Bravo Nagenda for the sober commentary on Besigye’s arrest
Nov 21, 2005
SIR — For once, the Senior Presidential advisor on media, John Nagenda, should be praised for perhaps the most sober political comment in Uganda’s recent times.
SIR — For once, the Senior Presidential advisor on media, John Nagenda, should be praised for perhaps the most sober political comment in Uganda’s recent times.
Almost always seen as a person who views Ugandans as classified between angels (loyalists to President Museveni) on one hand and devils (who doubt President Museveni’s sanctity), Nagenda this time came close to acknowledging the absurdity of the current political farce, tinted by Kizza Besigye’s arrest and his likely elimination from the Presidential contest.
His piece, Besigye: Let him stand! (The New Vision, November 19, 2005) showcased a gentlemanly approach to political issues with a fairly objective outlook. Nagenda likened Col. Dr. Kizza Besigye’s arrest with “a thunderclap on a bright sunny dayâ€. Indeed, many people had felt sweet warmth with Besigye’s return.
Nagenda regretted the appendage of the last charge (rape), rightly noting that, in all conscience, it would trivialise the entire case. How relevant rape is, under the circumstances, is indeed a question to ponder.
And Nagenda asks, “Is it too late to even now detach the rape case from those of treason, so that we can proceed with a straight face? “
Previously, I had listened to Nagenda on BBC’s News Hour, saying he would be “devastated†if Besigye would not be allowed to stand.
I thought he would retract his words, till he reiterated it in The New Vision, citing that the Movement government had set aside the Report of the Human Rights Commission a decade ago, in the name of reconciliation; and also spent a billion shillings on the state funeral of Dr. Obote.
Moreover, the whole world would applaud the moral high ground taken by the government over Besigye.
Perhaps as a risk control, Nagenda added that Besigye should be allowed to stand because “he hasn’t an icicle’s chance in hot hell of winning a straight and fair electionâ€.
However, even Museveni knows that in “a straight and fair†vote, the winner can never be predetermined.
Hopefully, Nagenda will next openly condemn the foreseen attempts to stifle freedom during the forthcoming elections.
With Besigye’s candidature, “there will be a feel-warm factor among the good citizens, the voters, of Ugandaâ€. Very true!
Ahabwe V. Kabunakuki,
Ntungamo
Almost always seen as a person who views Ugandans as classified between angels (loyalists to President Museveni) on one hand and devils (who doubt President Museveni’s sanctity), Nagenda this time came close to acknowledging the absurdity of the current political farce, tinted by Kizza Besigye’s arrest and his likely elimination from the Presidential contest.
His piece, Besigye: Let him stand! (The New Vision, November 19, 2005) showcased a gentlemanly approach to political issues with a fairly objective outlook. Nagenda likened Col. Dr. Kizza Besigye’s arrest with “a thunderclap on a bright sunny dayâ€. Indeed, many people had felt sweet warmth with Besigye’s return.
Nagenda regretted the appendage of the last charge (rape), rightly noting that, in all conscience, it would trivialise the entire case. How relevant rape is, under the circumstances, is indeed a question to ponder.
And Nagenda asks, “Is it too late to even now detach the rape case from those of treason, so that we can proceed with a straight face? “
Previously, I had listened to Nagenda on BBC’s News Hour, saying he would be “devastated†if Besigye would not be allowed to stand.
I thought he would retract his words, till he reiterated it in The New Vision, citing that the Movement government had set aside the Report of the Human Rights Commission a decade ago, in the name of reconciliation; and also spent a billion shillings on the state funeral of Dr. Obote.
Moreover, the whole world would applaud the moral high ground taken by the government over Besigye.
Perhaps as a risk control, Nagenda added that Besigye should be allowed to stand because “he hasn’t an icicle’s chance in hot hell of winning a straight and fair electionâ€.
However, even Museveni knows that in “a straight and fair†vote, the winner can never be predetermined.
Hopefully, Nagenda will next openly condemn the foreseen attempts to stifle freedom during the forthcoming elections.
With Besigye’s candidature, “there will be a feel-warm factor among the good citizens, the voters, of Ugandaâ€. Very true!
Ahabwe V. Kabunakuki,
Ntungamo