Amama to Kayihura: what you're doing is wrong

Jul 07, 2015

Former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi has re-echoed his demand for democracy within the NRM party.

By Moses Mulondo

Vowing to go on with his planned countrywide tours against all odds, the former Prime Minister has re-echoed his demand for democracy within the NRM party.

"The internal process has to be democratic but doubt has been raised on whether NRM will take that path of transparency & democracy. If NRM is not democratic, I will stick to the democratic path," Amama Mbabazi said on Monday while briefing the media about his planned countrywide tours at his Kololo home.

On whether he would leave NRM if he is defeated in the party primaries, Mbabazi stated, "I don't intend to leave NRM and am sure I will win if the elections (for the party flag bearer) are free and fair."

The Kinkizi West MP who vowed to start countrywide tours on Thursday said there is nothing that would stop him. "I will go to Mbale because there is nothing that stops me. I am not breaching any law. If Kayihura puts mambas (armoured vehicles) on my gate, I will jump over it and proceed," Mbabazi said.

He added: "the Public Order Management Act has no problem. It does not give police power to stop public meetings. The law gives Kale Kayihura power to regulate the conduct of meetings not to block them. It is Kayihura and other police officers who are breaching the law. I will tell them that they are doing is wrong."

But in a statement press issued on Monday, police spokesman Fred Enanga reiterated police's earlier position that deemed Mbabazi's planned consultative meetings illegal.

"The organizers and the public should note that the meetings were declared illegal because they have not followed the Public Order Management Act. We urge the public not to be deceived into the belief that these meetings are lawful because they are not. There is a full territorial police in Mbale which can encounter Mbabazi. We shall see who knows the law," Enanga said.

In the same breath, Electoral Commission spokesman Jotham Taremwa said: "Our earlier position is still the same. We guided him on how he needed to proceed with his consultations. Since he was coming through NRM, he needed to adhere to the internal processes of NRM for what he planned to undertake. We also told him to distinguish campaigning and consulting.”