The United States
government has expressed concern that there could be a threat to democracy if
some regional militaries abdicate their functions of upholding the rule of law.
“Strong, professional militaries are essential to regional security.
Security, in turn, is essential to development as it allows economies to
prosper and democratic institutions to grow,” U.S Ambassador to Uganda,
Scott Delisi said yesterday.
“If, however, those militaries threaten that prosperity, if they do not
support the democratic institutions they are meant to uphold, then the
foundation of our efforts crumble, and East Africa risks falling back into the
bloody cycle of revolution and counter-revolution,” Ambassador Delisi added.
The ambassador made the observations while opening a four-day workshop on
improving regional responses to transnational threats.
He noted that the U.S did not want regional nations to “descend into morass of
problems generated by poverty, infectious disease, and unchecked conflict.”
The remarks come a week after both the Chief of Defence Forces General
Aronda Nyakairima and Defence Minister, Dr Crispus Kiyonga said the Ugandan
army could re-insert itself in the country’s politics.
The US
government representative did not make any direct reference to the current
debate about the possibility of the army staging a coup d’tat in the face of
the stand-off between the Executive and Parliament.
The two arms of government have been at loggerheads over the anti-corruption
fight. Commending President Museveni’s efforts in the regional war on terror
and the fight against the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), Ambassador Delisi also
warned that such progress was “fragile.”
“As nations move forward to address threats to peace and stability, they
must also ensure that the tools they use to combat these threats do not become
the threats themselves,” Ambassador Delisi said.
Following the comments by Gen. Aronda and Dr Kiyonga, political commentators have
criticised what they consider is a ploy to intimidate Parliament.
Others have suggested that the coup talk which Mr Museveni was also quoted
hinting on amounts to a direct attack on the Constitution and may constitute an
incitement to commit the offence of treason.
However, Deputy Police Spokesperson Vicent Ssekate yesterday said the Force has
seen no offence in the statements of the two officials.
“We see no offence hence there is nothing to investigated,” Mr Ssekate said
last evening.
At State House, Presidential Spokesman Tamale Murundi insisted Uganda’s
military was entitled to its opinion on political events in the country.
“That is why we have 10 military MPs in Parliament and not police officers
or prisons officers. The army is simply telling Parliament that they too have a
role. Let the politicians not think this is a one-man-show,” Mr Mirundi said.
“Why is the opposition afraid of a military headed government? They have
been saying that the current government is incompetent and corrupt. They should
be jubilating,” Mr Mirundi added.
The Parliamentary Committee on Defence and Internal Affairs has been quoted
saying it will summon the two officials to clarify their reasons for suggesting
a possible overthrow of the government by the army.
Deputy Attorney-General Fred Ruhindi yesterday told this newspaper his
office had not received any formal communication or complaint over the matter.
“I have only been reading those things in the media. Nothing
has been directed to me in my official capacity,” Mr Ruhindi said.
Wednesday, 06 February 2013 15:32
Written by President Yoweri Museveni
I have been watching, without comment, the circus
that has been going on in the newspapers of Uganda about UPDF wanting to make a
coup; that some leaders, including myself, made comments to that effect.
Then, that manufactured
lie being amplified by individuals who, for many years, have been in the habit
of promoting intrigue and indiscipline in the NRM. A few other commentators
like Mr. John Nagenda appeared to have been genuinely duped by this subterfuge
manufactured by the Daily Monitor newspaper and its collaborators.
I refused to comment for two reasons. Reason number one is that some of these
newspapers endlessly tell lies. One would have to abandon more useful work to
respond to the lies and malice of these papers always manipulated by the
enemies of Uganda.
The second reason is that I do not want to be
used by the enemies of Uganda
to also contribute to the diversion of the public’s attention from their core
interests to the endless schemes of these enemies.
The intention of these enemies is to divert the
attention of the public from their core interests to these lies and also to
scare businesses that may want to come to Uganda
by presenting Uganda
as potentially unstable. I cannot join such schemes annoying though they may
be. At Kyankwanzi, we only allowed the Press at the opening ceremony and the
closing ceremony. During the rest of the time (this time, from 11th to 18th of
January, 2013), we were engaged in very serious discussions about a very large
number of topics confidentially.
In the end, we passed Resolutions which were
published. The Daily Monitor newspaper may not even have published those
Resolutions – deliberate conclusions of the NRM’s Parliamentary Caucus Retreat.
