‘Ugandans are not fools’
By Risdel Kasasira (email the author)
Posted Sunday, December 5 2010 at 00:00
General elections are expected to take place in Uganda in February next year. In preparations, political parties are strategically placing their flag bearers to vie for various elective positions. Risdel Kasasira caught up with the Inter-Party Cooperation flag bearer for Mbarara Municipality and Forum for Democratic Changes’s secretary for defence, Maj. John Kazoora, to ascertain his views on his political fortunes and that of his party in the forthcoming elections. Excerpts:-
Western Uganda has had a history of voting the NRM and Mr Museveni and voting out the opposition. Don’t you think you are just chasing wind?
I don’t think Ankole or western Uganda always votes Museveni. Voters are intimidated to vote otherwise because you will soon see all the military Generals coming here to intimidate people. There is nothing like free and fair elections here. Voters are intimidated and they vote against their will. But his [Museveni’s] long stay in power is definitely working against him and he will soon lose ground. He has completely ignored what he said when he was swearing in as the president 25 years ago. He said the problem of African leaders was overstaying in power yet he is now one of the longest serving presidents in the world.
Can the opposition lead this country when they have shown that they are disorganised and have failed to agree under the Inter-Party Cooperation (IPC)?
Is the Inter-Party Cooperation all about mayoral race in Kampala? That is where we have been having disagreements. IPC is big and has candidates all over the country. In any case, which political group in does not have disagreements?
Do you see change in leadership of this country in 2011?
Yes. People are tired of lies by the NRM and Mr Museveni. Look at their manifesto in 2006 on which the people of Uganda voted. It was Bona Bagaggawale (Prosperity for All). This phrase made people excited. They thought there was money for them in a basket to pick. They tried to explain how people were going to get rich in five years. However, I want you to tell me any village in this country where one person, not two, who has benefited from this programme?
They promised so many billions of shillings to repair roads in the country. But what do we see? Multiplication of potholes. You can simply call them fish ponds. They created that hype of Chogm (Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting) in 2007 and how it was going to market the country. But what did we see? Stealing of the money they had budgeted for the event.
In fact it has done more harm. They swindled billions of shillings meant for the event. It is just a small group of people known to each other who benefited from this scam. You know the much hyped Universal Primary Education (UPE). If you asked a graduate of this programme to write for you a letter, you would be lucky if they wrote one correct sentence in English. All we have seen in the last five years is the arresting of journalists, closing radio stations and besieging of courts. You have heard him [Museveni] say he would not leave power if he lost.
I don’t know why people forget history when history written in their doorsteps. When Mr Museveni took over power 25 years ago, he said he could not imagine being a president when he is leading people who do not put on shoes. But what do we see in this country? High levels of poverty. Jiggers are killing people. There is no medicine in the hospitals. I can tell you that people are not fools. They know which people have let down this country and they will vote them out.
NRM has more confidence that they will win this election with a bigger margin than what they got in 2006. What is your comment?
Let them think so. But let me hope that they know that their candidate got 79 per cent in 1996, 69 per cent in 2001 and 59 per cent in 2006. What have they done that will make them gain more support this time? Maybe if they think that using violence is the only way to go. I know they will use harassment, threats and intimidation towards voters and journalists, including arresting them on trumped-up charges. But that is not sustainable. You have heard him singing Mpa Enkoni. I think he was indirectly telling people to get sticks and start beating up those opposed to him.
Do you see violence in 2011 after the announcement of the election results by the Electoral Commission chairman Badru Kiggundu?
It depends on how elections are managed. You cannot push people to the wall and you expect them to keep quiet. People are not fools. They know what they want. If this government denies them their rights, they can explode. They know it has happened elsewhere and it can happen here too.
Which key areas should the voters consider when voting in the forthcoming general elections?
Why do we elect leaders? They need our mandate to get to power and deliver services. People should vote for a person who can do accountability. They should vote out people who do not respect human rights. The besieging of the courts should be a very big voting factor in the next elections. Voters must ask questions about Chogm money - why that money was swindled and no action against the perpetuators has been taken.
Why has Universal Primary Education failed miserably? We need transparency and accountability. A healthy and well-educated population is both a necessary condition for development and one of the central objectives of development. But what do see here? It’s total mess. These are the questions the voters must ask and they must be given answers.
Would I be right to say that a wrong perception has been created on the minds of people from the west that they are the ones benefiting from this government?
No, no. People are right. They know who has benefited from what. There is a certain group of people who are controlling this country and they feel they should fight for their bread. It is your work as the media to highlight such issues. But like I said before, people [Ugandans] are not fools because they know who is getting what and who is doing what.
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