Why has Saleh left parliament?
Dec 02, 2003
If Lt. General Salim Saleh was like weather, not even the most experienced weather expert would predict when it was going to rain or shine
By Joshua Kato
If Lt. General Salim Saleh was like weather, not even the most experienced weather expert would predict when it was going to rain or shine. The amiable general has always had a surprise cat, running out of his bag. That is his life!
On Friday last week, he resigned from parliament, sighting unending allegations of corruption and abuse of office, which have ranged from the bungled helicopter purchase, his role in the privatisation of former Uganda commercial bank to last years plundering of Congo’s nature resources.
“I consider this as political injustice and a bad motive whose intention can only be to embarrass my dear institution and me,†he says.
Salim Saleh has been one of the 10 representatives of the army in parliament. But his voice will not be missed on the floor of the house. Perhaps because he has not been attending regularly, his contributions in the Hansard are hard to find.
No wonder, he admits that he has failed to grasp the antics in parliament. “On the very few occasions I have attended an open session of parliament, I get a headache. This is pain I would like to avoid,†he says.
Some Mps say that Saleh is leaving the house because he is afraid of taking part in a debate about himself. But by leaving the house, Salim Saleh is putting himself in a more awkward situation, especially if the reports that he says are haunting him come to the house.
They say that had he stayed he would have had a chance of defending himself right on the floor of the house.
It is hard to find a person who is as straight as this three star general. “He speaks straight and sometimes carelessly, leaving himself no fallback position,†says one of his admirers.
Before he was even asked about the junk helicopters, he came out and admitted that he took a commission of $800,000 from Emma Katto. Of all the people who played a part in the helicopter scandal, he is the only one who has come out to accept his role.
His fall back position that he used the money to fight the war in the north was less resolute, compared to his admission of taking the bribe.
As things were still under investigations over the sale of UCB, he came out and admitted buying or trying to buy the bank. Given the manner in which the country was outraged over the sale process, his fall back position that he wanted the bank to assist poor Ugandans did not help clean an already dented image.
On Uganda’s involvement in the DRC, everyone including the president was still denying that Uganda was involved in the Congo, the general came out and said that Ugandan troops were as far as Gbadolite.
When he was dropped as army commander in 1989,many people wondered why. However, he stunned everybody when he categorically came out and admitted that he was dropped for over-drinking, something few people can admit.
The story of Saleh in parliament is the story of nearly all the other army representatives in the house. The 10 representatives are supposed to advocate for the cause of the army.
However, very few of them attend parliamentary sessions and contribute to the proceedings.
Lt. General David Tinyefunza had been missing for months. He only appeared recently after allegations that he had been shot and wounded while fighting the Kony war in the north.
Colonel Elly Kayanja is as rare as dew in the Sahara in parliament. He spends most of his time chasing robbers and gathering intelligence to help the war effort in the north.
Perhaps, it is only Colonel Noble Mayombo who has starred in one way or another on the floor of the house.
Saleh has lived a life of unpredictability. He has wallowed in both chatted and dark waters.
While only aged 16, he was trained as a freedom fighter in Mozambique, a plan he did not know about until the final hour, except for maybe his elder brother, President Museveni, who was with him.
He admits that he was then surprised by the way the world moves, more so like he has been surprised by the games played in parliament.
But while he made it as a revolutionary and one of the best soldiers Uganda has ever produced, he has failed to understand a house, full of only 300 people. Comparing the army and parliament.
“In the army simplicity, humility and constructive criticism are a must, whereas in parliament, straight and polite talk are considered to be weaknesses, yet aggressive, devious and hypocritical talk is regarded as heroic and applauded,†he says.
In the bush, he was one of the most prudent strategists for the National Resistance Army (NRA). He would appear in one place and disappear suddenly. This is why UNLA soldiers thought that he was a ghost!
Saleh says that he lives for the poor people, the peasants. In the army, most of the men love him because of his straight nature and sometimes giving heart.
“Very few people who have worked under his command can point out anything bad about him. He always respects his juniors,†Sgt Ismail Matovu says.
His simplicity and giving hand is the reason many of his projects for the poor collapsed. At the peak of declaring assets, Saleh was one of the people who were reluctant to declare their wealth.
Asked why, he said he was very bankrupt. As it turned out, he had given away most of his money to the poor, in soft loans that many of them failed to pay back. Most of them were let to go scotfree.
While campaigning for President Museveni in Kampala, he told those listening to him the truth. Speaking in Luganda, he said, “Mulonde Museveni nange nfune ku bwaminisita. Nze ndifa sifuuseeko ministaâ€(vote for Museveni so that I can also become a minister, should I die without becoming a minister)
However, when President Museveni won, he did not name him a minister.
Earlier however, when he was appointed as a state minister in the ministry of Defence after the 1996 elections, he refused to take up the job, sighting his poor education standard.
Basing on the kind of humility he has, he went back to school, completed O’ level and later A’ level. Throughout his classes, he sat with children, fit to be his.
Last year, he went to Europe for studies and in his absence, somebody circulated a rumour that he had died.
The country was thrown into tumult mourning. A hero had gone, so everybody thought!