Instead, they manufacture a lie or bring issues
totally out of context. I cannot, nevertheless, be provoked into answering the
lies of such schemers in order to “clarify” because those were confidential
discussions.
As time passes, Uganda will grow more immune to
this endless blackmail and provocation. As for the schemers, there is a time
for everything, it says in the Book of Ecclesiastes Chapter 3: 1-8: “…There is
a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the Heavens: a
time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot…..a
time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace”
We have seen such characters before. On the 23rd of January, 1973, for
instance, I was on a clandestine mission with two of my colleagues in Mbale
against Idi Amin’s regime. We were in Maumbe’s house, House No.49, Maluku
Estate. At around 1500 hours, we were suddenly surrounded by about 15 military
Police of Idi Amin. I fought my way out of that encirclement but,
unfortunately, my two colleagues were killed.
We also killed two of the Military Police. The
schemers and the enemies were soon at work. “Museveni is the one who killed his
colleagues. If he did not kill them, why did he not die himself? Why did he
escape alive?” All those schemes never stopped the NRM from winning victories.
We are now much better positioned to defeat those schemes compared to 1973,
when we were much weaker but as greatly motivated as we are today.
I wish good luck to the schemers. Nevertheless, I
have now decided to write something because the Sunday Monitor of the 3rd of
February, 2013, published an interview by Dr. Besigye. The aim of the Monitor
paper is always to demean the achievements of the NRM and divert Ugandans from
their core interests. Now that the whole of Uganda is peaceful, we have
adequate electricity, we (the NRM) discovered the oil for the Ugandans, we have
a massive educated force, etc., this is too much for the Monitor newspaper.
They must promote chaos through talk of coups,
lies about the Prime Minister and Ministers taking bribes from oil companies,
recall of Parliament, Museveni killing the late Nebanda, etc. Monitor newspaper
you will fail.
Since, however, Dr. Besigye gave an extensive interview in that enemy paper
attacking the achievements of NRM over the last 43 years of struggle for liberation
and the building of Uganda
in the last 27 years of that time, I will answer him for the sake of the young
people who do not know that history well.
I will start with his last point while responding to the Monitor Interviewer
who asked Dr. Besigye the following question: “But the NRM has as well grown
the economy. President Museveni revealed at the same function that the
economy is growing 14 times annually?” Of course, this question had
itself a mistake. The economy is now 14 times bigger than it was in
1986. It is now 50 trillion shillings while in 1986, it was 3.5 trillion
shillings.
In dollars, it is US$ 20 billion. In the
1990s only the economy of Kenya
was US$ 12 billion in East Africa. We
have now surpassed that level. By the end of this Financial Year, the
economy will be 58 trillion shillings or about US$ 22 billion in spite of the
slower rate of growth created, partly, by the slower global rate of growth.
Dr. Besigye answered the interviewer by saying that the NRM has failed to live
up to Point Number 5 of the NRM Programme of building an integrated
self-sustaining economy – that is, creating an economy with inter-sectoral
linkages, e.g. agriculture producing raw materials for industry and industry
producing inputs for agriculture, etc.
It is true that the NRM has not completed the job
of transformation of the economy, mainly, for two reasons: the very low base
from which we started and sabotage by some political actors, especially, those
who, eventually, joined FDC and other opposition groups. I remember very
well that, for instance, many of those who opposed Bujagaali hydro power
project were individuals who, eventually, joined the opposition groups.
Bujagaali is now finished, but late by about 15 years. That is why we will no
longer tolerate those internal saboteurs or those from the opposition opposing
industrialization.
Nevertheless, that sabotage and the low base we
started from notwithstanding, the progress in industrial production can only be
denied by somebody who is pathologically biased. The share of industry to
GDP is now 26.4% while in 1986, it was 9.9% of GDP. This is 26.4% of an economy
that is 14 times bigger than it was in 1986. The industrialization of the
economy under NRM started with the rehabilitation of industries that were
producing consumer goods: beers, sodas, soap, sugar, tea, etc.
Before 1986, all these were being imported from Kenya,
they were in great scarcity and they were being smuggled into the
country. The smuggling (known as magendo) meant that the State was not
getting taxes on these goods. Uganda
is not only self-sufficient in most of these goods but is, actually, exporting
a lot of them to the neighbouring countries. The value of the exports of
industrial goods is now US$ 509 million.
