I am not fighting museveni â€" Bidandi
Nov 07, 2004
FORMER second vice- chairman of the National Resistance Movement (NRM), Jaberi Bidandi Ssali, yesterday said he was not fighting President Yoweri Museveni.<br><br>
By Henry Mukasa
FORMER second vice- chairman of the National Resistance Movement (NRM), Jaberi Bidandi Ssali, yesterday said he was not fighting President Yoweri Museveni.
The veteran politician said his views were not personal attacks on Museveni but opinions and advice intended to set a firm foundation for NRM as a political organisation and to foster stability in the country.
Bidandi, who resigned his NRM post on Wednesday, however, declined to respond to the contents of a three-page letter President Yoweri Museveni sent him on Saturday.
Before resignation, Bidandi wrote to Museveni, criticising the method he and “a trusted few†had opted for in forming NRM.
First vice-chairman Moses Kigongo issued a statement saying the NRM Interim Executive Committee had not found merit in Bidandi’s arguments.
Kigongo said Bidandi was bound by an NRM resolution to support the lifting of term limits. The constitution limits the five-year terms for a president to two.
In his resignation letter, Bidandi decried the use of money to consolidate the Movement support and hinted at the sh5m given to pro-NRM MPs who support a third term for the president.
Museveni, the NRM chairman, after accepting his resignation, accused Bidandi of peddling falsehoods and insulting him.
“Mr Bidandi, this is not only a falsehood but an insult to me,†Museveni wrote.
“Maintain cohesion in the Movement, I will work with you. Undermine the cohesion of the Movement, I will initially take precautions against you but, if you persist, I will, ultimately oppose you,†Museveni warned.
But Bidandi, 67, did not sound cowed: “Silence at my age, with my kind of politics and leadership! I would have betrayed my conscience.â€
Bidandi said he received Museveni’s letter on Saturday afternoon.
“I got it. It was lengthy and had many points. I am still studying the points to see whether to respond and on which points,†Bidandi said in an interview at Kiwatule Recreation Centre.
The former local government minister said shying away from giving views in nation-building, in fear that they would be contrary to those of the leader, would be a disservice to the country.
“What is bad are personal attacks. But differing in opinion?†Bidandi scoffed at the idea.
“I have never attacked him as a person and I am not fighting him. All times I have written, I have acknowledged his contribution to this country. But what about the future?†he asked.
Asked what he would do if he is sacked from NRM, Bidandi asked: “Dismissing me over what?â€
“They have to follow the constitution of NRM, not what they think. But when that happens, I will decide what to do,†he said.
He said he would contribute to the NRM as a mere member but even when he retires to Kiwatule, he would continue contributing to political debate in his personal capacity.
He ruled out forming a political party should he fall out with the NRM, saying he had achieved his political ambitions and preferred being an advisor.
Ends
FORMER second vice- chairman of the National Resistance Movement (NRM), Jaberi Bidandi Ssali, yesterday said he was not fighting President Yoweri Museveni.
The veteran politician said his views were not personal attacks on Museveni but opinions and advice intended to set a firm foundation for NRM as a political organisation and to foster stability in the country.
Bidandi, who resigned his NRM post on Wednesday, however, declined to respond to the contents of a three-page letter President Yoweri Museveni sent him on Saturday.
Before resignation, Bidandi wrote to Museveni, criticising the method he and “a trusted few†had opted for in forming NRM.
First vice-chairman Moses Kigongo issued a statement saying the NRM Interim Executive Committee had not found merit in Bidandi’s arguments.
Kigongo said Bidandi was bound by an NRM resolution to support the lifting of term limits. The constitution limits the five-year terms for a president to two.
In his resignation letter, Bidandi decried the use of money to consolidate the Movement support and hinted at the sh5m given to pro-NRM MPs who support a third term for the president.
Museveni, the NRM chairman, after accepting his resignation, accused Bidandi of peddling falsehoods and insulting him.
“Mr Bidandi, this is not only a falsehood but an insult to me,†Museveni wrote.
“Maintain cohesion in the Movement, I will work with you. Undermine the cohesion of the Movement, I will initially take precautions against you but, if you persist, I will, ultimately oppose you,†Museveni warned.
But Bidandi, 67, did not sound cowed: “Silence at my age, with my kind of politics and leadership! I would have betrayed my conscience.â€
Bidandi said he received Museveni’s letter on Saturday afternoon.
“I got it. It was lengthy and had many points. I am still studying the points to see whether to respond and on which points,†Bidandi said in an interview at Kiwatule Recreation Centre.
The former local government minister said shying away from giving views in nation-building, in fear that they would be contrary to those of the leader, would be a disservice to the country.
“What is bad are personal attacks. But differing in opinion?†Bidandi scoffed at the idea.
“I have never attacked him as a person and I am not fighting him. All times I have written, I have acknowledged his contribution to this country. But what about the future?†he asked.
Asked what he would do if he is sacked from NRM, Bidandi asked: “Dismissing me over what?â€
“They have to follow the constitution of NRM, not what they think. But when that happens, I will decide what to do,†he said.
He said he would contribute to the NRM as a mere member but even when he retires to Kiwatule, he would continue contributing to political debate in his personal capacity.
He ruled out forming a political party should he fall out with the NRM, saying he had achieved his political ambitions and preferred being an advisor.
Ends