But through his surprises, he came back to a hero’s welcome in one piece. That is the man who has decided to resign his parliamentary seat!
If Lt. General Salim Saleh was like weather, not even the most experienced weather expert would predict when it was going to rain or shine. The amiable general has always had a surprise cat, running out of his bag. That is his life!
On Friday last week, he resigned from parliament, sighting unending allegations of corruption and abuse of office, which have ranged from the bungled helicopter purchase, his role in the privatisation of former Uganda commercial bank to last years plundering of Congo’s nature resources.
“I consider this as political injustice and a bad motive whose intention can only be to embarrass my dear institution and me,†he says.
Salim Saleh has been one of the 10 representatives of the army in parliament. But his voice will not be missed on the floor of the house. Perhaps because he has not been attending regularly, his contributions in the Hansard are hard to find.
No wonder, he admits that he has failed to grasp the antics in parliament. “On the very few occasions I have attended an open session of parliament, I get a headache. This is pain I would like to avoid,†he says.
Some Mps say that Saleh is leaving the house because he is afraid of taking part in a debate about himself. But by leaving the house, Salim Saleh is putting himself in a more awkward situation, especially if the reports that he says are haunting him come to the house.
They say that had he stayed he would have had a chance of defending himself right on the floor of the house.
It is hard to find a person who is as straight as this three star general. “He speaks straight and sometimes carelessly, leaving himself no fallback position,†says one of his admirers.
Before he was even asked about the junk helicopters, he came out and admitted that he took a commission of $800,000 from Emma Katto. Of all the people who played a part in the helicopter scandal, he is the only one who has come out to accept his role.
His fall back position that he used the money to fight the war in the north was less resolute, compared to his admission of taking the bribe.
As things were still under investigations over the sale of UCB, he came out and admitted buying or trying to buy the bank. Given the manner in which the country was outraged over the sale process, his fall back position that he wanted the bank to assist poor Ugandans did not help clean an already dented image.
On Uganda’s involvement in the DRC, everyone including the president was still denying that Uganda was involved in the Congo, the general came out and said that Ugandan troops were as far as Gbadolite.
When he was dropped as army commander in 1989,many people wondered why. However, he stunned everybody when he categorically came out and admitted that he was dropped for over-drinking, something few people can admit.
The story of Saleh in parliament is the story of nearly all the other army representatives in the house. The 10 representatives are supposed to advocate for the cause of the army.
However, very few of them attend parliamentary sessions and contribute to the proceedings.
Lt. General David Tinyefunza had been missing for months. He only appeared recently after allegations that he had been shot and wounded while fighting the Kony war in the north.
Colonel Elly Kayanja is as rare as dew in the Sahara in parliament. He spends most of his time chasing robbers and gathering intelligence to help the war effort in the north.
Perhaps, it is only Colonel Noble Mayombo who has starred in one way or another on the floor of the house.
Saleh has lived a life of unpredictability. He has wallowed in both chatted and dark waters.
While only aged 16, he was trained as a freedom fighter in Mozambique, a plan he did not know about until the final hour, except for maybe his elder brother, President Museveni, who was with him.
He admits that he was then surprised by the way the world moves, more so like he has been surprised by the games played in parliament.
But while he made it as a revolutionary and one of the best soldiers Uganda has ever produced, he has failed to understand a house, full of only 300 people. Comparing the army and parliament.
“In the army simplicity, humility and constructive criticism are a must, whereas in parliament, straight and polite talk are considered to be weaknesses, yet aggressive, devious and hypocritical talk is regarded as heroic and applauded,†he says.
In the bush, he was one of the most prudent strategists for the National Resistance Army (NRA). He would appear in one place and disappear suddenly. This is why UNLA soldiers thought that he was a ghost!
Saleh says that he lives for the poor people, the peasants. In the army, most of the men love him because of his straight nature and sometimes giving heart.
“Very few people who have worked under his command can point out anything bad about him. He always respects his juniors,†Sgt Ismail Matovu says.
His simplicity and giving hand is the reason many of his projects for the poor collapsed. At the peak of declaring assets, Saleh was one of the people who were reluctant to declare their wealth.
Asked why, he said he was very bankrupt. As it turned out, he had given away most of his money to the poor, in soft loans that many of them failed to pay back. Most of them were let to go scotfree.
While campaigning for President Museveni in Kampala, he told those listening to him the truth. Speaking in Luganda, he said, “Mulonde Museveni nange nfune ku bwaminisita. Nze ndifa sifuuseeko ministaâ€(vote for Museveni so that I can also become a minister, should I die without becoming a minister)
However, when President Museveni won, he did not name him a minister.
Earlier however, when he was appointed as a state minister in the ministry of Defence after the 1996 elections, he refused to take up the job, sighting his poor education standard.
Basing on the kind of humility he has, he went back to school, completed O’ level and later A’ level. Throughout his classes, he sat with children, fit to be his.
Last year, he went to Europe for studies and in his absence, somebody circulated a rumour that he had died.
The country was thrown into tumult mourning. A hero had gone, so everybody thought!
But through his surprises, he came back to a hero’s welcome in one piece. That is the man who has decided to resign his parliamentary seat!