Bukenya vows to oust Amama Mbabazi
Sep 06, 2010
VICE-President Prof. Gilbert Bukenya has vowed to unseat the NRM secretary general, Amama Mbabazi, in elections this weekend. Others in the race for the same post are trade minister Maj. Gen. Kahinda Otafiire, Prof. Elijah Mushemeza and Lwemiyaga MP Theodore Sekikubo.
By Moses Mulondo
VICE-President Prof. Gilbert Bukenya has vowed to unseat the NRM secretary general, Amama Mbabazi, in elections this weekend. Others in the race for the same post are trade minister Maj. Gen. Kahinda Otafiire, Prof. Elijah Mushemeza and Lwemiyaga MP Theodore Sekikubo.
Bukenya made the remarks while addressing journalists at his Ntinda home in Kampala yesterday. The party holds the delegates’ conference on Friday and Saturday.
Bukenya attributed the chaos that has characterised the party primaries to having an NRM secretariat that is highly centralised and ineffective.
“This mess has been created by a highly centralised system that knows everything others do not know. The NRM is a mass political party, which cannot be managed well with the current centralised secretariat,†Bukenya said.
The party’s ongoing party primaries, which started last week, have been marred by electoral malpractices.
“I want to recommend that the party’s electoral commission be made independent of the secretariat, made bigger, and given enough resources to effectively manage the party’s polls,†Bukenya said.
The NRM will hold its delegates’ conference on Friday and Saturday to elect new national party leaders.
Bukenya said the decision to challenge Mbabazi was caused by his desire to revamp the party. He promised to expand the party membership and entrench its ideology of Prosperity-for-All by involving party members in development activities and decision-making.
“At the moment, decision making for the party is a preserve of the secretariat. I want to stop that by running a people-based party,†he pledged.
The secretary general is the second highest person after the chairman of the party, and is responsible for the internal operations of the party.
On increasing the popularity of the NRM, the Busiro North MP, who has just won the party primaries for re-election, promised to use his mobilisation skills and his closeness to the ordinary people.
He criticised some NRM members for thinking they are more Movement than others.
Bukenya also said the NRM big shots, who lost in the primaries, “didn’t implement the party’s ideology of transforming the lives of people they represent and because of this, they had no roots in their areas.â€
VICE-President Prof. Gilbert Bukenya has vowed to unseat the NRM secretary general, Amama Mbabazi, in elections this weekend. Others in the race for the same post are trade minister Maj. Gen. Kahinda Otafiire, Prof. Elijah Mushemeza and Lwemiyaga MP Theodore Sekikubo.
Bukenya made the remarks while addressing journalists at his Ntinda home in Kampala yesterday. The party holds the delegates’ conference on Friday and Saturday.
Bukenya attributed the chaos that has characterised the party primaries to having an NRM secretariat that is highly centralised and ineffective.
“This mess has been created by a highly centralised system that knows everything others do not know. The NRM is a mass political party, which cannot be managed well with the current centralised secretariat,†Bukenya said.
The party’s ongoing party primaries, which started last week, have been marred by electoral malpractices.
“I want to recommend that the party’s electoral commission be made independent of the secretariat, made bigger, and given enough resources to effectively manage the party’s polls,†Bukenya said.
The NRM will hold its delegates’ conference on Friday and Saturday to elect new national party leaders.
Bukenya said the decision to challenge Mbabazi was caused by his desire to revamp the party. He promised to expand the party membership and entrench its ideology of Prosperity-for-All by involving party members in development activities and decision-making.
“At the moment, decision making for the party is a preserve of the secretariat. I want to stop that by running a people-based party,†he pledged.
The secretary general is the second highest person after the chairman of the party, and is responsible for the internal operations of the party.
On increasing the popularity of the NRM, the Busiro North MP, who has just won the party primaries for re-election, promised to use his mobilisation skills and his closeness to the ordinary people.
He criticised some NRM members for thinking they are more Movement than others.
Bukenya also said the NRM big shots, who lost in the primaries, “didn’t implement the party’s ideology of transforming the lives of people they represent and because of this, they had no roots in their areas.â€