM spokesman Rogers Mulindwa promised to "extinguish Besigye" using other politicians then defeat those politicians too thereafter in line with Mr. Museveni's 2016 pledge to eliminate all opposition by 2021. Many are knowingly or unknowingly being used to execute this campaign.
--
-- Written on: 10/02/2019
By Harold Kaija
One of the greatest demerits of President Museveni's longevity has been to deprive the Opposition of leaders with executive experience. Since independence, leaders entering State House tried learning on the job. Ugandans paid the price. Col. (Rtd) Dr. Kizza Besigye is one of the few well-qualified exceptions for the post-Museveni era. Subsequently, a malicious propaganda campaign against him is underway. So, let us examine the man.
Most educated men who went to the bush were unemployed graduates. Dr. Besigye, a medic, resigned a well-paying job in Agha Khan hospital, Nairobi, and joined the bush. A retired UPDF colonel, he was a Member of the High Command, Constituent Assembly, Parliament and Cabinet; hence military, constitution-making, legislative and executive experience. A two-term founding FDC President, he laid the foundation to becoming the biggest opposition party. He is a businessman, a farmer, Vice-President International Democratic Union (IDU), which has the UK Tories, the Australian and Newfoundland ruling parties; and President Democratic Union of Africa (DUA), which has the Ghana and Botswana ruling parties.
He is the most consistent and resilient politician Uganda has had. Despite betrayal, abuse, torture, loss of relatives including a brother (late Joseph Musasizi Kifefe) and attempts on his life, he never gave up the struggle. He is the most arrested/prosecuted Ugandan without a single conviction. The State once opted for private prosecution at a whooping 2.5Bn, making his the most expensive trial in history. He leads from the front; bails out detained activists regardless of party affiliation. He caused the scrapping of Graduated Tax, creation of Student Loan Scheme, Elders Welfare, Abim Hospital rehabilitation, etc. No other Opposition leader has these achievements and credentials under his belt.
Yet on tv/radio, party "reunions", funerals, op-ed articles and social media, politicians and media personalities with minuscule individual contributions attack him. The most vocal is three-time presidential candidate, Dr. Abed Bwanika, who with breathtaking hypocrisy, campaigns on "discarding failure Besigye" and claims to be the new "Head of Opposition". Bwanika has been in the "struggle" longer than Besigye (1993 with UYD vs Besigye's 1999 missive), comes last in elections and is never arrested or tortured. In the 2006 Besigye-vs-Museveni election petition, he swore the affidavit supporting Museveni, which contributed to the court's refusal to overturn the sham election. He is a party "life-president" but is more active promoting disunity in the opposition. Those on whom he is piggybacking ought to be cautious.
Besigye's struggle is not mere populism like Donald Trump, Emmanuel Macro, Adama Barrow or Brexit. Populism hides a leader's inconsistencies and leads to disenchantment as we now see in the United States, France, Gambia and Britain. Challenging populists invites personal attacks. They are big on sentiment, small on policy. Sinister forces frequently hijack populist waves, using them to install worse regimes like we saw in Iran (1979) and Egypt (2011).
Since 2001, some claimed Dr. Besigye's disagreements with Mr. Museveni were personal, that he was an angry dictator, he was anti-Buganda/Federo and had failed leaders rising up in the Opposition. He was later charged with rape so that women shun him. First, he has been out of government for two decades, we haven't achieved Federo. No meeting minutes have been tabled where he expressed anti-Buganda/Federo sentiment. Second, he was away in exile for four years; no one took the mantle despite those making the claim being in Uganda throughout.
They claim his businesses continuity as proof of regime collaboration. Besigye is a Total vendor; he earns a living since he, like everyone else, doesn't feed on grass. All Opposition politicians own businesses, some with regime support. No firms, clinics, hotels, beaches, schools, churches or NGOs have been closed, as Besigye's security firm was. Every time he was imprisoned, his businesses suffered. The regime unsuccessfully lobbied Total to cancel his dealership.
One Observer columnist claimed Besigye was the reason Beatrice Anywar voted to remove the Age-limit. Let's be real, when did Besigye become the Kitgum constituency? Age-limit was about personal conscience, courage and (dis)honesty. They claimed he owns hotels in Kampala. When he challenged Ugandans to demolish them, the real owners withdrew the propaganda. Nowadays they are into doctoring video and audio clips.
One wonders why so much Opposition energy is expended on Dr. Besigye. These schemes are designed by the junta to deflect attention from the real issues; a deeply entrenched corrupt military dictatorship (Patrick Ho), nepotism, etc. Unprovoked intra-opposition attacks are definitely counterproductive. We are aware of the secret Jevine Hotel meetings. During the Arua by-election, NRM spokesman Rogers Mulindwa promised to "extinguish Besigye" using other politicians then defeat those politicians too thereafter in line with Mr. Museveni's 2016 pledge to eliminate all opposition by 2021. Many are knowingly or unknowingly being used to execute this campaign.
--
"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/CAFxDTfokWggLMvmLp2uehLav3_5SKvBxC6K-NPXnfsNTr1XYBw%40mail.gmail.com.
0 comments:
Post a Comment