Then, there is the production of intermediate
goods (goods that are needed as inputs into other industries) such as cement
and steel-bars (mitayimbwa) for construction. The relevant figures are:
the production of cement in 1986 was about 76,400 metric tonnes per annum; the
production is now 2.4 million met. tonnes per annum.
The production of mitayimbwa was 832 metric
tonnes per annum in 1986. It is now about 240,000 metric tonnes per annum. The
production of car batteries in 1986 was 4,000 batteries per annum. The production
is now 170,000 batteries per annum. Many of these products are being exported
to the neighbouring countries.
Uganda
is now exporting industrial products. Then, there is the value addition
to agricultural products. Let us take the example of milk. By 1986,
all processed milk was coming from outside (Kenya,
Denmark,
etc.). Today, Uganda
is not only self-sufficient in processed milk products but she is actually
exporting quite a bit of these, not only to the region but internationally.
Recently, we have been negotiating with India to accept our processed milk.
There are scientific innovations and inventions – banana starch, juices,
machine-parts and machines, the electric car, etc. Now that we have, finally,
overcome the sabotage of the groups people like Dr. Besigye belong to by
regaining the initiative in electricity, nothing will stop us. Uganda
is now generating (installed capacity) 828 MW compared to 60 MW in 1986.
We would be much further if it was not for the
sabotage of the said factions. Dr. Besigye keeps deceiving civilians who
do not know the history of NRA well that we have been running a Military
Government all these years. Surely, Dr. Besigye, you know very well that these
sabotages by your groups would not have been possible if we were running a
Military Government; nor would have been the indiscipline by the political
actors possible.
It is precisely because of the early
civilianization and democratization of the politics that saboteurs have been
able to delay our progress including industrialization. We do not regret this,
however, because it allows the whole population to be involved in the debates
(needless debates created by either saboteurs or ego-centric actors) and, in
the process, the population matures more politically and ideologically.
That is why the NRM has been winning in all the
General Elections in spite of the reckless and irresponsible lies by the
opposition – “Museveni has sold Lake Victoria; Museveni has sold Lake Kyoga, etc.” It is slower but it is the only way to
move. An NRA/UPDF Military Government, provided we had our own financial
resources (we did not have to depend on the outside money), would have moved
much, much faster on the transformation of Uganda and Dr. Besigye knows that
very well.
The sort of schemes he has been promoting would
not have been possible. However, right from the beginning we democratized
Uganda and have had to cope with the slower pace and more tedious work of
dealing with indisciplined, malicious, opinionated or, sometimes, just un-informed
actors. Since 1986, the UPDF-NRA ensures peace as well as stability and
the civilians manage or mismanage the politics, the administration and the
justice.
That is the accurate characterization of the
situation of Uganda
under the NRM. I must congratulate Dr. Besigye because, in recent statements,
he has acknowledged the undeniable success of the NRA/UPDF. In his recent
interview, he, for instance, said: “in some parts of the country where there
were no insurgencies, especially the Southern and Central
Uganda, security has been generally better than it was before 1986
and one can say, therefore, thanks to the NRM Government.”
He, then, spoils that correct assessment by
quickly adding: “But that is debatable because indeed there was no challenge to
the regime”!! Well that is not correct. There was Itongwa who was
quickly put out of action. There was “walk to work”, which was defeated
by the Police in spite of the very weak legal framework that would allow a
trouble maker to flout bail terms and continue to be free to threaten the
merchandise of tomato sellers in the markets.
There were challenges in the South and the
Central regions but they were defeated. After all, the Rwenzori and Bunyoro are
part of the South where ADF tormented people. ADF was defeated without
NRA/UPDF violating the human rights of the population. Similarly, in the North
and North-East, the terrorists and cattle-rustlers were defeated.
There were some mistakes like Mukula and Bucoro
incidents as well as deliberate crimes like Kanyum. Where these mistakes and
crimes came to the surface (were reported) decisive action was taken. Since
1986, we have publicly executed 22 soldiers on account of committing serious
crimes against wanainchi, such as murder, armed robbery, rape, etc.
That is why the much suffering population of Northern
Uganda and North-Eastern Uganda ran to IDPs because they were
protected by the Army. They did not run into exile. They had confidence in the
Army and they knew they were running away from terrorists. In fact, the
population was blaming us for not defeating the rebels quickly.
After all, the first people to take up arrows
against the terrorists in 1991 were the people of Acholi. That is when
Kony started cutting off people’s limbs, noses, legs, etc., because they were
reporting him to UPDF because he was disturbing their peace.
