Even if a goat has a long beard, it can’t be the boss of its owner

Oct 21, 2004

FOR some reason every opposition group that emerges believes the Movement is the fork on its roads, the latest being the Forum for

FOR some reason every opposition group that emerges believes the Movement is the fork on its roads, the latest being the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), a pack of Movement turn-coats.

This has been the tradition and source of living for UPC, DP and CP who, whenever faced with internal failures, blame the Movement. Fortunately none of them dare tackle the Movement on policy issues, which we would be glad they do but they know they do not measure up to it.

Observers still remember how Tap-Dialogue and Mobilisers’ Group, both DP factions led by Wasswa Ziritwaula and Michael Kaggwa respectively earned a living by castigating the Movement for “buying,” their president-general Paul Ssemogerere to “disorganise” DP.

Ssemogerere was internal affairs minister who regularly dispersed Ziritwaula and Kaggwa’s public rallies. In fact, he roundly condemned DP factions as selfish and hell-bent on causing problems in the country.

Today, it is Ssemogerere accusing the Movement of funding DP faction leaders Nasser Sebaggala, Zakary Olum and Francis Bwengye to split DP, a dead party!

Then there was UPC firebrand Cecilia Ogwal who, as acting secretary-general and head of the UPC Presidential Policy Commission (PPC), made a living by attacking the Movement for “bribing” UPC leaders like Francis Butagira, Adonia Tiberondwa and Yona Kanyomozi.

At that time Milton Obote’s faction led by Ogwal thought it sinful for Tiberondwa, Butagira and Kanyomozi to participate in NRM politics as NRC members.

Obote and Ogwal castigated the trio’s membership in NRC as unacceptable and treacherous and intended to “legitimise a one-man military dictatorship”. Ogwal ceased using these high-sounding words when she joined the “military dictatorship” in 1994 as CA delegate and has never looked back on Movement democracy! Her role was promptly taken over by Dr James Rwanyarare when she was ousted in a palace coup by Okullo Epak, Patrick Mwondha, Aggrey Awori and Ben Wacha for participating in the CA.

During the CA, then army commander Maj-Gen Mugisha Muntu eloquently boasted how the Movement was the only organisation with a “a big collection of credible democratic forces to lead Uganda”. The CA Hansard is available for reference.

Although I was not a CA delegate, but together with Muntu, Brig. Jim Muhwezi, and Lt Noble Mayombo (now Col.), we faced down Lt-Col Serwanga Lwanga (RIP),
Lt-Col Kizza Besigye and Gen David Tinyefuza over their federo and multiparty politicking.
In one hot encounter in committee room C, Muntu shouted at Tinyefuza, Serwanga and Besigye: “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.” And this was published in one of the Sunday Vision commentaries I wrote those days.

So it was intriguing seeing Muntu’s photograph in the media visibly angry and intimidating at the justice ministry, alleging that FDC registration was being frustrated, having filed papers only a month ago.

The registration of the NRM-O took four months from June 2003, purely due to logistical and technical constraints the Registrar-General’s department like other public bodies has.

Under Muntu, the LRA operations expanded and became more vicious with cutting off of lips, which started in 1992, the burning of houses and the abduction of civilians, especially school children in Atiak in 1995, and in 1996 the Aboke girls. If people in northern Uganda could be as angry as Muntu is today, they would have joined full-scale rebellion, but they did not.

Accompanied by MPs Salaamu Musumba, Reagan Okumu, Elijah Okupa and Jack Sabiti, they stormed the Ministry of Justice loaded with coin money to ‘donate’ and demanded that their organisation “must” be registered immediately.

If they had read the law well and they are democrats, they should have appealed to the High Court for redress on an un-explainable delay.

They should know that registration is done by the Registrar-General and not the Ministry of Justice, and that donations to Government are received by the finance ministry!

For Muntu to hold a press conference in the minister’s office and declare “FDC will be registered, come rain or shine, nobody is going to stop it” as he banged the table is intimidation bordering on playing dangerous games, we surely can all play.

It also betrays Muntu’s assertions that there is no democracy or rule of law because that kind of arrogance they exhibited cannot be tolerated in most parts of the world.

They even ought to be ashamed of not knowing procedures to pay money to Government and seeking instead to cajole junior ministry staff, when they could have got the minister on the floor of Parliament.

The emerging traits within FDC leadership constitute a danger to democracy and civilised dialogue. They need to be restrained in time.

It is most strange that claimants to democracy are the ones threatening institutions that are supposed to be independent to act in their favour! But as they say, even if a goat has a every long beard, it cannot be the boss to its owner. There are laws we should all respect.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});