Bahati warns Ugandans against signing anti Museveni petition

LEADERSHIP      POLITICS 

KABALE - The state minister for finance in charge of planning, David Bahati, has warned Ugandans against endorsing a petition that seeks to take President Museveni to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The petition spearheaded by the People's Government led by Dr. Kiiza Besigye requires at least two million Ugandans to append their signatures.

The People's government claims it will hand over the petition to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to open cases of crime against humanity against Museveni and other government officials in security agencies.

According to the Rome Statute that establishes the ICC, crimes against humanity include murder, extermination, enslavement, torture, enforced disappearance of persons and imprisonment, among others.

Some of the alleged incidents cited in the petition are the brutality against members of the opposition, the attack on Omusinga Charles Wesley Mumbere's palace in Kasese town, the invasion of the Parliament by the army during the age limit debate and the rampant kidnaps and murders in the country.

However, according to Bahati, Besigye and his fellow petitioners have lost the hope of defeating Museveni and they are now focusing on how to taint the President's image with their petition.

"Do not be fooled by people who are fighting their own selfish battles. These petitioners are likely to come to you seeking your signatures despising in various ways but please avoid them," Bahati said.

He said that the opposition is mainly focusing on destabilising the peace that NRM Government under Museveni has brought in place.

Bahati was over the weekend meeting the National Resistance Movement delegates from Kabale district in various sub-counties.

He also revealed that the Government was correcting the wrong information that was submitted concerning old people to benefit under the Social Assistance Grant for the Elderly (SAGE) so as to reduce the challenges affecting the beneficiaries.

"The Government is currently facing a problem where old persons submitted wrong bio-data while registering themselves to benefit under SAGE. For example, a 94-year-old woman from Butanda missed the grant because she had registered 56 years and could not benefit," he said.

Bahati appealed to young educated children to always take their old parents for registration and ensure that they give the right information in order to avoid such challenges of having old people missing out on the programme.

The Kabale District Resident District Commissioner, Darius Nandinda, warned residents against early politicking that may destabilise them from working for the development of their families.

"Our office will be on the lookout for politicians who want to deviate our people from working for their families' development and those that want to bring early politics in our communities," he said.