I am ready to lead opposition, says Bukenya
Jun 15, 2014
Former Vice-President Prof. Gilbert Bukenya has said he is ready to lead the opposition alliance against President Yoweri Museveni in the 2016 presidential elections, if endorsed.
By Moses Mulondo and John Semakula
Former Vice-President Prof. Gilbert Bukenya has said he is ready to lead the opposition alliance against President Yoweri Museveni in the 2016 presidential elections, if endorsed.
Bukenya told Saturday Vision in an interview on Thursday that he has all it takes to bring victory. “I have numbers, governance experience, wide international exposure and among others, a revolutionary message of hope for the poor Ugandans to get them out of poverty,” he said.
Several opposition leaders have started talking of the need to form an alliance to front one candidate to take on either President Museveni or another NRM party flag-bearer.
Addressing a rally in Jinja on Sunday, Democratic Party president Norbert Mao said the opposition has resolved to front a single presidential candidate.
In the interview, Bukenya said there was no other way to defeat Museveni other than fronting one candidate.
“If there are more than two candidates, that will be a gateway for Museveni to go back to power. But if the opposition rallies behind one candidate, the possibility of change shall be real,” Bukenya explained.
Bukenya, who until 2011 served in President Museveni’s government, fell-out with his former master after he was dropped from Cabinet.
He has since been critical of the President and has announced he will challenge him in 2016. Bukenya, who is still in NRM, recently campaigned for a DP candidate, Brenda Nabukenya, in the recently concluded Luwero bye-elections.
While he was on the podium campaigning for Nabukenya, President Museveni was traversing the constituency, combing votes for NRM ’s Rebecca Nalwanga.
Bukenya’s actions did not rhyme well with the party’s top leadership, which has since vowed to send him to the Central Executive Committee (CEC) for disciplinary action.
At a press conference on Wednesday night, Museveni reiterated his party’s position that Bukenya’s issue would be handled by the CEC earlier Bukenya responded to the threats that he would be subjected to a disciplinary committee, saying the NRM had no moral authority to act against him on account of indiscipline since it also lacked discipline.
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